When did “y’all” cease being regional?
I grew up in [northern] Virginia among a mix of people, some of whom said “y’all” and most of whom did not. The term was viewed there as a southern idiom, not judged harshly (except in school, where it was corrected on the grounds of being grammatically incorrect). I’ve worked for a national association for over a decade now and I interact with members from every part of the US and territories. “Y’all” is now common—maybe more common than the plural “you” and at least as common as “you guys” (which I sometimes hear myself saying)—among people from everywhere, from San Francisco to San Antonio to New York City to Albany and Minnesota.
What happened?
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | June 19, 2019 4:02 PM
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The Bush administrations.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | June 19, 2019 3:39 PM
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It’s a natural impulse to want a pronoun that clearly indicates plurality. I generally support the continued simplification of English grammar but in this case English over shot the mark.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | June 19, 2019 3:43 PM
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It's "you guys" in the midwest.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | June 19, 2019 3:45 PM
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Cultural Appropriation Alert.
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | June 19, 2019 3:48 PM
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It was on Thursday, May 13, 1995.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | June 19, 2019 3:48 PM
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The internet. We’re all pack-mentality clickbait.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | June 19, 2019 3:51 PM
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Ya'll is a very useful word and I will hear no arguments to the contrary.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | June 19, 2019 3:51 PM
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I was born and bred in the American South. For my entire life Southerners have been the butt of many jokes, painted as in-bred racists one and all, etc. Finally, we've contributed something you find acceptable enough to steal from us.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | June 19, 2019 3:56 PM
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I didn’t say or suggest it’s an evil, ignorant word. I asked when people began to notice that it is now used nationally and not only regionally.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | June 19, 2019 3:57 PM
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I’ve always used y’all. “you guys” sounds weird to me, like a mafia guy tawkin’.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | June 19, 2019 4:02 PM
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