AmericanMom Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way? sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) :lol::lol: Nope, you're not the only one. hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) :lol: We do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) This is how I had had the second person plural in any language explained to me :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 As a Canadian, I'm giggling myself silly over this thread :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 As a Canadian, I'm giggling myself silly over this thread :lol: hehehehehehehe :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 But y'alls server should be y'all's as it shows possession. She is their server. Hm. Well, since we're just making this up, as there is no authority, I'm going with y'alls, for the sake of any possible kitten lives being at risk.:D My reasoning is above: yours, his, ours, theirs, hers, its, y'alls. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Huh. All of my southern friends and relations say "ya" or "youse" or, well "you" for the singular. It must depend on your part of the South. I have never, ever heard a native southerner say "youse.":001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Well that explains it. It has always driven me NUTS when Sandy Squirrel on Spongebob uses ya'll as singular. :001_smile: As annoying as that show is in every other imagineable way, thats the thing really gets under my skin! I always thought of ya'll as plural, and I'm from the south. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I always worry about this when I'm talking with British friends because, try as I might, I can't keep my accent from "drifting" in that direction and I'm sure it sounds terribly phony. I started of RP (British received pronunciation - what used to be the BBC voice). Husband started off American (Texan actually, but not with the Texas accent that the rest of his family has - weird). We lived overseas surrounded by many nationalities and the children had a Filipina amah for seven years, which gave their voices a beautiful lilt for a while. The boys sound American to Brits and British to Americans. My accent sounds British to Americans and unplaceable (but not from 'around here') to Brits. Husband's accent is American-lite. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 :lol::lol::lol: ... said that Kevin Costner sounded like he had been putting his green tights on in the Virgin limo from the airport and then just started speaking his lines when he got out of the car. Add that to the amazingly fast walk from Dover to Nottingham in that film. He says he'll be there by night fall. And then he does it via Northumberland (Hadrian's wall clearly visible). Google maps has that as a week's worth of walking, but that's without stopping to eat or sleep. I had to play with Google maps a bit: when I first put the route in, it tried to take me by ferry to Belgium and then by another ferry to Hull. Even Google maps thinks that's a long way to walk. Thank goodness for Alan Rickman. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiebird Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Y'all, and yes it means more than one person. All y'all is an entire group as was mentioned in previous posts. As an aside, when we first moved to Florida we still said youse - the NJ version of y'all. It was never youse guys. It was either you guys or youse. I get equally annoyed at youse guys and y'all used incorrectly. :D We get 'all youse guys' over here. My dad will call up and ask if 'all youse guys wanna come over today'. He grew up around Marquette Park in Chicago in the sixties. It can be said TO one person ABOUT multiple people. "You know, y'all confuse me." I can say that to one person, but mean them and their family or them and their (whichever other group). Yes, I used to say, "all y'all" when speaking to all my children. In Kentucky, y'all can indeed be singular. In fact, I have observed that the standard plural form of y'all is all y'all, as in, "We'd like to see all y'all over to our place for the cookout." Also, the possessive form is your all's, as in "I heard your all's house caught fire yesterday." :001_huh: :lol: When I was in Southern Illinois, I heard all y'all quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 (edited) Deleted - I was unecessarily snarky. Off to do some gardening. L Edited September 2, 2012 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 ... said that Kevin Costner sounded like he had been putting his green tights on in the Virgin limo from the airport and then just started speaking his lines when he got out of the car. Add that to the amazingly fast walk from Dover to Nottingham in that film. He says he'll be there by night fall. And then he does it via Northumberland (Hadrian's wall clearly visible). Google maps has that as a week's worth of walking, but that's without stopping to eat or sleep. I had to play with Google maps a bit: when I first put the route in, it tried to take me by ferry to Belgium and then by another ferry to Hull. Even Google maps thinks that's a long way to walk. Thank goodness for Alan Rickman. Laura YES!!! That movie was AWFUL but for Alan Rickman. He was brilliant as always. Kevin was just painfully bad. I have to give him some props though for not even attempting the accent. At least he had that much sense. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I vote for y'all as a contraction of you all. When written I use it as the plural of you. In everyday speech, I just don't care how it is used. I just have a fondness for the word. It is one of the things I miss when I am not it the South. It makes me grin to have the young girl at the drive though window make eye contact and say, "Hey, honey, would y'all like any ketchup?" :D Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 YES!!! That movie was AWFUL but for Alan Rickman. He was brilliant as always. Kevin was just painfully bad. I have to give him some props though for not even attempting the accent. At least he had that much sense. :tongue_smilie: Oh, and another vote for Alan Rickman. (but I think I would rather listen to him read the phone book with his own beautiful voice than listen to him say y'all. However, I sure wouldn't complain if he leaned out the the drive through to do so.) Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Is it possible that the OP mistook you'll for y'all and her Yankee ears couldn't tell the difference? Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Is it possible that the OP mistook you'll for y'all and her Yankee ears couldn't tell the difference? Just a thought. Doubtful. The OP was reading a book.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Doubtful. The OP was reading a book.:D I may hav forgotten that one little detail. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) :lol: I'm from the South, and y'all is definitely plural. Always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 It must depend on your part of the South. I have never, ever heard a native southerner say "youse.":001_huh: I was wondering what the heck part of the south uses "youse," myself. I don't even remember transplanted New Yorkers using it when we lived in Florida. While I defend y'all as both sensible and grammatical, you 'uns set my teeth on edge when we lived in Tennessee. Maybe it was because it was always surrounded by a bunch of other words that were also difficult to understand. We gave up on asking directions, because they always sounded like this: Friendly Tennessee native: Oh, that's real easy to get to. You'uns just need to go yonder until you get to where the feed store used to be, then turn left and go until you see some new dirt. Take a right and you're purt near there, but watch out for the creek because it . . . And I never heard what the creek might do, because my sobs of despair drowned them out at this point. I am geographically challenged to begin with, and directions that include things such as new dirt and where things used to be push me over the edge :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I was always taught that y'all can mean either one person or multiple people, but for clarity, with more than one person you should say all y'all. :D My dad's wife was southern, and that's the way she explained it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Well that explains it.It has always driven me NUTS when Sandy Squirrel on Spongebob uses ya'll as singular. :001_smile: As annoying as that show is in every other imagineable way, thats the thing really gets under my skin! I always thought of ya'll as plural, and I'm from the south. hey--that's y'all, not ya'll. Don't make me come over there!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I was wondering what the heck part of the south uses "youse," myself. I don't even remember transplanted New Yorkers using it when we lived in Florida. While I defend y'all as both sensible and grammatical, you 'uns set my teeth on edge when we lived in Tennessee. Maybe it was because it was always surrounded by a bunch of other words that were also difficult to understand. We gave up on asking directions, because they always sounded like this: Friendly Tennessee native: Oh, that's real easy to get to. You'uns just need to go yonder until you get to where the feed store used to be, then turn left and go until you see some new dirt. Take a right and you're purt near there, but watch out for the creek because it . . . And I never heard what the creek might do, because my sobs of despair drowned them out at this point. I am geographically challenged to begin with, and directions that include things such as new dirt and where things used to be push me over the edge :D Well, technically, Tennessee isn't "the south," but I digress. :D ETA: IKWYM about directons that include things like "go until you see some new dirt." I could weep along with you, lol. My mil was from Missouri/Arkansas, and she said you'uns. She also said taken, as in "I taken my friend to the store." :001_huh: And then there's "carry," as in "I carried my husband's lunch to him yesterday," or "I carried my son to the doctor." :001_huh: Which has nothing to do with y'all, but I just wanted to keep this tread going. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Oh, and another vote for Alan Rickman. (but I think I would rather listen to him read the phone book with his own beautiful voice than listen to him say y'all. However, I sure wouldn't complain if he leaned out the the drive through to do so.) Mandy :lol::lol::lol:. Oh my. I think I would just up and keel over if I went through the drive through at Hardees and Alan Rickman was at the pull up window talking Southern. Like literally just keel over!! That would be too awesome!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 I was wondering what the heck part of the south uses "youse," myself. I don't even remember transplanted New Yorkers using it when we lived in Florida. While I defend y'all as both sensible and grammatical, you 'uns set my teeth on edge when we lived in Tennessee. Maybe it was because it was always surrounded by a bunch of other words that were also difficult to understand. We gave up on asking directions, because they always sounded like this: Friendly Tennessee native: Oh, that's real easy to get to. You'uns just need to go yonder until you get to where the feed store used to be, then turn left and go until you see some new dirt. Take a right and you're purt near there, but watch out for the creek because it . . . And I never heard what the creek might do, because my sobs of despair drowned them out at this point. I am geographically challenged to begin with, and directions that include things such as new dirt and where things used to be push me over the edge :D Oh I hate those kinds of directions where they use a landmark that used to be there, but isn't anymore. :cursing: I'm directionally challenged too. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 (edited) I grew up in the South and I happen to think the word y'all is a perfectly acceptable contraction. However it is a plural "you all" meaning that you are addressing more than one person. I recently started reading a book (candy) that had a character that constantly used "y'all" when talking to one person. I never could figure out if the other characters were in the room or not. After about 50 pages my head hurt and I had to put the book down. Mostly bad grammar doesn't bother me too much. I have yet to figure out how this book got past editing. I have a strong feeling neither the author nor the editor are from the South. Or---- could I be wrong and now "y'all" is acceptable as singular?????? Y'all is plural. You are correct. I suspect that the writer of your book is not a Southerner at all and is trying to be folksy without any real understanding of Southern speech. Or, the writer is a product of a poor grammar education overall. Edited September 2, 2012 by Audrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 (edited) KY/TN girl here and we definitely are South! :tongue_smilie: Does anyone say I'z?---as in "I haven't seen him since I'z 10." Soft z. I still catch myself dropping off that w and I still drop my g's most of the time. When I first moved to Illinois. SE Illinois too-- everyone commented on my accent. I've lost most of it the longer I've lived here. Which is a shame because I find the Midwestern non-accent incredibly boring. Funny--dh and I were just having a discussion about how y'all and ain't are perfectly acceptable words in some situations. I don't routinely say them, but some situations call for it. I too say "Y'all need to settle down." It's also incredibly important to me that my kids call all adults Miss or Mister (first name). That never happens here in Illinois. I'm called by my first name by kids here. And yet kids I've known in KY and TN called me Miss. I think dialects are beautiful and hope they are never lost or forgotten. ETA: I read a Barbara Kingsolver book about a KY girl called The Bean Trees---and although it was good there was the gratuitous use of y'all as a singular and other Southern accent mishaps. It annoyed me. Edited September 2, 2012 by Walking-Iris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 (edited) Is it possible that the OP mistook you'll for y'all and her Yankee ears couldn't tell the difference? Just a thought. Doubtful. The OP was reading a book. AND the OP (me :D) grew up in the Hill Country of central Texas! Edited September 3, 2012 by Lara in Colo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 KY/TN girl here and we definitely are South! :tongue_smilie: Does anyone say I'z?---as in "I haven't seen him since I'z 10." Soft z. I still catch myself dropping off that w and I still drop my g's most of the time. When I first moved to Illinois. SE Illinois too-- everyone commented on my accent. I've lost most of it the longer I've lived here. Which is a shame because I find the Midwestern non-accent incredibly boring. Funny--dh and I were just having a discussion about how y'all and ain't are perfectly acceptable words in some situations. I don't routinely say them, but some situations call for it. I too say "Y'all need to settle down." It's also incredibly important to me that my kids call all adults Miss or Mister (first name). That never happens here in Illinois. I'm called by my first name by kids here. And yet kids I've known in KY and TN called me Miss. I think dialects are beautiful and hope they are never lost or forgotten. ETA: I read a Barbara Kingsolver book about a KY girl called The Bean Trees---and although it was good there was the gratuitous use of y'all as a singular and other Southern accent mishaps. It annoyed me. And don't forget "fixin'" I use that all.the.time. ie. I'm fixin' to go to the store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) Getting Started With Latin actually teaches it that way! DD thought that was hilarious! (I'm not really southern. I'm from Pennsylvania, and I talk fast. But I spent large portions of my life in Delaware and Maryland, and I refuse to drop y'all from my vocabulary.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) In NJ, that would be estis-youz are :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Am I the only parent who teaches her children about second person plural in Latin this way?sum - I am es - you are est - he, she, it is sumus - we are estis - y'all are sunt - they are :blushing: (Tennessee-bred, here) I absolutely teach it this way! Ds and I just talked about it the other day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKidAcademy Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 That book was written by a Yankee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I grew up in the South and I happen to think the word y'all is a perfectly acceptable contraction. However it is a plural "you all" meaning that you are addressing more than one person. I recently started reading a book (candy) that had a character that constantly used "y'all" when talking to one person. I never could figure out if the other characters were in the room or not. After about 50 pages my head hurt and I had to put the book down. Mostly bad grammar doesn't bother me too much. I have yet to figure out how this book got past editing. I have a strong feeling neither the author nor the editor are from the South. Or---- could I be wrong and now "y'all" is acceptable as singular?????? My second grade teacher taught me that you're right. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 And don't forget "fixin'" I use that all.the.time. ie. I'm fixin' to go to the store. Or, "I'll be there directly." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 If TN isn't south, what are we, mideast? And y'all is plural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Okay, haven't read all the replies, born and raised in y'all country... Never ever ever did I, any member of my (very large) extended family, or any neighbor or any fellow Southerner in my community use the term "y'all" as a singular pronoun. I first heard it used in the singular - and continue to hear it now - on the screen, television and film. It chaps my ears every time I hear it used that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Y'all are a hoot. For the record, TN is southern. I moved from St. Louis to Memphis and went into culture shock as a teen. I had to relearn everything. Y'all not, you guys. Miss (first name of adult) Ma'am and Sir Coke not Soda I was called a Yankee. And yes Tennessee chose to fight for the Confederate states in the civil war and as far as some were concerned the civil war was still going strong. Now I am fixin' to go eat some breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Y'all are a hoot. For the record, TN is southern. I moved from St. Louis to Memphis and went into culture shock as a teen. I had to relearn everything. Y'all not, you guys. Miss (first name of adult) Ma'am and Sir Coke not Soda I was called a Yankee. And yes Tennessee chose to fight for the Confederate states in the civil war and as far as some were concerned the civil war was still going strong. Now I am fixin' to go eat some breakfast. Absolutely. Especially in Memphis. My dd has the habit of saying "yes ma'am" to me but I've not had good luck getting my ds's to say it. Sorta bothers me, but ah well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rain Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 There is a law that when you complain about grammar you will make a grammar mistake in the thread. :lol: :iagree::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMom Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 And don't forget "fixin'" I use that all.the.time. ie. I'm fixin' to go to the store. Don't forget "yawnt-to?" for do you want to... and there's "j'you?" for did you... and of course, "j'yawnt-to?" for did you want to... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Don't forget "yawnt-to?" for do you want to...and there's "j'you?" for did you... and of course, "j'yawnt-to?" for did you want to... :lol: And "jeet" = "did you eat?" :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMom Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 And "jeet" = "did you eat?" :D What in the tarnation are you talking about? :lol: Your turn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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