required plural marking in 2PP

[W Brewer]

Prescribed gap
Michael Newman wrote: <<<required plural marking in 2PP ...  To be
understood I should have said "you guys." This is the next logical step in
the evolution of the English pronoun ...  to the extent that such steps can
be described as logical.>>>
WB: Naive language users are more analogical than logical. There has
probably always been systemic pressure to maintain a singular vs. plural
distinction in English pronouns. The bizarreness is the pedantic rail
against filling the gap. I'll use y'all at home, you guys in the classroom,
you people at a group I'm angry at. Probably other forms of second person
plural to fit the occasion. This is an instance of prescriptivists using a
paradigm gap as a shibboleth.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org