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From: phoogenb@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (Peter Hoogenboom)
Subject: Re: You, Youse, ...All Y'all
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Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 17:49:22 GMT
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Lee S. Bumgarner (bumgarls@falcon.jmu.edu) wrote:
: Bert Clanton (bert@sonic.net) wrote:
: > I'm a Southerner (by birth and early upbringing, at least) who vehemently
: > denies that Southerners ever use "y'all" as a singular pronoun. 

Then explain why the waitress asked me "Would y'all like some fries with 
that"?  I was not only the only customer at my table, but I was the only 
one in the restaurant.  Sorry, I don't remember where I was at the time.

: > There IS a usage that "LOOKS" like that, however. Sometimes a Southerner
: > who is speaking to a single other person will say something like "Y'all
: > come on over this afternoon, you hear?" What is meant, however, is not
: > "You come over by yourself". What is meant is, "You (and other persons
: > whose identity is contextually obvious from the conversation) come over".
: > E.g., the speaker might mean, "Come on over, and bring your husband".

This does not explain the situation I cite above.

: > As a person who spoke "Southernese" until my early twenties, I consider
: > myself to be a "truly reliable source".

Maybe *you* never used "y'all" for the singular, and maybe even a vast
majority of southerners do, but a significant number of (I assume not-
well-educated) southerners do.

Peter

--
Peter Hoogenboom                        phoogenb@wlu.edu
Department of Music, DuPont 208         hoogenboom.p@fs.sciences.wlu.edu
Washington and Lee University           phoogenboom@wesleyan.edu
Lexington, VA 24450                     (540) 463-8697
