This page is an archive of a community-wide discussion. This page is no longer live. Further comments or questions on this topic should be made in a new Knowledge Bank page rather than here so that this page is preserved as a historic record. —MJ— ^Holocomm 01:06, November 12, 2012 (UTC)

As we all know, Darth Vader addressed Palpatine with the words: "What is thy bidding, my master?" once (or maybe twice) in the whole saga. But I was wondering: has anyone ever heard or seen him actually calling the Emperor "thou" in any canon source outside of this single phrase? You know, I've mostly read EU stories in French translations, in which the Emperor is always addressed as vous—a polite form of address that is used when talking to strangers, superiors or elder people. I wondered whether this line from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was an unicum or if there have been other such occurrences of "thou" in canon. --LelalMekha 17:49, May 26, 2012 (UTC)

• I'm not sure of any use of thee, but note that the English thou and thee are the singular, familiar forms of you. In other words, they correspond more to the French tu and toi. In any case, usage of these archaic forms in English nowadays simply makes things sound more formal, more staid, and more Shakespearean. This is a reversal of their historical usage, when you and your were the formal forms. I'm sure that's why the writers chose to have Vader use such language. There may be another in-universe reason, of course, but I'm not sure what it is. ~Savage 01:00, May 27, 2012 (UTC)
• A quick search shows that Mohs, High Seeker of the Toka, uses these forms when addressing Lando in Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu. And in The Crystal Star, Xaverri uses these forms to address Waru. ~Savage 01:03, May 27, 2012 (UTC)
  • Well, I mean it sounds strange that Vader uses the thou forms only in this single sentence "What is thy bidding?" I can't seem to remember Vader saying something like: "Hast thou summoned me, my Master?" or "Master, thou art too forgiving." --LelalMekha 15:01, May 27, 2012 (UTC)
  • Seems this language is otherwise reserved for beings of higher power, but then Crystal Star isn't exactly the Star Warsiest novel out there. -- Riffsyphon1024 08:47, May 29, 2012 (UTC)
    • Karen Traviss used to say: I only write science fiction, and even when I write Star Wars I still treat it as SF and not fantasy. I think you can write Star Wars either way, and that's the good thing about it: it's a big enough universe to allow a very wide range of interpretations. It's about the only thing she ever said that I actually agree with. I must say I'm fond of the fantasy side of the Star Wars.--LelalMekha 21:35, May 29, 2012 (UTC)