6.1487, Sum: Y'all

[The Linguist List]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List:  Vol-6-1487. Mon Oct 23 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  62
 
Subject: 6.1487, Sum: Y'all
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Associate Editor:  Ljuba Veselinova <lveselin at emunix.emich.edu>
Assistant Editors: Ron Reck <rreck at emunix.emich.edu>
                   Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
                   Annemarie Valdez <avaldez at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Software development: John H. Remmers <remmers at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Editor for this issue: lveselin at emunix.emich.edu (Ljuba Veselinova)
 
---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Mon, 23 Oct 1995 10:31:49 EDT
From:  jeepjm at muohio.edu (John M. Jeep)
Subject:  y'all
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Mon, 23 Oct 1995 10:31:49 EDT
From:  jeepjm at muohio.edu (John M. Jeep)
Subject:  y'all
 
I've received dozens of replies, and I thank you all (y'all?) for them, but
perhaps the most promising one is the following:
 
 Date:           Fri, 20 Oct 1995 13:08:55 -0500
 From: maynor at RA.MSSTATE.EDU (  Natalie Maynor)
 Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
 To:     Multiple recipients of list ADS-L <ADS-L at UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
 Subject:        Re: y'all are crazy
 
Bradley Harris of the U of Memphis has written an article on "y'all" as
a polite singular -- forthcoming in _American Speech_, I think.  I haven't
seen a copy of it yet, but he's supposed to be sending me its final version
within the next few weeks.
   --Natalie (maynor at ra.msstate.edu)
 
Otherwise, the prevailing opinion is - based on my collection of replies -
that y'all who use y'all in the singular are not genuine, not native
speakers of Southern American English. Anyone who wishes to have my
collection of replies please contact me privately.
 
Please consider this a summary. I will respond to any requests for more
data, anecdotal as it is, largely. Again, let's not clutter the LIST with
this any longer.
 
John M. Jeep
jeepjm at muohio.edu
Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
(Tel.) 513 529-1821 - (Fax.) 513 529-1807
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-6-1487.