So, I wandered into my local Craigslist Rants&Raves a while back (ya, I know - but for some reason, I periodically end up there for reasons I cannot fully explain). I ended up in a conversation with someone regarding the proper spelling of “y’all”. Unsurprisingly, the CL conversation was less than satisfying, so I thought I would raise the question to the much more scholarly folks here at the SMDB.
Is there a certain way to spell “y’all” that is considered proper? If so, is it in fact “y’all”, or is it some other spelling? Is it an official word? Is it slang? Is it something else?
Y’all. Being a contraction of “you” and “all,” and apostrophes serving to denote missing letters, “y’all” seems to me to be the most logical spelling. The only other possibilities I really see are “ya’ll” (if you somehow parse it as a contraction of “ya” and “all,” which I think is a little stretch) or “yall,” (a spelling I’ve never seen seen) if “y’all” somehow eventually stops being parsed as a contraction for “you all.” Have any other contractions lost their apostrophes? I seem to remember this being the case for some words, but I can’t think of any examples off hand.
It’s a non-standard or regional expression (i.e., Southern); it’s spelled y’all, as it is a contraction of you all. Strictly speaking, it’s a plural form of you: “How’re y’all doing?” would be incorrect unless there’s more than one of you. (“How do y’all spell y’all”, being addressed to the posters of a message board collectively, is correct.)
No, no. “All y’all” is the plural of “you.” (Also, let’s not forget “yuns,” although I personally use “youse” or “youse guys” when I switch into my local dialect.)
I could swear that I’ve heard “y’all” used regularly in the singular, but this may be by Northerners incorrectly borrowing Southern regionalisms. Interestingly, Wikipedia does seem to say that the “yall” spelling is gaining some currency.
“Y’all” is considered incorrect by many. “Ya’ll” is (IME) the much more common and preferred spelling for those actually from the south. (I am a pure-bred southerner.)
And remember: Logic has no place in language. Usage is usage. Just look at “will not”–>“won’t”.
My wife would take exception to that comment. Southern does not automatically equate to Redneck. In fact, she’s found more Rednecks outside of the South than she ever found in the South.
But ever the polite GRITS, her response remains true to her heritage: “Well, bless your heart.”
Thou art correct, but nobody makes the distinction anymore between singular and plural second-person pronouns; they just use “you” for both–unless they’re Southern and distinguishing between “you” and “y’all” or “you-all”; or speaking in some other regional vernacular and using some form like “youse guys”.
Wynnot -> wonnot -> won’t. Logical enough to me. (Although, yes, pure logic and language often don’t mix.) I’m surprised to hear that “y’all” is considered incorrect by many. My experience is exactly the opposite (and my sites seem to support that), but I’m a Northerner.
Huh. I spent a good part of my childhood in the South (near Atlanta) and I’ve always seen it as “y’all.” (Although some of my friends avoid the problem altogether by writing “yall.”)
Well, my Dad was a Missourian and my Mom’s a Texan, and the way we and my relatives always spelled it was “y’all”. “Y’all” is both singular and plural. “All y’all” means everybody in a group. The difference is that when used as a plural, “y’all” implies either “(some of) y’all” or “(all of) y’all”. That’s the truth, y’all.
“Ya’ll” is the other spelling that came up in my original conversation (by more than one person). I have always spelled it “y’all”, but then I grew up in Connecticut, so I can’t really claim to have any serious backing for my own common practice.
Now, I really wouldn’t have figured that there is any certain spelling whatsoever. But it is interesting that people on the “y’all” side and people on the “ya’ll” side both seem pretty convinced that there is.
“Y’all” is the proper spelling of the regionalism used for the second person plural pronoun. “Ya’ll” would have to be construed as a hypothetical contraction for “Someone named Ya will.” “Yall” is a county name, and presumably a family name after a member of which the county was named.
[Pittsburgher]
Y’all is south’n for Yinz.
[/Pittsburgher]
Looking through various Googled references on the Internet, it seems to me that the “y’all” spelling is the one that is generally considered “correct,” (even by Southerners) with a certain vocal contingent of Texans defending on the “ya’ll” contraction, as they do indeed parse the word as a contraction of “ya” and “all” (which I thought might be a little stretch, but is not).
Working with the Center of Study for Southern Culture, at the University of Mississippi, kind of a catchall fer all things Y’all, it 'twas spelled “y’all”. All y’all can have the pleasure of debate about it, though.
(Also, let’s not forget “yuns,” although I personally use “youse” or “youse guys” when I switch into my local dialect.)