''Y'all'' (pronounced ) is a

contraction Contraction may refer to: Linguistics * Contraction (grammar), a shortened word * Poetic contraction, omission of letters for poetic reasons * Elision, omission of sounds ** Syncope (phonology), omission of sounds in a word * Synalepha, merged ...

of '' you'' and ''all'', sometimes combined as ''you-all''. ''Y'all'' is the main second-person plural pronoun in Southern American English, with which it is most frequently associated, though it also appears in some other English varieties, including African-American English and

South African Indian English South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

. It is usually used as a plural second-person pronoun, but whether it is exclusively plural is a perennial subject of discussion.

Etymology

''Y'all'' arose as a contraction of ''you all''. The term first appeared in print sporadically in the Southern United States in the early nineteenth century,Crystal, David
''The Story of English in 100 Words''
. 2011. p. 190. though it seems to have remained uncommon throughout most of the South until several decades afterwards.Devlin, Thomas Moore (2019).
The Rise Of Y'all And The Quest For A Second-Person Plural Pronoun
". ''Babbel''. Lesson Nine GmbH. The earliest attestation, with the spelling ''you all'' and in the specific second-person plural pronoun usage, is 1824.Schneider, Edgar W
"The English dialect heritage of the southern United States"
, from ''Legacies of Colonial English'', Raymond Hickey, ed. 2005. p.284. Earliest attestations with the actual spelling ''y'all'' are from 1856, however it was likely pronounced ''y'all'' much earlier. Another notable early attestation is in the '' Southern Literary Messenger'' (published in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

) in April 1858.Parker, David B. "Y'All: Two Early Examples." ''American Speech'' 81.1 (2006): 110-112. . Its usage did not accelerate as a whole Southern regional phenomenon until the twentieth century. It is not certain whether its use began specifically with black or white residents of the South; one possibility is that the term was brought by Scots-Irish immigrants to the South, evolving from the earlier

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (', ga, Albainis Uladh), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect of Scots language, Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in North ...

term ''ye aw''.Montgomery, Michael
"British and Irish antecedents"
, from ''The Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol. 6'', John Algeo, ed. 1992. p.149. An alternative theory is that ''y'all'' is a calque of Gullah and Caribbean creole via earlier dialects of African-American English. However, most linguists agree that ''y'all'' is likely an original form, deriving from original processes of grammar and morphological change, rather than being directly transferred from any other English dialects. ''Y'all'' appeared at different times in different dialects of English, including Southern American English and

, indicating it is likely a parallel but independent (unrelated) development in those two dialects.Hickey, Raymond
''A Dictionary of Varieties of English''
. 2013. p.231. However, its emergence in both Southern and

African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...

indeed correlates in terms of the same basic time and place. The spelling ''y'all'' is the most prevalent in print, being ten times as common as ''ya'll'';Garner, Bryan
''Garner's Modern American Usage''
. 2009. p.873. much less common spelling variants also exist, like ''yall'', ''yawl'', and ''yo-all''.

Linguistic characteristics

Functionally, the emergence of ''y'all'' can be traced to the merging of singular (" thou") and plural (" ye") second-person pronouns in Early Modern English. ''Y'all'' thus fills in the gap created by the absence of a separate second-person plural pronoun in standard modern English. ''Y'all'' is unique in that the stressed form that it contracts (''you-all'') is converted to an unstressed form. The usage of ''y'all'' can satisfy several grammatical functions, including an associative plural, a collective pronoun, an institutional pronoun, and an indefinite pronoun. ''Y'all'' can in some instances serve as a "tone-setting device to express familiarity and solidarity."Hickey, Raymond
"Rectifying a standard deficiency"
, from ''Diachronic Perspectives on Address Term Systems''. Irma Taavitsainen, Andreas Juncker, eds. 2003. p.352. When used in the singular, ''y'all'' can be used to convey a feeling of warmth towards the addressee.Lerner, Laurence
''You Can't Say That! English Usage Today''
. 2010. p. 218. In this way, singular usage of ''y'all'' differs from French, Russian or German, where plural forms can be used for formal singular instances.

Singular usage

There is long-standing disagreement among both laymen and grammarians about whether ''y'all'' has primarily or exclusively plural reference. The debate itself extends to the late nineteenth century, and has often been repeated since. While many Southerners hold that ''y'all'' is only properly used as a plural pronoun, strong counter evidence suggests that the word is also used with a singular reference, particularly amongst non-Southerners. H. L. Mencken recognized that ''y'all'' or ''you-all'' will usually have a plural reference, but acknowledged singular reference use has been observed. He stated that plural use

Possessive forms

The existence of the genitive (or possessive) form ''y'all's'' indicates that ''y'all'' functions as a pronoun as opposed to a phrasal element. The possessive form of ''y'all'' has not been standardized; numerous forms can be found, including ''y'alls'', ''y'all's'', ''y'alls's'', ''you all's'', ''your all's'', and ''all of y'all's''.

''All y'all''

''All y'all'', ''all of y'all'', and ''alls y'all'' are used by some speakers to indicate a larger group than is necessarily implied by simply ''y'all''. ''All y'all'' can also be used for emphasis; the existence of this etymologically

pleonastic Pleonasm (; , ) is Redundancy (linguistics), redundancy in linguistic expression, such as "black darkness" or "burning fire". It is a manifestation of Tautology (language), tautology by traditional rhetorical criteria and might be considered a fa ...

form is further evidence that speakers now perceive ''y'all'' as a grammatically indivisible unit.

Regional usage

United States

''Y'all'' has been called "perhaps the most distinctive of all grammatical characteristics" of Southern American English, as well as its most prominent characteristic. Linguist Walt Wolfram and English professor Jeffrey Reaser wrote, "No word in the American English vocabulary probably carries as much regional capital." People who move to the South from other regions often adopt the usage, even when other regional usages are not adopted.Montgomery, Michael
"Y'all"
, from ''The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Vol. 5: Language''. Michael Montgomery et al. eds. 2007. Outside the southern United States, ''y'all'' is most closely associated with

. African Americans took Southern usages with them during the twentieth-century exodus from the South to cities in the northeastern United States and other places within the nation. In urban African-American communities outside of the South, the usage of ''y'all'' is prominent. The use of ''y'all'' as the dominant second person-plural pronoun is not necessarily universal in the Southern United States. In the dialects of the Ozarks and Great Smoky Mountains, for example, it is more typical to hear '' you'uns'' (a contraction of ''"you ones"'') used instead.Bernstein, Cynthia
"Grammatical features of southern speech"
, from ''English in the Southern United States'', Stephen J. Nagle, et al. eds. 2003. pp.107-109. Other forms have also been used increasingly in the South, including the use of '' you guys''. Overall, the use of ''y'all'' has been increasing in the United States, both within and outside the southern United States. In 1996, 49% of non-Southerners reported using ''y'all'' or ''you-all'' in conversation, while 84% of Southerners reported usage, both percentages showing a 5% increase over the previous study, conducted in 1994.

South Africa

In South Africa, ''y'all'' appears across all varieties of

.Mesthrie, Rajend. "South African Indian English", from
Focus on South Africa
''. Vivian de Klerk, ed. 1996. pp.88-89. Its lexical similarity to the ''y'all'' of the United States is attributed to coincidence.

Rest of world

''Y'all'' is found, in much lesser degrees, in other dialects of English, including the dialects of Maori English in New Zealand, St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha, and Newfoundland and Labrador.Clarke, Sandra
"Newfoundland and Labrador English"
, from ''The Lesser Known Varieties of English: An Introduction''. Daniel Schreier, et al. eds. 2010. p.85.

References

{{Modern English personal pronouns American English Second-person plural pronouns in English Slang of the Southern United States African-American slang