The future of the English second person plural (was Re: Aquestion)

Barry Garcia wrote:

> I have noticed among my peers that we often say either <y'all> or <you
> guys> when we mean second person plural. I hardly ever use <you> for the
> second person plural because to me it doesnt sound right (even though it's
> correct). When i did my pronoun charts for my conlangs i used <you all>
> instead of just <you> because i noticed in my language classes using <you>
> for the 2nd person plural gets confused with 1st person singular <you>.
>
> Personally, i see <y'all> becomming used much more often. Especially with
> people who come from this area (Monterey), and even the Bay Area. As my
> generation gets older i see <y'all> being used more than <you guys>
I find it very interesting that you say this, because I have always gotten the
impression from people outside the South that it's very looked down upon,
that educated people wouldn't be caught dead, so to speak, saying it, because
it marks you as a "hick".  I'm happy to see that I'm mistaken in that respect. :)

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Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
AIM: Deuterotom ICQ: 4315704
<http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/>
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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