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In Defense of Y'All

texasmonthly.com

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Re: In Defense of Y'All

#151

Post by acureau »

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.

Checking in from Louisiana, can confirm I hear and say "y'all" on a near daily basis.

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#152

Post by Spivak »

throw18376 wrote: post #138
mystified5016 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

in northeast urban areas, if someone uses y’all it means they are probably a left-wing/social justice oriented person. use is correlated with “folks”/“folx”. no idea why, maybe to replace gendered “you guys”. weird but true.

Yep, it also replaces "ladies and gentlemen" and is a more informal "people."

I've heard of the the mythical gender neutral guys but having spent my life in classes and a career field where being the only woman is the standard, the amount of times folks are like "good morning guys… and girl" or "good morning fellas… and lady" is just comical at this point. Clearly speakers aren't imaging a mixed group when they say it.

It's been the same for me in the midwest and northeast.

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#153

Post by yCombLinks »

Y'all gives way to my favorite word, Y'all'd've (You all would have). It it fun to say and wraps up so many grammatical concepts into a neat package. Example usage "It's too bad Y'all didn't come to the party, Y'all'd've had fun"

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#156

Post by alberto_ol »

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…

I thought that Thou was informal, froma wikipedia "For a long time, however, thou remained the most common form for addressing an inferior person"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thou#History

Also in etymonline "By c. 1450 the use of thou to address inferiors gave it a tinge of insult"

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=Thou

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#157

Post by dingnuts »

greentxt wrote: post #147
skrebbel wrote: post #110

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! Hoora…

"Folks" "Do you folks need more time?" The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile. "Do you people need more time?"

if y'all is too "ethnic" for John McWhorter (I find this characterization disappointing compared to some of his other work) certainly "folks" is even more cultural appropriation

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#159

Post by alistairSH »

jadyoyster wrote: post #143
alistairSH wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you can't determine gender. Otherwise, you'd be "what is she/he doing?" It's usually clear from context. How often do you look two blocks away and see a group of unrelated individuals doing different things to the point "what are they doing" is unclear? Can't say I've ever run into that in my 48 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they You might just not notice it.

Oh, I know singular they is used/exists. I'm only pointing out that there is more precise language available most of the time, should it be needed - either she/he or adding details elsewhere in the conversation.

Re: In Defense of Y'All

#160

Post by stronglikedan »

greentxt wrote: post #147
skrebbel wrote: post #110

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! Hoora…

"Folks" "Do you folks need more time?" The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile. "Do you people need more time?"

> The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile.

That seems like a projection. Most people I know would be fine with it.

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