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Y'all's sprawl. Linguists study the spread of a Southern term
Houston Chronicle/Columbia News Service ^
| Feb. 19, 2005
| MOISES VELASQUEZ-MANOFF
Posted on 02/20/2005 7:45:38 PM PST by bayourod
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To: freedumb2003
Isn't it "Y'all will be assimilated"? You mean "Y'all'll be 'similated. Erzistince tain't werth it."
201
posted on
02/21/2005 6:53:43 AM PST
by
MortMan
(Be careful what you wish for... You might get it!)
To: bayourod; Cyber Liberty
"All y'alls" is totally different than "y'alls." "Y'alls" can be singular or plural; "All y'alls" is definitely plural. It's just a matter of preference. LOL!
202
posted on
02/21/2005 7:11:39 AM PST
by
Slip18
To: Gondring
In some parts, Y'all is singular, and the plural is All Y'all.You're right--the South is not uniform. My people go back in Virginia to about 1680 or so. We tend to say "all y'all" when referring to a big group. "All y'all" can also differentiate between "some of y'all", as in "Are all y'all coming with me to the Tractor Supply Store, or am I just bringing Cousin Elizabeth and them?"
203
posted on
02/21/2005 7:23:36 AM PST
by
Capriole
(the Luddite hypocritically clicking away on her computer)
To: annyokie
just tired of MSM reruns.
To: sionnsar
Interestingly, though, I've come across this lack of distinction between the 2nd person singular and plural in several languages...Having it does make understanding Latin much easier, as do the 'thee' and 'thou' in old English in the King James version of the Bible.
205
posted on
02/21/2005 7:32:40 AM PST
by
4CJ
(Laissez les bon FReeps rouler - "Accurately quoting Lincoln is a bannable offense.")
To: Bouchart
Yeah, but it sounds like it comes from some bad gangster movie.
To: Graybeard58
Ok - I really laughed out loud when I read you had your wife "pinged"......... I tell my Marine about things I read or comments made here on FR - the other night I began, once again with "Today on FR I read...." and I looked at him and said, " I really don't need to say that I read this on FR do I? Since that is where I get all my news........"
To: bayourod
I was born and raised in Miami, Fl. Today it is often referred to as New YAWK, South. But it wasn't always the case. Don't forget that Florida was a Confederate state and that the state capital of Tallahassee was the ONLY southern capital never captured by the yankees. The only battle of any significance fought on state soil, the battle of Olustee was a confederate victory. So,
y'all, I was raised in an era where Miami natives referred to the city as My Am MUH (get hooked on phonics!) because that was the way it was pronounced from the time Julia Tuttle first lured Henry Flagler to invest in the area by bringing him an Orange Blossom in the dead of a new york winter.
For those who wish to see a more definitive dictionary of southern verbiage and terminology I offer this: HOW TO SPEAK SOUTHERN
208
posted on
02/21/2005 9:13:49 AM PST
by
ExSoldier
(Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.)
To: bourbon
In 1966 some folks from Missouri move here to Mississippi. The first words I remember coming out of my new class mates mouth was "Youins"
209
posted on
02/21/2005 9:16:11 AM PST
by
WKB
(Is it weird here, or is it just me?)
To: Gondring
In some parts, Y'all is singular, and the plural is All Y'all. Not true. Only non-southerners who are trying to mimic southern speech make that mistake. It's a common misconception outside the south. Y'all is never singular. It always refers to more than one person. But most times it means those of you (pl) present. All y'all includes those not present. It's the difference between you (pl) and everyone. Cf: "Y'all are invited to my birthday party" -- You people present are invited. "All y'all are invited to my birthday party." -- You people present and those not present (in your group) are invited. Everyone in your group is invited. It's the same difference as we or us meaning you and me and we or us meaning you, me, and some others.
210
posted on
02/21/2005 10:13:11 AM PST
by
FreedomCalls
(It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
To: Nita Nupress; Senator Pardek
Rex, how does one pronounce "Houston" and "triborough?" (And what the hay is a "triborough / try-burr?")I pronounce "Houston" the correct way "Hugh-ston, as opposed to the Senator's way... House-ton.
As for triborough (TRI-burro), he's just trying to jerk me around.
To: Theresawithanh; Brad's Gramma
I say "you guys". Means both male and female.and "you gals" means both male and female too, right?
212
posted on
02/21/2005 11:48:26 AM PST
by
PistolPaknMama
(Will work for cool tag line.)
To: PistolPaknMama
Not nerecessily! I never say "you gals". Hadn't even thought of it. "You guys" work well for me in all situations. Maybe it's because I've never lived further south than California, and never lived further east than Idaho.
213
posted on
02/21/2005 11:53:36 AM PST
by
Theresawithanh
(2005! My resolution: FReep even MORE this year!!!)
To: TheBrotherhood
Ya'll is vulgar vernacularAnother common expression down here is "we don't really care how y'all do it up north." :)
214
posted on
02/21/2005 11:55:27 AM PST
by
PistolPaknMama
(Will work for cool tag line.)
To: bayourod
I started saying it deliberately. there needs to be a definitive plural form of the word "you". Doing without it is just silly.
215
posted on
02/21/2005 12:08:52 PM PST
by
lepton
("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
To: lepton
there needs to be a definitive plural form of the word "you". There already is.....Y'all. :-))
216
posted on
02/21/2005 12:17:14 PM PST
by
PistolPaknMama
(Will work for cool tag line.)
To: TheMole
The accent of central New York is very similar to the midwest, too. But that line is moving westward in NY.
217
posted on
02/21/2005 1:54:14 PM PST
by
Gondring
(They can have my Bill of Rights when they pry it from my cold, dead hands!)
To: bayourod
English handles 3rd person plural poorly. Most languages have a proper, formal way to handle it. Until something better comes along, I'm happy to adopt "Y'all". My mom was raised in southern Virginia, so I heard it frequently all home.
218
posted on
02/21/2005 2:18:54 PM PST
by
Myrddin
To: grizzfan
Thanks for pinging/paging/beeping me over here.
"But ultimately, the authors argue, it's a matter of addressing a "hole" in the English language."
Eggzackary. I use it a lot online (being in the North) because it is a gentler way of addressing people. If a person says, "You do this," it comes across as an order. If a person says, "Y'all do this," it comes across as a nonthreatening request.
219
posted on
02/21/2005 2:53:32 PM PST
by
GretchenM
("Where did gravity come from? Natural selection acting on mutations?" James Perloff)
To: bayourod
All of you. I've always said, all of you.
220
posted on
02/21/2005 2:54:44 PM PST
by
Melas
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