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In Defense of Y'All

texasmonthly.com

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Re: In Defense of Y'All

#101

Post by 4star3star »

jsnell wrote: post #92
4star3star wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having never given much thought to it, your analysis rings true to my native Texan ears. There's another usage that comes to mind, though. One might argue that "y'all" borders on a second person plural inclusive of the speaker whereas "all y'all" marks a distinction between the speaker and the others. For instance, a peeved person would be more likely to say, "All y'all can kiss my ass," as opposed to, "Y'all can kis…

> One might argue that "y'all" borders on a second person plural inclusive of the speaker So a first person plural?

I knew I explained that poorly. What I mean is that, in comparing "y'all" to "all y'all", a simple "y'all" is "you guys (and maybe me)" while "all y'all" is "you guys and not me".

Grammatical constructs can have a lot of variation between languages, and there are certainly nuances that can't be expressed in English the same way that it can be in other languages. One thing we lack is a nuanced sense of past, while other languages have baked in ways to express recent past or distant past (e.g. Bantu languages).

My proposed interpretation regarding "all y'all" is not academic, just a native feel, and I'm sure other native speakers could disagree.

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#104

Post by cmrdporcupine »

forgotusername6 wrote: post #67
gregw2 wrote: post #11

I tease non-Texans that Texan English is actually superior to normal American English because it supports second-person plural via "Y'all" exactly as mentioned in this article... "you guys" is, to some ears, sexist, and "youse guys" (a New York-ism) is a little too old-school Italian. English lost its second person plural when we switched from Thou (second person singular formal + Thee=second person singular informal…

People in some parts of the UK say "yous" for second person plural. So it isn't quite gone.

We also have that in some parts of Canada, rural & northern Ontario especially.

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#106

Post by laurentlb »

It's indeed useful to distinguish singular you from plural you, which is something that most other languages do.

As a non native speaker, I'm sometimes confused and wish to see a distinction between between singular and plural they (they-all?)

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#107

Post by _yb2s »

mystified5016 wrote: post #100
gregw2 wrote: post #11

I tease non-Texans that Texan English is actually superior to normal American English because it supports second-person plural via "Y'all" exactly as mentioned in this article... "you guys" is, to some ears, sexist, and "youse guys" (a New York-ism) is a little too old-school Italian. English lost its second person plural when we switched from Thou (second person singular formal + Thee=second person singular informal…

This whole thread is extremely confusing to this Appalachian native. Y'all is used quite widely throughout the entire southeast. It's recognized, if not used, through the entire country. I've also seen its use increasing in the Midwest as it seeps out of the south. Do many people actually see this as a novel word? It's incredibly common from my perspective here in Ohio.

On the west coast or northeast it would be very surprising to hear someone say it.

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#108

Post by oldpersonintx »

mauvehaus wrote: post #16

Counter-proposal: Bring back "thou" as the second person singular pronoun and restore "you" to its rightful place as the second person plural pronoun. As with so many of English's warts we can blame the French for the situation we're in. Vous in French is used when addressing a single person formally and conveys respect for the addressee. When class and station were more important following the Norman conquest of Eng…

[dead]

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#110

Post by skrebbel »

As a non-native English speaker, I love "y'all" because it lets me directly translate our word for, well, "y'all" to English. I seriously struggle to formulate sentences such that it's clear from context that I mean "plural you" in this here case. So what happens is, I start saying a sentence that has "you" in it, and at the "y" I notice that it'll be unclear, I quickly bend it to "y'all", and the day is saved! Hooray for Texas!
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