y'all

[J. Eulenberg]

My understanding, from recent discussion with some Kentuckians (for some
of the same reasons that brought me to this list), is that there are a
number of variations within the state for the "you" formation: "you'all"
is the standard in Louisville (as it is in much of Texas, or was when I
was growing up); "y'all" prevails in the rest of the state, with at
least one exception; (and thank you for this spelling; I had always
envisioned it "ya'll," and now I'll have to decide what to use!); and
"you'uns" (or, as Aubrey Gruber spells it in *Mountain-ese: Basic Grammar
for Appalachia*, "youens," which she (he?) declares to be plural).  I am
told that "you'uns" is also used in Ohio and Indiana, though not by all,
or everywhere.

Julia Niebuhr Eulenberg <eulenbrg at u.washington.edu>

On Wed, 6 Aug 2003, James A. Landau wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "James A. Landau" <JJJRLandau at AOL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: y'all
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> My father, who lived in Louisville his entire life, except for Army service
> from 1943-6, said "you-all" rather than "y'all" and used it only for the
> plural.
>
>       - James A. Landau
>