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Myself and all the other selves
torpeau
Left coast of FL
97 Posts
(Offline)
1
2014/11/09 - 7:25am

It's surprising to hear even educated people say things like "he and myself are going..." or "they are taking myself..."

 

I guess people think that it sounds classy to say "myself" instead of "I" or "me."   Somewhat less often "yourself" is substituted for "you," and the other "selves" are likewise substituted.

Guest
2
2014/11/09 - 5:56pm

I see a couple of things going on here. One is pseudo-self-deprecation: if I say "myself" rather than "me" it sounds less egocentric – "Give your donations to George or myself." The other is a cover for not being able to decide if "me" of "I" is correct –  " George and myself went to the movies.", "She went to the movies with George and myself." Myself am just guessing.

Robert
553 Posts
(Offline)
3
2014/11/12 - 11:35pm

A lot of it are for emphasis.  A translation from Leo Tolstoy:

...and I tried to quiet myself...'How stupid!' said I to myself. And why humiliate ourselves, herself and myself, and especially myself, by supposing such horrors?

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