you-all's

[Natalie Maynor]

Beverly Flanagan wrote:

> On a new topic:  I'm aware that "you-all's" is a Southern possessive (and
> Appalachian too, at least in some areas), but I'm wondering about other
> variants of it.  Just as "you-all" and "all you-all" (or their contracted
> forms) have distinct meanings, would you use "you-all's" and "all
> you-all's" distinctively as well?

I don't think the possessive is as common with "you-all" as it is with
"yall."  Although "you-all" is my normal choice for second-person
plural, I would probably use "yall's" for the possessive.  Or I would
use "your" if I had already said "you-all" or "yall."  Switching to
"you" or "your" later in a sentence or even in the following sentence is
pretty normal once the plural reference has been established by the
"you-all" or "yall."

But that's not really an answer to your question.  I think throwing in
"all" in "all yall's" is just like throwing it in when saying "all
yall":  simply to make clear that everybody is included (with who
"everybody" is depending on the context -- maybe all the listeners,
maybe only one of the listeners plus the other people associated with
that person -- e.g., "you mean all yall's offices got flooded?" might be
addressed to just one person in the group, the person who just told a
story about flooded offices in her department).

> Another distinction she makes is that she uses "you all" when "everyone I
> see is present and I can see them"; vs. "all you all" when "everyone is
> present but not in view" (not the same as including a large group whose
> members may NOT all be present, presumably).

Interesting.  Would she not use "all you all" for the situation given in
your parentheses also?

Coincidentally, I was working on a short article on "yall" just today.
But it's  about "yall" vs "you-guys" -- nothing about the possessive.
What I said above about "yall's" and "you-all's" is based not on
research but just on my intuitions as a native speaker of Southern.

I haven't decided yet whether to use the spelling "yall" or "y'all" in
the article, btw.  I'm leaning toward "yall."

--
 -- Natalie Maynor (maynor at ra.msstate.edu)