Date: Thu, 19 Oct 1995 19:37:38 -0400

From: Benjamin Barrett Gogaku[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]GNN.COM

Subject: y'all, singular usage?



Forwarding this query on the singular usage of y'all I got from the Linguist

List.



yoroshiku

Benjamin Barrett



Date: Thu, 19 Oct 1995 10:15:19 EDT

From: jeepjm[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muohio.edu (John M. Jeep)

Subject: Y'all



Believe it or not, the second person pronoun 'y'all' is a hot topic on

MEDTEXTL, evolving from a discussion of second person pronouns and their

usage in Medieval English, French, modern German, etc. The question is

whether 'y'all' is used for the singular. We have heard strong voices on

both sides of the question, ranging from witness accounts of having heard

it recently to experienced speakers never having heard it. Is there a

reliable account of the phenomenom or is anyone working on it these days?



Thanks for any responses. I'll be glad to summarize later.



John M. Jeep

jeepjm[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muohio.edu

Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages

Miami University

Oxford, Ohio 45056

(Tel.) 513 529-1821 - (Fax.) 513 529-1807



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