Posted on 02/20/2005 7:45:38 PM PST by bayourod
In a June appearance on NBC's Today Show, singer Marc Anthony made an unusual but, according to some linguists, not-so-surprising word choice.
When co-host Matt Lauer asked Anthony how he'd spend the upcoming weekend, Anthony said, "Y'all know I don't talk about my personal life."
A New York native of Puerto Rican descent using "y'all," a distinctly Southern term?
Linguists Guy Bailey and Jan Tillery would say Anthony is exhibit A in a national trend that is spreading the uses of "y'all" beyond the South. The two, who teach at the University of Texas at San Antonio, wrote an article in 2000 called The Nationalization of a Southernism, in the Journal of English Linguistics.
After conducting a national poll by telephone, the team concluded that the spread was dramatic and recent, most likely in the past 50 years as younger non-Southerners were significantly more likely to use "y'all" than older non-Southerners. Those regions bordering the South and Texas, like Kansas and New Mexico, were most likely to adopt it, as well as the Rocky Mountain region, which, they argued, had cultural similarities with the South.
As for why non-Southerners might use a markedly Southern term, the authors cite geographic mobility — Northerners moving to the South adopting it and Southerners moving to the North retaining it. But ultimately, the authors argue, it's a matter of addressing a "hole" in the English language.
Ever since English lost the second person singular "thou," it has relied on the pronoun "you" to act as both singular and plural. English speakers have improvised ways to avoid ambiguity in the plural: in the Northeast, "youse" or "youse guys"; around Pittsburgh "yunz" or "yinz," a contraction of "you-ones"; in the South, "y'all," a contraction — or "fusion" as Bailey and Tillery say — of "you-all"; and finally "you guys."
But "you guys" feels awkward to certain segments of the population, says Joan Houston Hall, chief editor of the Dictionary of American Regional English. A term that gained popularity in the 1960s, it still sounds inappropriately familiar to some elderly ears, she says, and some women are uncomfortable with the masculine gender implied by "guys." "Y'all" elegantly resolves all these concerns.
Others argue that "y'all" is spreading for a much simpler reason: Both culturally and numerically, the South is on the rise. But more important, "y'all" is standard in what linguists call African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), the lingua franca of rap and hip-hop.
I've picked plenty in my life.
>>>ALL Y'ALL's BASE ARE BELONG TO US.
Almost... All y'all's base is belongin' t'us.
Rex, how does one pronounce "Houston" and "triborough?" (And what the hay is a "triborough / try-burr?")
Pardek, have you ever been to Yewstun?
Youse is a group of female sheep.
(Ewes for y'all in Rio Linda.)
I'm in Georgia. I used to work with a guy from New England. I remember him asking me to repeat what I said because he said we southerners talk too fast.
I had to bookmark that Ya'llbonics glossary of yours. Thanx.
Where'd you get that southern translation program? I want one. Can you integrate it with Babblefish to creat a one-step translation?
Scuse me, that's Mamanem...lol
As evidenced by the Dept. that I manage at work. I've got a mix of Yankees, Calh-lee-forn-yuns and even a Filipino all saying "Ya'll".
Texas Forever!
missed you, see post #91 for link
Wow! Someone else knows about the "Dialectizer"!
i'm using an ipaq stylus/keyboard combo w/ block recognizer, and typing mamenem takes to long...how do i upgrade my ipaq dictionary to recognize Southern blocks?
We went around and around with that, a few years ago, right here on this forum.
BTW: It would be funny to hear those dry NPR radio voices have to say "y'all" if they covered this article.
No - but I did see Nolan Ryan pitch at Shea Stadium when I was a kid. Does that count?
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