Southern American English and the use of "y'all"

Melhael · Sep 26, 2011

Hello!

I had a quick question about "y'all". I've read a bit about it and how it is used, but I was wondering: Do Southerner use "y'all" exclusively, or do they as often use a simple "you", even when talking to/about several people? Also, do they mix the two?

Is a sentence like "Y'all should drive your cars more carefully." correct? Or rather: "Y'all should drive y'all's cars more carefully." (And yes, this example is pretty stupide.

)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

alleycat · Sep 26, 2011

Y'all is used more as a direct or indirectly form of address (the northern US equivalent is "you guys").

Y'all don't know what you're doing.

Y'all be quiet!

That's not funny, y'all.

So, the short answer is "you" is used as well.

The use depends somewhere on locations and education; it's more likely to be used more often in rural areas, and by those without a college education (although most southerners will use it from time-to-time, something intentionally to make a point in a homespun sort of way: As my great-grandpa used to say, "Y'all aren't worth killing.").

Chris P · Sep 26, 2011

y'all = you (usually plural but sometimes singular)
all y'all = all of you
y'all's = yours
y'all're = you are
y'all'll = you will

I have heard both versions of your car driving sentence, and the more the speaker uses y'all usually gives the impression of being a country bumpkin.

Alwaysinspired · Sep 26, 2011

Where I live, it's borderline. Some say y'all, but I've found the transplants from up north say you. And people like me who grew up in Philly say youze

Melhael · Sep 26, 2011

Thanks! Y'all were very helpful. *slaps own face* I mean, "you"!

backslashbaby · Sep 26, 2011

Northerners who move to my area usually take up saying y'all.

If you are speaking to more than one person here in NC, you pretty much say y'all. That does not flag as a social indicator, it's so universal.

More country or casual folks will also use the other forms of the word, like y'all'll, y'all's, etc.

"Do y'all want to meet at y'all's house?" would not sound strange at all.

"Do y'all want to meet at your house?" doesn't sound strange at all, either.

I have zero embarrassment about the word and all its forms, and the only people I've noticed it bothering are from people not from here. That's why we used to tease our friends in school from up north when they let a 'y'all' slip when their parents would be horrified by that

LauraAnnSwanson · Sep 26, 2011

What kind of questions are y'all asking in here? Sounds like y'all need to spend some time back home where my kinfolk are from. They sit ya a spell and school ya on all the ways y'all are speaking like Yankees.
;D

Melhael · Sep 26, 2011

backslashbaby said:
"Do y'all want to meet at y'all's house?" would not sound strange at all.
"Do y'all want to meet at your house?" doesn't sound strange at all, either.

Thanks for your input! I had trouble deciding between the two. I've got a big chunk of dialog where my MC is piling quite a lot of "y'all" and I was afraid it would sound a bit much. Then again, she's miffed and she's lecturing the people around her, so I guess it is fitting.

Besides, it's an addictive little piece of vocabulary.

backslashbaby · Sep 26, 2011

Y'all'd've laughed so hard at me at Oxford with all my y'alls

(And we did discuss it!)

God, I love the word y'all'd've! :ROFL:

Melhael · Sep 26, 2011

backslashbaby said:
Y'all'd've

My unwritten questions about "y'all" and contractions are hereby answered.

Dave Hardy · Sep 26, 2011

Just to up the complexity, I have a friend from Missouri who used you'uns (or was it "yins"?). As in, "You'uns air either fer us, or agin us."

I just told him, "All y'all must talk funny in Missouri."

WriteKnight · Sep 26, 2011

As a native Texan who had to clean up my diction for broadcasting in Radio - I can say that in Texas, "Y'all" is going to be used in conversation with slurred contractions. For example:

"Are y'all going to go to the store?"

Would be "Y'all gonna go to the store?"

"Y'all wanna meet at my house?"

"Going to" and "Want to" will be slurred in speech to "Gonna" and "Wanna". That's not even addressing "Fixin ta" as in "Fixing to" - meaning "About to" "Y'all are fixin to piss me off, makin fun of my speakin." - Yeah, no "g's" on the endins...

That's if you want to spell out the phonetic pronunciations of the Texas southern slang.

Melhael · Sep 26, 2011

I'm still undecided about the final g's. I'm tempted to removed them, but I'm worried it might make the text a bit harder to read.

A solution would be to mention how she pronounces "-ing", the very first time she does, and then be done with it.

"I'm fixing to go fishing," she said, and it sounded more like "I'm fixin ta go fishin."

Something like that.

Michael E. Walston · Sep 26, 2011

As a lifelong southerner (spent most of my life in Florida; have been living in NC for over a year) I have to say I've seldom heard it used as a form of singular address, and when I do hear it it grates slightly on my ears.

As a form of plural address it can't be beat. Especially when you're trying to round up everybody for a road trip.

Or when you get mad at your cats...

FabricatedParadise · Sep 26, 2011

My answer to this post has already been posted by someone else. I just wanted to say that I use Y'all all the time, and it's not an accent thing. I have what we refer to around here as a "nonaccent" which means I don't sound like I'm from any particular area of the US... except when I say y'all (which is often). Love it!

latourdumoine · Sep 26, 2011

Aw, that just reminded me of my dad's best friend, who was born and raised in Alabama. He'd always greet me with, "how are y'all?" Loved it. He also had the whole Southern chivalry thing down, and when you're living in a small town in Germany for a while, that can really raise memories of back home. Interesting thing about that, since he moved around a lot after leaving high school, and spent most of his time in Europe with people who either didn't speak English or not that well, the "y'all" would always slip out when he was around Americans. Thought I'd add that after you mentioned that your MC was miffed

.

Having lived up North as well, I can totally second Alleycat's comment. I'd use "y'all" when I was around my dad's friend, and "you guys" when I was up North or around people from there without even thinking about it, so if your MC is mad, I can see her slipping into that, even if normally she'd adjust her speech.

I like your solution to the "-ing" dilemma btw.

Jehhillenberg · Sep 26, 2011

Melhael said:
Hello!

I had a quick question about "y'all". I've read a bit about it and how it is used, but I was wondering: Do Southerner use "y'all" exclusively, or do they as often use a simple "you", even when talking to/about several people? Also, do they mix the two?

Is a sentence like "Y'all should drive your cars more carefully." correct? Or rather: "Y'all should drive y'all's cars more carefully." (And yes, this example is pretty stupide. )

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Everyone in the country uses "y'all" I bet. Deep-South Southerners use "y'all" regularly in the sense "This is y'all's last time now." <-- Yes, I've heard it used this way quite a bit. "Your" ain't unfamiliar to us dang southerners not a bit.

AnnieColleen · Sep 26, 2011

Texan since age 13 or so:

Michael E. Walston said:
I've seldom heard it used as a form of singular address, and when I do hear it it grates slightly on my ears.

As a form of plural address it can't be beat.

This. I use "y'all" deliberately (though not exclusively) to distinguish second-person plural.

I also get irritated at "ya'll", "yall", etc.

FabricatedParadise said:
I have what we refer to around here as a "nonaccent" which means I don't sound like I'm from any particular area of the US... except when I say y'all (which is often).

The only time I develop a Texas accent is when I'm talking a lot -- like doing inbound catalog sales -- or in conversations about accents.

backslashbaby · Sep 26, 2011

I've heard it is used for the singular occasionally in Texas, as a matter of fact. I wouldn't know if that were really true. Y'all for one person is just very strange around here

Seriously, people would look at you funny.

Melhael · Sep 27, 2011

I've read conflicting things about "y'all" for singular, and conflicting things about the reason why there're conflicting things out there. So, I'm going to stay safely away from it.

One things that kept coming up though was "y'all" behind used when talking to a single person who represents an institution, a family business, etc. Like: "Y'all got the best candy in town!" when talking to the lady in the candy store.

And that's consistent with the way we use the corresponding expression in French, where I'm from. We say "vous autres" (literall, "you others") instead of just "vous" ("you") when talking to several people. Well, it's mostly old people who say that now, but I was raised by my grand-parents so I heard it a lot.

Michael E. Walston · Sep 27, 2011

I might also mention I lived in Texas for a couple of years when I was younger, and I don't recall hearing it used as a singular form of address there either.

I dunno. Alabama and Mississippi, maybe...

Chris P · Sep 27, 2011

Michael E. Walston said:
I might also mention I lived in Texas for a couple of years when I was younger, and I don't recall hearing it used as a singular form of address there either.

I dunno. Alabama and Mississippi, maybe...

It's not common, but you do hear it. It throws me when I do, because 99.5% of the time it's plural. I've heard both blacks and whites use it as singular.

Actual example:

"Sorry I missed the game, Bradley."
"Yeah, where were y'all?" [It was understood that I would be attending on my own]

Michael E. Walston · Sep 27, 2011

Melhael said:
One things that kept coming up though was "y'all" behind used when talking to a single person who represents an institution, a family business, etc. Like: "Y'all got the best candy in town!" when talking to the lady in the candy store.

Now that sounds fine to me; I use it that way too...

Stephen King had a character use it as a singular form in The Green Mile and it just seemed fake to me, like he was trying to sound southern.

But he's from Maine, fror Pete's sake. (He's also a snowbird who lives part of the year in Florida, but I don't really think that counts.)

veronie · Sep 27, 2011

There used to be a second person plural used in Old English -- "ye."

Most modern English speakers have lost the distinction in spelling and pronunciation between the singular "you" and plural "you" second person. But in some places (the South), the contraction of "you all" -- "y'all" -- is maintained as a distinction from the singular "you."

Those who think it's less educated to say it like that aren't thinking the issue through completely and are engaging in a bit of regional narrow-mindedness. There are Southerners with little education who say it that way; there are Southerners who are highly educated who say it that way. It's just a different way and dialect -- it has nothing to do with education.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 27, 2011

Sure, many, many southerers just say "you".

Down where I spent much of my growing years, "y'all" usually meant one person. It's singular. "All y'all" was pural.

Southern American English and the use of "y'all"

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