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Re: CHAT: long streets (and 2pl pronouns)

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Wednesday, March 8, 2000, 3:18
"Jesse S. Bangs" wrote:
> Someone else mentioned that they use "y'all" as a 2pl pronoun on the > Internet. Around here, the standard form of plural address is "you > guys", which sounds like monosyllabic [jGaiz] in fast speech. If you > said "y'all" you'd be made fun of. Anyway, I'd be curious to see what > other conventions people around the English-speaking world use.
I've always used "y'all", but originally not very often. Then when I got into electronic communication, I started using a whole lot more - probably an unconcious expression of my regional identity - and that's spilled over to the "real world", so that I now use y'all alot! But "you guys" is also common around here. "Youse", "you'uns" (/ju@nz/), "you people", "you all" are other plurals. I've read that "y'all" has been spreading lately into regions where it didn't used to be used. IMNSHO, only "y'all" and "youse" are reasonable plurals, as they are monosyllables (like all other pronouns). -- "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -- C. S. Lewis