y’all – “it’s science”
Posted on June 29, 2007 by Tito
Grammar Girl, in a discussion of speech regionalisms, etc…
And, here’s an aside about y’all. Most sources agree that y’all should only be used to address groups (8, 9), and Southerners say that Northerners give themselves away as Yankees when they use y’all to address one person (8). In addition, I’m not absolutely certain about this, but I’ve found a few less formal references that say y’all is the plural for small groups, and all y’all is a Southernism for addressing larger groups (10, 11). For example when calling a school assembly to order, a principal might say, “All y’all settle down now.†Please post a comment at the blog if you can confirm that this is true.
associated listening: Beastie Boys – The Sounds of Science “waxin’ & milkin’ all y’all squares”
* and people actually say “y’all” when addressing one person?
» Filed Under Language, Music, Turf Wars
