Do y'all say y'all??

Question

If not, what do y'all say instead?
What do y'all think of people who say y'all?
What is the stereotype?

Answer 1

Yes, I say y'all!
Everyone around here says y'all!
I said y'all to some people from Canada once, and they said "Excuse me, what did you say?"
By the end of the weekend, THEY were saying y'all!
It makes life so much simpler.

(Yes, I'm in Texas; from Connecticut, though.)
Variations - people in North Carolina say "you all," and my inlaws from Philly say "youse" (yooz).

To all ya'll who think people who say "y'all" are trailer trash or rednecks -- if you're born and raised in Texas, the odds are you'll say y'all, whether you be a brain surgeon, a politicial, a judge, a waiter, a college professor, a firefighter, a cowboy, an English teacher --- you get the idea. It's a local dialect. It has nothing to do with education or upbringing (unless the person is brought up with the mistaken belief that "y'all" is low class).

Answer 2

Well, a lot of variation in responses. As a Southerner and a grammar freak (Yes, the two are compatible), I do use "y'all" if the need arises. I even use "all y'all", although need for that occurs rarely.

The reason is English has a gaping hole in its pronouns. We have "I" and "we." We have "he, she, it" and we have "they." We have "you" and we have "you." There's a problem there. Is "you" one or more than one?

Most other European languages don't suffer from that deficiency. Looking at Spanish, for example, you have "Usted" and "Ustedes" or "tu" and "vosotros." Not only that, but the verb ending also tells you one or more than one. English is sadly deficient in telling y'all that vital information.

To correct this glaring deficiency, those from the South have risen to the occasion and devised an eminently practical solution.

"All y'all" is a natural, and also needed, extension of this, although, as noted above, the need for it is infrequent. Perhaps an example will help explain that usage.

Let's say a passel of six Yankees is trespassing on a Southerner's bird hunting land when the owner comes across them. Naturally, he confronts them and questions their presence.
Two of the group start trying to explain their presence and why they have some undocumented, unexplained right to be there. During the course of the spirited discussion that would follow, the Southerner would use "y'all" in addressing the two who were doing the talking. Something such as "Y'all don't know what you're talking about" might come out, obviously directed to the two Yankees who are talking, not to the group as a whole. Now Let's assume that negotiations reach an impasse. The Southerner might well say "All y'all get off my land right now."

That establishes the collective plural, encompassing the entire group, not just the "y'all" plural, which was restricted to the two who were talking. The entire group (all y'all), not just the two speakers (y'all), should retire immediately. The option would be determining the effect a 12 gauge double loaded with 7 1/2 shot would have on Yankees.

Answer 3

I never say y'all unless I am purposefully trying to act like I'm from Kentucky or somewhere further south -usually in a mocking manner. Instead I will just say you or you all depending on the circumstance. I don't think anything is wrong with saying y'all. It's just a difference in dialect.

Answer 4

For some reason I picked up the habit of saying "y'all" and I'm from Ohio. The stereotype is you would be from the south.

Answer 5

No I don't. I say "you". Or if you are talking about more than me than you would say "all of you". Ya'll is kind of like a contraction from southerners. Also connected to hillbillies and rednecks. But I like it. It sounds different and doesn't hurt anybody.
So on that note y'all can use it whenever you like. Just not in proper english.

Answer 6

Actually, I say y'all all the time. People often look at me funny and are like "... y'all? You r from Cali. U cant say that." But really, you can say what ever you want. It's easier to say they "hey Everyone"

Answer 7

I say y'all. I'm from Texas. It's perfectly normal here, of course.

I lived in California for a while, and they mostly said "you" when they meant "y'all" or they said "you guys". In California, they have all sorts of stereotypes about Southern people being stupid and racist, so I tried to control my accent and learned not to say "y'all" there.

On a side note, in English, "you" means the one person you are talking to. There is not a word that means the two or three (or however many) people you are talking too. Technically, it is correct to say "you" to mean the many people you are talking to. But I think it is a flaw in our language. Most languages have another word. In spanish, for example, you use "tu" or "usted" to mean the one person you are talking to and "ustedes" to mean more than one person. But there isn't a word in English. So naturally, across the different regions where English is spoken, people have come up with different ways to correct this flaw. We say "y'all". Others say "you guys" or "yousens" or "yous guys" or "you all" or whatever.

I don't think there should be anything wrong with any of them, but naturally I'm fondest of "y'all".

Answer 8

The only time I have ever said y'all was when imitating a southern accent. I normally say the gramatically correct, "you" which can be used both in the singular AND the plural. :)

Answer 9

I think those people are from the south. I say You or everyone. The stereotype is that it is southern that's all.I don't think poorly of you I just recognize that you talk differently than I do. I pahk my caaa in haavaaad yaaad. I come from Massachusetts.

Answer 10

i do not say "y'all," and i am thankful i no longer live in the south and am free from hearing it.

instead of "y'all," i say "you." it's standard english - a delightful langauge. you should try it.

i think people who say "y'all" are either ignorant or subscribing to a misguided and probably self-deceiving notion of charm and folksiness.

the stereotype? crackers. trailer trash. britney spears.