Date:  Sat, 21 Jan 1995 11:07:00 -0600

From:  Katherine Catmull <kate[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BGA.COM>

Subject: Re: 2 pl



>> I'm curious about the "y'all" and "you all" pairs. Would someone who

>> speaks/lives in a dialect area where "y'all" and "you all" coexist, comment

>> on which is marked, if either is marked, and for what purpose.

>

>Interesting questions -- which I can't answer. You've motivated me to do

>at least some informal research on the subject,



Same here. I live in Texas and have lived in the South most of my life,

although my parents are from Minnesota and Utah and my own accent is a

mostly un-southern mishmash. However, I use y'all and am quite sure I use

(and hear) you-all, too. I'll pay attention for the next few days. My

immediate thought is that you-all is an intensifier ("You-all don't know

the first thing about this") but I may be wrong.



Incidentally, at age 36, I also use "you guys" without regard to gender or

age, and hear it used that way even among native Texans. The only limiting

factor is formality: I might call an orals board "y'all," but not "you

guys."



Kate Catmull          kate[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]bga.com