Date: Fri, 27 Sep 1996 08:44:33 CST

From: Ellen Johnson Ellen.Johnson[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]INETGW.WKU.EDU

Subject: Re[2]: singular y'all



Hey, y'all.



Don't we do this about every 6 months? I'll repeat my singular

experience with singular y'all, since it fits neatly with David Johns

observations in that 1) usage was by an African-American

teenager and 2) it could be construed as the polite plural/

avoidance of intimacy usage, which is fascinating in that we

might be seeing an English parallel to tu/vous.



[skip long story about my car engine blowing up] I found myself

one afternoon standing outside the Greyhound bus station in

Columbus, GA, all alone at the corner of the sidewalk, suitcase

at my feet. Along came a young black man, head down with

a deferential demeanor, who said as he passed, "How y'all?"

It was the highlight of that trip, I guess you could say.



ellen.johnson[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]wku.edu