Re: USAGE: Singular <y'all>? (was Re: Californian vowels [was Re: Liking German])

I'd been deleting the thread on Calif. vowels, so I'm not sure what went
before but here are the rule for *my* use of the word ya'll.  (And yes,
that's the way I feel it SHOULD be spelled.)

Ya'll is a contraction for ya (a variant of you) and all.  It is therefor a
plural.  I NEVER use it as a singular.  I will, however, frequently use it
in addressing a signle individual.  Contradiction? Hardly.  When I use
"ya'll" to address a single idividual (How are ya'll?) I am inquiring, not
solely about the individual I am addressing, but about that individual and
his/her family (or other group with which I strongly identify him/her).  I
expect a reply along the lines of, "Oh, we're doing pretty well.  Grandma
had knee surgery and my sister just started a job at the Shoe Barn.  How
'bout ya'll?" or maybe, "Pretty good.  Did you hear about Sue?"  Which might
lead the uninitiated to the erroneous conlusion that I had used ya'll as a
singular, since they did not understand the social dynamic at work.

That's my two cents

Adam

PS Please forgive any missing c's, n's or m's since this keyboard is LESS
THAN FUNCTIONAL!!!!!!!! *aarrrrrrrgh*

So lift the cup of joy and take a big drink.
In spite of it all it's a beautiful world.
-------Suzanne Knutzen


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