LINGUIST List 6.1487

Mon Oct 23 1995

Sum: Y'all

Editor for this issue: Ljuba Veselinova <lveselinemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. John M. Jeep, 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: maynorRA.MSSTATE.EDU ( Natalie Maynor)
 Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-LUGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
 To: Multiple recipients of list ADS-L <ADS-LUGA.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 (maynorra.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
jeepjmmuohio.edu
Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
(Tel.) 513 529-1821 - (Fax.) 513 529-1807