Singular y'all (and yuz)?I

[Beth Simon]

i reported the following occurrence during an earlier discussion on
occurrence/acceptance of singular y'all (altho discussions have not
adequately distinguished between occurrence of and acceptance of
singular y'all (and, i want to suggest, conscious lack of acceptance
might block perception of the occurrence - (we found something similar
re use of need/want/like + pp)):

i was the only passenger in a car being driven by a (language-aware)
friend/colleague from north Texas. He said to me, Y'all want to get a
pizza? I turned to the empty back seat and, laughing, said, Y'all? You
mean, me? He said that in north Texas, y'all can be used for just one.

We weren't in north Texas at the time, and I haven't spent any time in
that area, so I'm not making any generalizations.

beth



beth lee simon, ph.d.
associate professor, linguistics and english
indiana university purdue university
fort wayne, in 46805-1499
us
voice 260 481 6761; fax 260 481 6985
email simon at ipfw.edu