[English] "yours" at the end of letters.

pc2 · Post by **pc2** » 28 Sep 2008 19:25

salutations,

usually, at the end of letters or formal e-mails in English, we see, before the signature, the expression "yours", usually followed by an adverb like "truly" or "sincerely" etc. (yours truly, yours sincerely).
we would like to know: what does it mean? why can the word "yours" be used like that?

thank you in advance,

ANTHOS · Post by **ANTHOS** » 28 Sep 2008 23:28

Very good question ! I've never really though about this.

I suppose it's a legacy from the times when people were the property of others so.

Yours sincerely = I am sincerely yours

I found this entry in Wikipedia in support of this view
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valediction

Old formal valedictions
English language valedictions typically contain the word yours, a contraction of your servant; old valedictions were usually some voluminous statement, a complete sentence of the form
I beg to remain, Sir, your most humble and obedient servant,

pc2 · Post by **pc2** » 29 Sep 2008 00:36

thank you for the answer, Anthos!

this is a very interesting supposition... it would mean that this expression has actually no litteral meaning today, wouldn't it?
this article on valediction says something interesting that we didn't know either, that forms like "yours truly" and "yours sincerely" follow rules of usage depending on the recipient of the letter. are these rules usually followed by native English speakers?

best regards,

ANTHOS · Post by **ANTHOS** » 29 Sep 2008 09:16

In formal English letters, you should use either Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully (I've explained the rules in a previous posting)

No one uses "Yours truly" (MS Word insists on insertig this, perhaps it's used in American English)