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Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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What is Yourn is 'Meen'
or
What is Yours is Mine.

Mine,by the way, used to be pronounced 'Meen'.
'Meen' used to be 'Mee book' and also before a vowel; 'Meen' apple.

Here is the pattern of today's possessive pronouns:

mine
ours
yours
yours
his,hers,its
theirs


So why is mine not 'mys'?

The Middle English possessive pattern, ended in an 'n':

mine
ourn
thine
yourn
his,hern
theirn


Moreover, Thine (possessive) could have been Thouse,
But actually matched Mine.
Speakers of the time, perhaps from sound or pattern, simply used Thine.
Also 'his' was the odd one out, which could have been 'hin'.
'Bruce's hope' was being utilized, but why not 'hin hope'?
However, the final 's' on 'his' began being used
With the other possessive pronouns--just feeling 'normal' to do so.
People with their language hold onto oddities out of habit,
But also, linguistically, seek pattern.
Language is a never-ending process of transformation--
Formerly, the nominative, 'Thou' was the singular,
'Inc' addressed two persons, and for more than two, 'Ye' was spoken.
Historically, further back, there was most probably,
'I, me', and 'that' for he and she, and 'those' for they!
What sounded normal to one, was eventually odd and 'wrong' by another.

Frank Maurer 16 June 2025 1615 Hours.




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