In our language there is a singular "you" for friends or similar people as you. And then there is the plural "You", the polite expression.
In shops, as a man, carshier girls alwys used the polite form when they talked to me. Now, with the female me, they use the singular, familiar form.
I know, this goes together with the language and the culture. The familiar "you" is used commonly among the young people, or among girls. So, it tells that you are considered relatively young and/or a member of the same gender. Anyway, not very respectable...hehe

Laura

We have thou / thee for the singular / familiar but that is very archaic, not used anywhere except in certain translations of the Bible, or in poetry.

I believe that almost all European languages (and perhaps others?) use the singular 2nd person as the familiar and the plural as the formal. It's only in English that it's passed out of general use.

Then there is the "royal we" which has almost passed out of use. In Japan the emperor has special pronouns which nobody else may use.

Many writings from colonial (pre-revolutionary) America have the use of "thou/thee" for singular whether familiar or not.

Well, language is a living thing!

Sandra

Wow, you learn something new every day! Thank you! It has been a long time but I think that it is possible that some of the Scandinavian languages may have dropped the singular "you" as English has.

I love things like this!