Who-all uses this expression?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m a Northerner born and bred and have never lived in the South. I say “you guys” when I need a second person plural, not “you-all” (or “y’all” or “yawl” or however you’d like to pronounce it).

But I realized just the other day that I use what seems like a close relative of it: namely, “who-all.” As in, “So you went to the party. Who-all was there?” (Which I do pronounce as two distinct syllables, emphasize on the “who”–“WHO-all was THERE?”) The implication being that more than one person was there–in a sense, it’s a “who”-person plural. I wouldn’t ask"Who-all was your seatmate on the train?" if there were just two people to a seat.

I’m curious if anyone else uses this expression. And if so, how they pronounce it. And where they’re from.

Grew up in Chicago, now live in NY state.

2

I do…but it’s okay, I’ve lived in Florida all my life. I say “y’all” and what-not. :slight_smile:

3

Chicago. I use it and pronounce it as you do.

4

nm

5

Good one. I say it, although I’d never have thought to hyphenate it. I pronounce it just like you’d think: “who all”, with equal stress on both words, and I’ve never heard it any other way. Born/raised in the upper Midwest, now Mid-Atlantic.

6

Raised outside Chicago and use it all the time. No one looks oddly at me here in New England when I do. Wonder if it’s universal?

7

From Minnesota, and use this the same way: “Who all was at that event?”

8

I’m a Southerner and I say both y’all and who all - “Who all wants tea?”

9

I spent my first 47 years in Baltimore, Maryland and the past 10 in southern Ohio.

I grew up saying “who all”, pronouncing both words distinctly. I still say it sometimes. I use “you all”, “y’all” and “you” interchangeably and randomly.

10

I’ve lived in Texas for the last two decades (since I was ten). I use and hear both.

11

I never use it and never would, but I wouldn’t be shocked to hear it. I’m sure I have many times but never really noticed.

12

Chicago, spent my life around the Midwest, and I do use it at times. It seems to me that I would typically use it when expecting a response including multiple people, and maybe from various ‘social groups’ if I was asking who was at an event.

13

Grew up in southeastern Ohio, and that expression sounds so normal to me that when I read the thread title, I wondered what expression the thread would be about.

14

Canada, use it, hear it often, doesn’t even give me pause.

15

You uncouth yankees. The proper phrasing is “Who was there?”.

16

Born in western Pennsylvania, grew up saying “who all” all of my life. Although I have not once ever said “y’uns” (or whatever). I’ve ways thought of “who all” as a perfectly unremarkable English phrase and never thought twice about it.

17

Idaho resident, I use both who-all and y’all in equal measure.

18

I would have guessed it was a southern expression.

19

I’ve never used it, and have never heard my husband use it. He’s a lifelong Mississippian, and I’m a transplanted Kentuckian now living in Mississippi.

20

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like most of you use it, regardless of whether you say you-all/y’all or not. Interesting.

So who-all says it? I guess we-all do! (Or at least we-all except for the Ann Onimous family and maybe a couple of others.) (FTR, I don’t really say we-all…)