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johnlawrenceaspden comments on Open Thread April 11 - April 17, 2016 - Less Wrong Discussion

3 Post author: Clarity 10 April 2016 09:01PM

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Comment author: Lumifer 16 April 2016 04:57:38PM 2 points [-]

I've been trying to introduce you and y'all in Cambridge, it's pretty cool.

Keep in mind that it's more complicated than just singular/plural. There are three forms: you, y'all, and all y'all.

Comment author: johnlawrenceaspden 17 April 2016 09:48:43PM 0 points [-]

I didn't know about all y'all. That's also pretty cool. Does "y'all" carry the implication "but not all y'all"?

Comment author: Lumifer 18 April 2016 01:06:43AM 0 points [-]

Well, it's second-person so I'm not sure in which situation you would choose to use y'all to mean "you guys here but not those guys over there".

Comment author: gjm 18 April 2016 10:40:17AM -1 points [-]

I had thought "all y'all" arose where "y'all" had come to be used universally, even when referring to a single person, so that "all y'all" became the new plural form. But that seems to be an oversimplification. See this discussion on Language Log which I think makes it clear that singular y'all is relatively rare but by no means unknown, and suggests that "all y'all" is used in different ways in different places.

Comment author: Lumifer 18 April 2016 02:38:18PM *  0 points [-]

The last time I queried an authoritative source on y'all (a waitress in a Waffle House in South Carolina), she was quite sure that "you" should be used for one person, "y'all" should be used for up to 5-6 people, and if you're addressing more than that, it's "all y'all".