It doesn't.
this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2024
0 points (50.0% liked)
English usage and grammar
364 readers
4 users here now
A community to discuss and ask questions about English usage and grammar.
If your post refers to a specific English variant, please indicate it within square brackets (for instance [Canadian]).
Online resources:
- Cambridge English Dictionary
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus
- Gilman's Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. This is a great and witty reference about usage, its history, and its controveries
Sibling communities:
Rules of conduct:
The usual ones on Lemmy and Mastodon.. In short: be kind or at least respectful, no offensive language, no harassment, no spam.
(Icon: entry "English" in the Oxford English Dictionary, 1933. Banner: page from Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Tale".)
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
I guess I just disagree.
Like most of English, it's very situational and not automatically rude. It's mostly rude when being declarative (with no authority) and/or dismissive.
“you two are so cute together”
Wow, rude!
What are you two doing here?
What are you doing here? Sounds just as rude.
I don't know the terminology, but I think it's because it's a direct indirect. It's like saying, "you there" instead of referring by name or using like, "excuse me sir/ma'am" or even skipping the direct call out altogether and saying, "could I get some help"
Basically it skips all formal addressing and is like using slang to people unfamiliar. If you are familiar then it's rude because you should know their names. I think the main time something like that is used is in an informal setting where nobody is actually familiar with each other, or in a scenario where immediate direction is required without prior familiarity.
Try, "the two of you" or "the both of you".
the both of you
Uh, no... just, "both of you".
I guess I was trying to frame my question as hearing someone say to a couple “you two” feels like they don’t view them as a couple but as 2 individuals or 2 people not as a couple. Just my feeling.
'You two are a great couple'
What now...
When or if you ever addressed your parents, did you call and say- “How are you two doing?” I would not.
I'd most likely say how are you guys doing, but I would have zero issue with you two. I find nothing offensive about it
"The both of them"