Y'all come back now, y'hear?
When I came to MIT, one of the first things that people noticed about me was the way I spoke. Apparently I had a rather noticeable Texas drawl, something I wish hadn't eroded quite so badly. Some things, however, can't be drilled out of my speech. Frankly, I am proud to be one of the enlightened souls who recognizes the use of y'all, commonly used in the South as the plural of the pronoun you.
Why I love to say y'all
To be honest, there's not really one particular reason why I like to say y'all. It is a friendly word, one that I like to think of as a sort of big, warm, cuddly blanket that can protect the bearer against an ever-growing world of more unfriendly words. Not to offend those Long Islanders who might be reading this, but I merely happen to prefer y'all to alternatives such as youse guys, or to (shudder) you people. Y'all is also more efficient than either alternative, expressing the same idea in one easy-to-pronounce syllable, while avoiding the ambiguity of you in its plural form. It is a real contraction, unlike words such as yin. It is difficult to express in words the warm and fuzzy feeling you get with the word y'all. Rather, it is something that must be experienced. Mostly, though, I think I just like the way it sounds and the happy feeling that seems to emanate from it.
Q: Do you have to be from the South to say y'all?
A: Not at all, although it is, in my humble opinion, rather complemented by a soft, musical Southern accent. Indeed, the use of you all may actually be an English export that can trace its roots back to the Roman Empire, according to Otto Whittaker's book Watch Your Language. It is my fervent hope that one day every English speaker will use y'all, at least conversationally, as the plural of you.
Some tips on usage
Opinions undoubtedly differ on this one. The word y'all, being in my experience plural, is properly applied only to plural instances. I would never consider addressing an individual as y'all. Its spelling, too, has been in contention. I would consider that, properly, y'all is the contraction of you and all, which means the apostrophe (') belongs between the y and the a, rather than after the a, which would make the first word ya, which is not proper English.
The following will probably provoke objections from many authorities, but I personally tend to use possessives of y'all in my everyday speech, just as you would use other possessive pronouns such as his and its. For instance, "Y'all's idea for this reactor design worked brilliantly." Extending this idea to include contractions such as y'all're and y'all've is the next logical step. Try it, and you may find that it feels very natural.
Join the movement
It will take time for some folk to learn to appreciate fully the value of the word y'all to our society. I have been told that it sounds illiterate. I would beg to differ; furthermore, I would like to issue a challenge to literate people everywhere to join in the crusade to make this word a beloved, acknowledged alternative plural of you. Help make the English language a kinder, gentler, warm and fuzzy place.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to Hayden Head at the University of Texas and to Deborah Cockrell for their suggestions.
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Jeri A. Champion
(jachamp@athena.mit.edu)