English Language & Usage Asked by Marc Cenedella on March 23, 2021
“Y’all” is the famous southern US form of the 2nd person plural. The Brooklyn / Italian-American “youse” might be another.
While the existence and usage of “y’all” has been addressed somewhat thoroughly here: What is the proper usage of "Y'all" in southern American dialects , I’ve found nothing else on EL&U regarding 2nd person plural forms in other English dialects.
I know there was a dual form in Old English (Dual (grammatical number)) does that survive in any of the dialects in the Danelaw? Do Scots / Gaelic / Welsh / Australian / other dialects retain any type of 2nd person plural / dual in modern usage?
Taken from Wikipedia:
y'all, or you all - southern United States and African American Vernacular English
you guys - U.S., particularly in the Midwest, Northeast, and West Coast; Canada, Australia. Used regardless of the genders of those referred to
you lot - UK
yous(e) - Ireland, Tyneside, Merseyside, Central Scotland
youse guys - in the U.S., particularly in New York City region, Philadelphia, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; also spelt without the E
you-uns/yinz - Western Pennsylvania, The Appalachians
ye/yee/yees - Ireland, Tyneside
Correct answer by GBorreson on March 23, 2021
In North East England and Scotland, 'youse' (rhymes with loose not lose) is a colloquial form for the 2nd person plural. Maybe this is where the New York form orignated from.
Also, 'you lot' or 'you all' can be used informally and colloquially in all UK dialects.
Answered by Lloyd on March 23, 2021
In my youth (the 1950s and 1960s), my grandmother regularly used the term ye when referring to more than one of her grandchildren.
She was born in the US and grew up in northern Pennsylvania. Her father was born in Ireland and emigrated to the US as a youth.
Answered by bib on March 23, 2021
The possessive is even more problematic here (Western Canada). The most common spoken form could be rendered "yer guyzes" (as in "shall we meet at our place or yer guyzes place?"). This strikes me as a monstrosity, and yet there is no commonly-used alternative aside from simply "your" which is generally avoided except when used in the singular. I have never seen this in writing which is why I'm only giving a phonetic version; most writers I know will do verbal gymnastics to avoid the necessity of such a possessive phrase.
In the US South I think they may say "Y'all's". Of course they seem to have the opposite problem -- its a natural construct to distinguish plural yet they appear to use it for both singular and plural. Dang.
Answered by Robert Craigen on March 23, 2021
South African Indian English uses you’ll. Some (if not all) SA Indian English varieties also use “you people” in extreme cases shortened to (“you’pill”).
Answered by NMrt on March 23, 2021
Get help from others!
Recent Questions
Recent Answers
© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP