I lolled at this, but then started wondering why it is YA'LL instead of Y'ALL... hmmm, very interesting use of the contraction in TX as well :)

@Anonymous

Okay, so apostrophes are not my strong suit. THAT IS A PERSONAL FAILURE, don't blame texas <3

I'm from Oklahoma and I make heavy use of the word y'all! :)

I thought the Italian-Americans were first to solve that problem with "you's" as in "hey you's guys"....not to downplay the contributions of texas to uplifting the English language...

Besides the obvious differences in verb endings, other modern languages also have different words for "you" singular & plural.

Now let's talk about the use of the third person plural to designate a third person singular of unspecified gender, ugh.

I prefer Yints to Ya'll (where ever the apostrophe goes)

I have only heard Yints used instead of Ya'll when I lived in Western PA but I love using it.

Where's Joe Pesci when you need him to make a guest post?

I'm a New Englander who, in my youth, was influenced by a Spanish professor from Alabama. It was then I learned the virute of ya'll and the double contraction of YA'LLS for YOU ALL ARE, or something like that.

And no, I don't pahk my cah in Hahvahd yahd while eatin' clam chowdah.

Y'all should check out Ireland. Here they speak Hiberno-English, which basically means Gaelic grammar with English words.(Gaelic grammar is all over the place, a lot different to English grammar). Can be confusing as hell to outsiders.

Ahh, this is yet another of those times that knowing other languages is great and not great. I love that I can more accurately say what I want in Italian or Spanish, but I hate that no one can understand me here :(

I normally would not nitpick, but if you're going to make a post all about grammar, and about how you're not being wrong, you should at least spell it correctly. It is "y'all" because the apostrophe is taking the place of "ou". The same goes with you've, aren't, and so on. And most of all, you should have looked it up before posting this rant.

Now, when it comes to words like these, there is the correct usage and the social perception surrounding their use. This is especially problematic with the word "ain't" which is a legitimate contraction for "am not." However, this is now antiquated, and its usage whether correct or incorrect, is associated with ignorance.

I'm going to assume that some comments on your y'all usage prompted this, and I think that's wrong. You said it in a casual environment like a podcast, so IMO it's not a big deal.

@Kira

TBH, the entire post was intended as very tongue in cheek. It's not in any way a rant. Don't take it too seriously.

Also, please read the entire post, including the last line that mentions my error and why I did not correct it before... well, nitpicking and correcting :)

In western pa, it's y'uns (you-ones). In southeastern pa and ny/nj it's youse (plural of you).

The american-english language hasn't failed us, it's simply more dynamic than the latin languages. It allows for growth and change. It's american as apple pie, y'all/youse.

Notice I didn't include y'uns. Only dumb hicks say that.

We Hoosiers can often be heard using 'you all.' You might even catch us forming a contraction with those two words if you listen closely.

Personally, I think we need to adopt more words from Spanish to suite our needs.

@crankyhealer

"Now let's talk about the use of the third person plural to designate a third person singular of unspecified gender, ugh."

This bugs me, too. I support adding a singular gender-neutral pronoun to the English language. "He or she", "his or her", etc. are too clunky. I think the misuse of third person plural is a sign that we are demanding our language to change!

I'm Canadian. I spent some time in Virginia. I came back after an extended stay in VA and was promptly mocked by my friends for saying, I kid you not:

"How're y'all doin', eh?"

/facepalm

@Virile

<3 Oklahoma. Sorry you guys had to put up with us as your neighbors.

@Eversor

I like the combination of you's and guys... it's like a mixture of awesomeness.

@crankyhealer

awww, poor English. The last kid picked for dodgeball, and all that.

@Vailladin

Do you ever find yourself calling kids "yewts" instead of "youths"? I do that all the time, and no one ever catches on to the My Cousin Vinny love.

@Gronthe

I only ever find that people notice this glaring discrepancy when they learn/speak another language that doesn't have the same problem.

I lived in Massachusetts for a few months myself. I love New England... but hate driving there! I came away with a strange accent reminiscent of both Texan twang and New England Rs... incidentally, have you noticed that Tirion Fordring sounds like a Massachusetts native?

@Creid

Ooooo I would love to hear some examples of this!

@Dharmabhum

Hey, if you meet people who took lots of Latin, they may be able to at least read some of what you say in Italian or Spanish!

@Roguewind

Well, I *could* argue that Latin is the most dynamic of all, since it transformed into Spanish, Italian, French, Portugese, AND Romanian... but I won't. Instead I will just say that Latin is awesome because there is one word that means "to pee around the gravesite". Don't ask me what it is, because I forget. But, when your language has a word for something like that, how can it be anything other than awesome?

@Michael

let's start a revolution! I DEMAND A LANGUAGE CHANGE

@Kurn

can't... type... still.... laughing...

Linguist here! There's really no such thing as "improper" or "proper" English in a strict sense but "proper to the situation" and "improper to the situation".

Y'all is appropriate to informal situations in areas where it is not heavily used but is even appropriate to formal situations in areas where it IS heavily used!

Short version: "No such thing as proper and improper English.

Roguewind beat me to it!

Oddly enough, only one place in Kentucky uses a contraction other that y'all, and in Corbin the use you'uns!

@Bith

Yessss! The linguists have arrived!

Now, please follow me around as I try to make my rounds in Academia, and everytime someone looks at me like I'm a complete idiot when I say y'all, it is your job to inform them of the differences between proper and improper usage.

And please do it in a very high-minded, snooty, "I am far superior to you in all ways intellectual" voice.

<3

kimi -> kimitachi

Assuming I know what I'm talking about, which is questionable. In AZ, I hear more "You all," than actual, "Y'all," though.

Really looking forward to hearing y'all talk about WoW and blogging on the TNB!

Will try to be in the live chatroom even though y'all will most likely be recording in the middle of the night for me.

Any post, regardless of spelling, that references Latin grammar is full of win. :D

That said, I used to spell it ya'll before I knew it was y'all, mainly because I spelled it how I said it: you-all, ya-all, ya'll.

I'm from Colorado and even though I'm from a small town on the Western Slope, I hardly ever heard "y'all" spoken.

Then I moved to Louisiana to live with my boyfriend and there are "y'alls" flying left, right and center. This offended me on a grammatical level, but it's a regional thing, right? I'll get used to it. Then I heard "all y'all" and my eyebrows raised a bit, but when my bf's dad said, "Y'all have to fend for y'allselves" my jaw just dropped.

@ Dharmabhum: I speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Guarani (language of Guarani people in Bolivia, Paraguay and S Brazil). So speak all you want, I'll understand.

Knowing foreign languages certainly helps one better understand his/her own. I wonder, however, is YA'LL formal or informal or both?

Ah, that Latin table brought back memories from high school, and the drills burned forever in my memory:
amo amamus
amas amatis
amat amant

To anyone who took Latin, I'm sure this was a regular drill.

So, "Cogito ergo sum" and "Veni, vidi, vici" and all that jazz. Now, the question is, do you want that pronounced in "classical" Latin or "church" Latin? Soft or hard "G"s? "V"s as "v" or "w" ? :D

I like to use "all y'all".

"All y'all gotta just calm down. I'm fixin to put the raid together, don't worry."

My University teachers strongly encouraged the use of "y'all" as a replacement of "you guys". "You guys" is gender biased and exclusionary. Of course, I also studied Sociology which is biased towards being not-biased...

I try hard to utilize "y'all" but I cannot pull it off naturally.