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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…
What’s your word for it?
Only a true Texan can tell you the difference between "y'all" and "all y'all".
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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.
I also hear people say "folks" when that is also borrowed from Southern US English
I say y'all because it has one less syllable than the other options while retaining clarity
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…
I don't have enough linguistic background to understand the distinction, but I've also heard that using "will" for "intent to do something in the future" is somehow linguistically unusual because previously that job was used by "shall". Sorry I can't give more details, I forget what the actual distinction between the two is. I just recall that it apparently creates difficulty when English speakers learn Romance langu…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"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.
https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/w0zx8e/why...
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…
I picked up "y'all" in English when I started studying Spanish. After using "plural you" constructions in Spanish I found myself wanting them when speaking English.
The resurgence of y'all as popular non-southern vernacular stems from White liberal terminally online users? Correct?
[flagged]
This is bigoted anti-Texas slander.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"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.
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…
My Latin teacher was particularly great and enjoyed it too, in moderation. She liked when our translations had just a little bit of personal style to them, and it really helped me appreciate the craft that goes into a good translation. It takes a bit of artfulness to translate a 2000 year old sentence, using all the same words, conveying all the same meaning, but make it feel natural and readable too.