hellog〜英語史ブログ / 2024-11-26

■ #5692. royal we --- 君主は自身を I ではなく we と呼ぶ？ [personal_pronoun][pronoun][royal_we][terminology][indefinite_pronoun][reflexive_pronoun][number]

　「君主の we」 (royal_we) と称される伝統的な用法がある．王や女王が，自身1人のことを指して I ではなく we を用いるという特別な一人称代名詞の使い方である．この用法については「#5284. 単数の we --- royal we, authorial we, editorial we」 ([2023-10-15-1]) で OED を参照しつつ少々取り上げた．
　この特殊用法について，Quirk et al. の §6.18 の Note [a] に次のような記述がある．

[a] The virtually obsolete 'royal we' (= I) is traditionally used by a monarch, as in the following examples, both famous dicta by Queen Victoria:
   We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. 　　　We are not amused.

　Quirk et al. の §6.23 には，対応する再帰代名詞 ourself への言及もある．

There is also . . . a very rare 'royal we' singular reflexive pronoun ourself . . . .

　次に Fowler の語法辞典を調べてみた．その we の項目に，royal we に関する記述があった (835) ．

   4 The royal we. The OED gives examples from the OE period onward in which we is used by a single sovereign or ruler to refer to himself or herself. The custom seems to be dying out: in her formal speeches Queen Elizabeth II rarely if ever uses it now. (On royal tours when accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh we is often used by the Queen to refer to them both; alternatively My husband and I.)
   History of the term. The OED record begins with Lytton (1835): Noticed you the we---the style royal? Later examples: The writer uses 'we' throughout---rather unfortunately, as one is sometimes in doubt whether it is a sort of 'royal' plural, indicating only himself, or denotes himself and companions---N&Q 1931; 'In the absence of the accused we will continue with the trial.' He used the royal 'we', but spoke for us all---J. Rae, 1960. (The last two examples clearly overlap with those given in para 3.) It will be observed that the term 'the royal we' has come to be used in a weakened, transferred, or jocular manner. The best-known example came when Margaret Thatcher informed the world in 1989 that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a son: We have become a grandmother, the Prime Minister said. A less well-known American example: interviewed on a television programme in 1990 Vice-President Quayle, in reply to the interviewer's expression of hope that Quayle would join him again some time, replied We will.

　なお，上の引用の中程に言及のある"para 3" では，indefinite we が扱われていることを付け加えておく．

　・ Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.
　・ Burchfield, Robert, ed. Fowler's Modern English Usage. Rev. 3rd ed. Oxford: OUP, 1998.

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