I’ve seldom heard anyone say “all y’all”, and have never heard y’all used as singular except on tv. I haven’t lived in my native East Tennessee for going on 30 years, but I still say y’all quite frequently.
I use Y’all and all it variants daily. I use y’all as a singular on occasion. I’ll say to Mr.Wrekker as he’s leaving “Y’all stopping at the store?”
Or I’ll say to the whole bunch “All y’all need to hush.”
It’s just the way people talk down here.
‘You guys’ is rare. ‘You all’ might be said by a teacher.
I’ve heard the odd ‘Ye’
From my experience with relatives in Alabama:
- Y’all can be singular or plural, typically with a reasonably small number of people
- All y’all is for a larger group, often too many to quickly count or keep track of, especially if not everyone is present
- Shalom y’all is reserved for my Jewish relatives in 'Bama.
Only “y’all” is really used where I am, among English-speaking people (I’m in a primarily French area.)
Almost never hear it at all. Have no idea what version should be used.
The most common phrase used here is “you guys.” I don’t think there are different versions.
This, I would have to assume, is just a colloquial shortening of Shalom Y’Alleichem, a conventional Jewish/Yiddish greeting and pen-name of a famous Jewish/Yiddish story-teller. (The corresponding Arabic greeting is very similar.)
Y’all = “you” or “those in the group I am addressing”
all’a y’all = “all of y’all” = “all of those in the group I am addressing”
It’s possible, but I don’t think it matches up very well. I’ve never seen the expression written with a leading ‘Y’ nor pronounced that way. I’ve always heard the second word start with an “Ah” sound. The expression goes back quite a ways, at least WWII. I happened to wander into the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC when they had an exhibit entitled “Shalom Y’all” about Jewish life in the deep south and they never made the connection.
Maybe the book offers more details.
I’m from Virginia, I use them this way
Y’all going? Are you all leaving now?
All Y’all going? Is everyone here going or are some people remaining behind?
Can you give me an example of the singular use of y’all and explain it to me like I’m a first grader. I’ve never been to Alabama except for one afternoon on Dauphin Island south of Mobile.
I’ve never heard Y’all used in the singular. I’ve always used it to mean more than one person, it’s just a contraction of you and all.
In casual use, it’s just another way of saying “you”.
“Y’all planning to go to the gym today?” could be directed at one or more. In the same way that I’ve heard and used “Are you guys going to the movies?” directed at a mixed group of men and women. Technically it’s wrong, but it’s a casual mode of speech.
There is a long-standing argument as to whether “y’all” is sometimes used in the singular. You can read a little bit about it on the Wikipedia entry.
Additional serious discussion about it here.
Speaking as a 4th generation Texan, I would say that you would use “y’all” when directly addressing a group of more than one person and “all y’all” when talking about a larger group that includes the person(s) you are directly addressing.
Examples:
I’m talking directly to two people - “Y’all should come over next week.”
I’m talking directly to two people but including other people in the statement - “All y’all should come over next week.”
nm
East Texas deputy stops a car full of young people. Looks at the driver, “Y’all been drinking.”
Looks at the guys in the back, “All y’all been drinking”.
I fall into dialect when I am around someone who speaks it, and I use y’all in the singular and in the plural.
So, would it be safe to say that there are three types of "all y’all"s:
(1) the superplural “all y’all”,
(2) the inclusive “all y’all”, and
(3) the emphatic “all y’all”?
And would everyone agree that there is no singular “all y’all”?
Surely.
See post #2; if 15% (or whatever) of Tennessee business professionals today use a singular y’all, it’s only a matter of time before it happens to “all y’all” 