second-person pronouns redux

P2052 at AOL.COM P2052 at AOL.COM
Thu Mar 2 05:24:58 UTC 2000


I guess I just don't get it!  I've always said and heard plain old "you" for
the 2nd person singular, as in "You didn't  do it right."  I've never heard,
"y'all" (contraction for "you all" [ in fact, in conversational speech, the
contraction is exactly all that is heard when that Southern drawl is at its
best.)  I've never heard "y'all' used to refer to only one person, except to
establish some in/out group distinctions, or, to connect the speaker with
some higher authority, as in "We'll see y'all later" (used to distinguish
"us" from "them,"  even when only two participants--the speaker and the
addressee-are involved).
                        PAT



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