When did people in NOVA stop saying "Y'all"?

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Great points all. Hail Denton! (I too was raised amid the mesquite and mini-malls, weaned on Whataburgers.)

I think a lot of the y'all disdain is from linguistically insecure Southerners--a group I'll confess I belonged to for some time. When you move from a "y'all" region to a "you guys" region (especially when you're younger), you fear people will judge you based on all the negative stereotypes.

Now that I've reached the high-pants-wearing, ear-hair years, I have the wisdom (or arrogance) not to care. If you judge someone based on use of a word that doesn't violate any rule of English, you're the one lacking in knowledge. It's a useful word to indicate second-person plural--easily uttered, gender neutral, and perfectly clear.

Youse dig?

I was raised in Florida so more among palm trees and live oaks than mesquite trees. Definitely minimalls though. I do wish Texas had Publix I did use to work at a Whataburger here in Denton, though. I use both "you guys" and "y'all" interchangeable. There's just times where one word sounds better to use than the other. "You guys" is fine and all, but I do agree "y'all" is linguistically better. It's great to have a simple word to address a group of people.

My roommate might actually move to northern Virginia (Winchester) I dunno how often "y'all" is used there, but she does use both. She told me once when she was in high school I think, a teacher from New York would criticise the student's useage of "y'all" and she would tell him "You ain't from here, you don't tell us how to talk!" It really does irk me when people are such linguistic snobs. I love all the dialects and accents in this country, and intelligence is more of WHAT you say than HOW you say it.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by snatale1

Oh is that right? When did the "proper" way to address a group of people start with using a make believe word?

Here let me try it, since I said the "most ignorant" thing you have ever read, which we both know it's not. I too will invent a word. most ignorant is now known as m'ignorant. So make sure you use m'ignorant whenever you can. Don't worry, it's a REAL word now because I say it is. It's the "proper" way to speak, trust me. You see how stupid that sounds? THAT'S WHAT Y'ALL SOUNDS LIKE! Which is why it's a dying word!

Y'all is a contraction of "you all." It's as much of a make believe word as "don't."

Gosh, I hate when people say don't! What a bunch of hicks! It's DO NOT!

[Deluusions]

It's not that deep..... It's just word.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

It really does irk me when people are such linguistic snobs. I love all the dialects and accents in this country, and intelligence is more of WHAT you say than HOW you say it.

Great points. Is Ricky Gervais less intelligent because he has a lower-class English accent? Is Larry David not smart because he has a Brooklyn accent? (Even though his writing for Seinfeld made him probably the highest-paid writer in history?) Here's a clip of John Grisham talking in his Mississippi accent. If that makes him stupid, then I would love to be that stupid and make all that money.

I like watching "This Old House" and hearing the thick Boston accents. And would "Goodfellas" be as entertaining if all the characters talked like news anchors?

"Y'all" has a long history in the English language. It's no more a made-up word than "synergize," "upload," "unfriend," or numerous other words that are widely accepted despite being far younger. This is obvious to anyone with a modicum of objectivity.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Y'all is a contraction of "you all." It's as much of a make believe word as "don't."

Gosh, I hate when people say don't! What a bunch of hicks! It's DO NOT!

Snob.

[Ffxdata]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Great points. Is Ricky Gervais less intelligent because he has a lower-class English accent? Is Larry David not smart because he has a Brooklyn accent? (Even though his writing for Seinfeld made him probably the highest-paid writer in history?) Here's a clip of John Grisham talking in his Mississippi accent. If that makes him stupid, then I would love to be that stupid and make all that money.

I like watching "This Old House" and hearing the thick Boston accents. And would "Goodfellas" be as entertaining if all the characters talked like news anchors?

"Y'all" has a long history in the English language. It's no more a made-up word than "synergize," "upload," "unfriend," or numerous other words that are widely accepted despite being far younger. This is obvious to anyone with a modicum of objectivity.

*slow clap*

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Ffxdata

*slow clap*

Penicillin will fix that.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

Great points. Is Ricky Gervais less intelligent because he has a lower-class English accent? Is Larry David not smart because he has a Brooklyn accent? (Even though his writing for Seinfeld made him probably the highest-paid writer in history?) Here's a clip of John Grisham talking in his Mississippi accent. If that makes him stupid, then I would love to be that stupid and make all that money.

I like watching "This Old House" and hearing the thick Boston accents. And would "Goodfellas" be as entertaining if all the characters talked like news anchors?

"Y'all" has a long history in the English language. It's no more a made-up word than "synergize," "upload," "unfriend," or numerous other words that are widely accepted despite being far younger. This is obvious to anyone with a modicum of objectivity.

I wonder how many people that think "y'all" is stupid use words like "selfie," "hashtag," "foodie," and many of those more modern words that honestly, make me cringe way more than any "lower class dialect."

I love hearing those badass Italian/New York accents in gangster movies like Goodfellas and Godfather. I agree, if we all talked neutral, we'd be boring, soulless and cultureless. America is full of diversity, and diversity is in sound as much as in looks. Most black Americans regardless of region use "y'all" (because of southern heritage, mostly) I wonder if they're ALL ignorant too.

[jwolfer]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

I was raised in Florida so more among palm trees and live oaks than mesquite trees. Definitely minimalls though. I do wish Texas had Publix I did use to work at a Whataburger here in Denton, though. I use both "you guys" and "y'all" interchangeable. There's just times where one word sounds better to use than the other. "You guys" is fine and all, but I do agree "y'all" is linguistically better. It's great to have a simple word to address a group of people.

My roommate might actually move to northern Virginia (Winchester) I dunno how often "y'all" is used there, but she does use both. She told me once when she was in high school I think, a teacher from New York would criticise the student's useage of "y'all" and she would tell him "You ain't from here, you don't tell us how to talk!" It really does irk me when people are such linguistic snobs. I love all the dialects and accents in this country, and intelligence is more of WHAT you say than HOW you say it.

I use y'all.. I grew up in NJ but my mom is from north Florida, very Deep South. She was a professional Ballet dancer in her late teens and early 20s and ballerinas in San Francisco did NOT have Southern accents. But as she got older and moved back to Florida the Southern accent came back, who cares what others think.

If you move to the South y'all ( its y'all not ya'll BTW) is the easiest thing to pick up (as long as you dont have an anti-Southern bias) because it is so handy and can instantly clarify you are addressing an indiviual, a group, or an individual who represents a group.

Unlike others I think the use of y'all is expanding because it fills a void and is shorter than other constructions like "you guys". African Americans use y'all all over the county too and with increased popularity of "urban" music etc. it is more accepted in the Northeast, Midwest and West.

I had a professor of microbiology at the University of North Florida, who hailed from northern Indiana suburbs of Chicago, very midwestern accent but she said y'all.. PhD in Microbiology, no way you could call her uneducated or ignorant.. she was a lesbian BTW... hows that for diversity!

I love the different accents that are heard, variety is the spice of life!! I find it funny the same people who seek out diversity and fancy themselves as tolerant and open-minded will call anyone with a Southern accent an ignorant hick.