Y'all have a good day now ya hear??

[MichelleB]

Isn't it funny how a simply quote like that makes you invision a southerner or "Red Neck" just by the words that they used? You would never suspect that quote to come from someone like Bill Gates or Donald Trump. Why not? I'm sure all of us out there have used words like y'all. It's a good word!! A conjunction. It's not a racist word. Suitable for everyone!! So why is it that we expect certain groups of people to use a certain way of speaking? How can we judge someone's intelligence or back ground from the way the write or speak? Isn't that being judgmentitive? Bias? Racist? I'm sure we've all been guilty of not using proper punctuation or of having a long day and not using "proper English". Or maybe we're feeling a bit lazy and decide to "lol" or "OMG" at something. I know I do!! And why can't I do so with out someone commenting like -"you're under educated". Or "you can't live in Vermont because your tone is all wrong". ORRR "you're a troll because you're posting at such a late hour". Never mind the fact that I'm an insomniac who works second/third shift!!! And some one PLEASE TELL ME WHAT "TROLL" IS!! Anyway, your thoughts? Thanks!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. Well that sure was some general discussion. nt

[riverwalker]

2. I guess

from a northerner, "Y'all" is confusing when used to address one person. If it's supposed to be a shortened "you all" it sounds weird when there is no "all" just "you". Thats why it sounds so goofy, it makes no sense.

[ananda]

3. Hey ya'll.

I use ya'll all the time. I grew up with it, I'm used to it, it makes sense.

If you don't grow up with it, that might be a different story though.

[Spider Jerusalem]

4. I lived in the South for over 20 years and I can tell you in my experience...

"y'all" is plural, invariably. As Lewis Grizzard said: "For some unknown reason, Northerners think Southerners use 'y'all' and 'you all' in the singular sense. Northerners will giggle and ask, 'So where are you all from?' I answer by saying, 'I all is from Atlanta'."

[Laelth]

13. Y'all is definitely plural ... always and by design.

That, in fact, is the great value of the word. It creates a distinction between the second person singular pronoun, you, and the second person plural pronoun, y'all.

-Laelth

[Iggo]

5. Huh?

[txwhitedove]

6. Thank you for that. Mornin' and welcome to DU.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. !!

How can we judge someone's intelligence or back ground from the way the write or speak? Isn't that being judgmentitive?

Brilliant!

[Fumesucker]

9. Circular reasoning is circular n/t

[piratefish08]

18. y'all are nuts!

[Fumesucker]

8. Bless your heart..

And I mean that in a good way.

[sorefeet]

10. I have noticed that I have

been judged for my accent many many times. It has cost me jobs or promotions also. Mocked a lot too. I would say something and the boss would repeat it with my accent. My accent?? Southern. And I'm from Ohio. In Montana now. People will definitely judge you by your accent here.

[Laelth]

11. There is no distinct 2nd person plural pronoun in Modern English.

As such, y'all was created. While it is not mainstream, it is very efficient and serves a useful linguistic function.

Let's look at our pronouns:

I (first person singular)
you (second person singular)
he, she, it (third person singular)
we (first person plural)
you (second person plural)
they (third person plural)

One can easily see that we use the same pronoun (you) for second person singular and second person plural. "Y'all" is a colloquialism that creates a distinct, second person plural pronoun, and it eliminates confusion by clearly indicating that it is plural.

There are many things that cause me to be ashamed of my home in the Southern United States, but the word "y'all" is not one of them. It is precise, and it is more efficient than "you all" or "youz guys" as I have heard spoken by some of my Northern friends. "Y'all," in fact, is one of the South's great linguistic achievements. I use it, and I celebrate it (though I admit that I avoid it in all but my most familiar conversations because it is, still, a regional colloquialism).

-Laelth

Edit:Laelth--sloppy proofreading.

[hootinholler]

14. I thought y'all is singular

and all y'all is plural.

The closest northern equivalence is "you'ns" which is sometimes written as "yinz" depending on what area of Southwestern Pa you are in.

[Laelth]

16. Y'all is plural. Always. n/t

-Laelth

[MichelleB]

21. Pa!!

Had I finished reading your post entirely I would have read where the yinz came from. I like it. I don't think I'd personally use it. Like yung'inz!! Or "youtz". -"the two youtz were walking up river road!" Thank you cousin Vinny.

[Zorra]

22. +1. Y'all is a great contraction.

I use it all the time, I agree, it is so much more efficient than "you guys", and is much softer and more musical to my ear.

[Laelth]

12. Another couple of points.

Y'all is a contraction, not a conjunction. (Sorry to play grammar police, but I was an English teacher for many years.)

A "troll" is a person who intentionally disrupts discussion on an internet discussion board such as this. More here ... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=troll

-Laelth

[MichelleB]

19. Thanks for informing!!

And being educated is NEVER a bad thing. I'm always willing to learn something new!!

As far as "trolling", I've never seen it before I entered this group. And apparently a lot of things qualify you for trolling!! Not literally, but at least in this forum.
As far as the northerners, I my self live in Vermont. I've never heard the word "yinz". That's a new one for me!! I'm curious as to what part of the north y'all heard it in. Hahaha!! Y'all!! It just works!! And it's a fun word too!!

[JaneyVee]

15. America has many different dialects according to region, just like most other countries.

There's nothing racist about assuming that "Y'all have a good day now ya hear??" is a Southerner, just like it's not racist to assume that someone who says "I had a wicked good time" is from Massachusetts.

[Quantess]

17. Correct. Geographical region is not a race.

Accented speech is not indicative of race.

Also, y'all is a really useful feature because you can address you plural with it. When speaking to a group. Unfortunately I don't use it because it sounds not-quite-right when you're on the west coast.

[MichelleB]

20. I have been educated!!

One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument
buy troll mugs & shirts
by Alien Entity Sep 22, 2002 add a video


Thank you!!