"y'all"

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  • swisspea
    swisspea Posts: 327 Member
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    I wouldn't say the use of "yall" is at all common in Canada- if we say it at all (which is extremely rare), we do when we're trying to convey an overly casual tone, or if we're doing something we associate with the southern states.
    Canadian's use y'all as well...
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    Whats really interesting is the difference between y'all and all'y'all ;)
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    Most other languages have a plural you; English doesn't. So the southerners kindly made one up for us.

    Wasn't that Just so sweet of us!

    I say y'all a lot. I write it here sometimes because it reflects how I talk. I also write/say 'ya' instead of 'you' sometimes. I would never use either in formal writing though. And I will never ever ever say or write ain't. I've worked very hard to keep that atrocity out of my vocabulary!

    Another colloquial where I grew up is fixin' to. As in, 'I'm fixin to go to the store - do y'all need anything?' :p
  • YouAreTheShit
    YouAreTheShit Posts: 510 Member
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    The use of the word "yous" is just messed up! LOL

    Those New Yorkers speak a whole different language. And they act all High Falootin' too...

    There should be a ban on any transplants from New York to other states in order to keep the dialect clean elsewhere. Haha
  • kluvit
    kluvit Posts: 435 Member
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    plural for "you"
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    Y'all is singular AND plural.

    Yup. Though some folks down here say "all ya'll" when referring to more than one person. I think it really depends on where you are in the south. Here in NC, ya'll is plural.
  • inside_lap
    inside_lap Posts: 738 Member
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    I'm from the south where y'all is part of every day conversation. I've actually NEVER heard it used in reference to only one person as it stands for "you all". I'm currently stationed in upstate NY and "yous" (or however it's properly written) is quite common. When visiting my Canadian cousins they like to give me a hard time about my deep southern accent. Which is funny because my "accent" consists mostly of "y'all" *rolls eyes*.
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Texan here, I say Y'all. It's a lazy way to say you all heh... I use it also in place of you guys which I believe a lot of the northern folk say.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    It's not just a Southern thing, though. My mother's family is from West Virginia, and they use it all the time, which is how I've come to use it all the way over in Washington state.

    I think West Virginia is considered a southern state, even though it's almost a midwestern one.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
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    I would think "you guys", but not "you" as a plural.


    You would be wrong. :smile:

    I say 'you guys'. I'm American but not southern. I never say 'y'all' unless I'm doing an impression.

    ^^^ Pretty much. Lived in the south for 12 years but can't break my 'you guys' habit. I've heard You's but it's not something I've ever used.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
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    It's not just a Southern thing, though. My mother's family is from West Virginia, and they use it all the time, which is how I've come to use it all the way over in Washington state.

    I think West Virginia is considered a southern state, even though it's almost a midwestern one.

    yeah....West Virginia is fairly southern
  • yager8725
    yager8725 Posts: 267 Member
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    its Y'all! In place of you all
  • LifeOnMars_
    LifeOnMars_ Posts: 755 Member
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    I'm Canadian and I say "you guys" a lot. I never say "Eh". I'm from the Maritimes. (Atlantic Canada)
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,720 Member
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    Simple. It means Yinz. :tongue:

    Beat me to it...
  • KissMyAx
    KissMyAx Posts: 129 Member
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    The use of the word "yous" is just messed up! LOL

    Those New Yorkers speak a whole different language. And they act all High Falootin' too...

    There should be a ban on any transplants from New York to other states in order to keep the dialect clean elsewhere. Haha

    Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here!
  • Swissmiss
    Swissmiss Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Florence, Kentucky has "Florence y'all" painted on their water tower.

    (I may not be spelling that right.)
  • juliee274
    juliee274 Posts: 124 Member
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    I live in Georgia, studied Southern culture as well, and y'all is ONLY plural, used correctly. It is a contraction for "you all."

    One Person = You
    Two+ People = Y'all

    In the North, people say "you guys" instead. Y'all, however, is grammatically correct.
  • KLo924
    KLo924 Posts: 379 Member
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    Looks like you've gotten a good schooling on "y'all" (sidenote, eight years in NC and I only heard it for plural you, never singular). Here are some alternatives: Yuns (pronounced "you-nz" and "yihnz") - very Pennsylvania/West Virginia, maybe down to Tennessee; yous Pennsylvania, New Jersey, maybe up into downstate NY around NY City; and then I grew up saying "you guys" for plural you (regardless of gender; fyi I'm from upstate NY) but definitely got chastised by older women when I moved to the south!
  • jillyt85
    jillyt85 Posts: 161 Member
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    I'm from Texas and use this word multiple times a day. We also have a plural version (I know y'all is already plural) "all y'all". When you say y'all to a group, you might only be talking to two of the five people, but if you say "all y'all" then all five of them know you're talking to them.
  • squishycow7
    squishycow7 Posts: 820 Member
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    I'm from New England.. and not many people use "y'all." It happens, but usually they are then made fun of :)

    For plural it's just "you all" or "all of you."

    Or in casual company I'm guilty of (way over-) using "you guys," even if it's girls I'm speaking to.

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