“From Tho to Those in Fifteenth-Century English”

This study discusses how the form those establishes itself in the history of English. While forms without –s are predominant throughout the Middle English period, the 15th-century sees the rise of forms with –s. This paper explores the Paston Letters and selected writings by William Caxton in the 15th century and observes the process of the shift.

This paper consists of the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. The data of the present study
3. Tho and those in Caxton’s English
4. The shift from tho to those in the Paston Letters
5. Discussion on the shift from tho to those
6. Conclusion

Brief summary (YouTube)

Studies in the History of the English Language

Variational Studies on Pronominal Forms in the History of English is a booklet of the Japanese Association for Studies in the History of the English Language, which was established in 1999. It is the 9th volume of the association. The contents of this booklet are available at:

Yoko Iyeiri, Hiroshi Yadomi, David Selfe & Jeremy Smith (eds.), Variational Studies on Pronominal Forms in the History of English (Kaitakusha, 2022)

Link to the list of the published volumes of this series