Ik eindig tenslotte met de wens, datgij, die deze geluidsfilm hoort en ziet, dat ons volk met al de voldoening die hierbij mogelijk is, terug zal kunnen zien op de nationale inzameling, tot beloning van hen die er de omvangrijke uitvoering van verrichten, en tot de dankbaarheid van degenen die het allerzwaarst lijden onder de algemene nood.[sic]
I will conclude, finally, by wishing thatye who hear and see this sound film, that our people will be able to look back on the national fundraising with all the satisfaction that could be possible in doing so, to the reward of those who carry out its extensive implementation and to the gratitude of those who suffer most severely from the general distress.
1947, J.A.A. van Doorn, quotingSimon Spoor,[untitled address to Dutch troops][2], quoted inGevangen in de tijd. Over generaties en hun geschiedenis, Amsterdam: Boom, published2002,→ISBN, page28:
Gij rukt niet op om aan dit land den oorlog te brengen, maar om het de vrede te hergeven.
You are not advancing to bring war to this country, but to restore peace to it.
De Regering (...) wil bevorderen dat de kritische belangstelling, die bij velen voor het openbaar gebeuren bestaat, zich positief kan richten op het vervullen der taken, waarvoor ons volk zich gesteld ziet. Dit zal alleen mogelijk zijn alsGij, leden van de volksvertegenwoordiging, in voortdurend contact met ons volk in al zijn geledingen, daaraan Uw medewerking verleent.
The Government (...) wants to promote that the critical interest in public affairs, which exists among many, can focus positively on the fulfilment of the tasks facing our people. This will only be possible ifYe, members of parliament, in constant contact with our people in all its parts, lend your cooperation to this.
In most of theNetherlands, the personal pronoungij and its variants are now mainly used in religious context and are otherwise considered archaic. In Belgium and the southern Netherlands,gij is still the go-to second-person singular in colloquial language; in formal written language it is not used unless the referred second person is God or the monarch.
The best translation when used in archaic contexts would bethou; when used in Belgium or the southern Netherlands, it would typically be a familiaryou (singular), liketu in French. Unlike in English,gij usually takes the same verb form asjij except when there is inversion or with some irregular verbs or in the past tense. Compareheb jij dit gedaan? versushebt gij dit gedaan? (have you / hast thou done this?). Also:jij zal versusgij zult (you shall/will / thou shalt/wilt),jij bent versusgij zijt (you are / thou art),jij vloog versusgij vloogt (you flew / thou flewest) etc.
1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as anadjective. 3) Inprescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) Inprescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). 5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singulargij,gelle (object formelle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms aregijlieden andgijlui ("you people").
7)Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronounu, e.g.Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronounu is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g.U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Onlyu can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g.Meld u aan! 'Log in!', whereu is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, bothu andzich are equally possible, e.g.U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' 8) Not officially recognized in standard Dutch. It has gained popularity, especially in mainstream media and queer circles, as a respectful term fornon-binary individuals.
(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from Proto-Tai *C̬.qɯjꟲ (“excrement”)?”)
