Hey linguistic dorks:
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@catmisgivings @ZachWeinersmith it's funny, people kept trying to tell me "you guys" was gender neutral all throughout the 20-teens
Not only did it make me feel excluded when I thought I was a woman, I still feel like I'm on the outside of it as something much closer to "guy."
I dunno, maybe it's because I grew up in a musical theater household (with Guys and Dolls)
@WizardOfDocs @catmisgivings @ZachWeinersmith
I am forcing myself to stop using the "gender-neutral guys" but it's hard. Mostly because it was my default email greeting for multiple people. "Hey folks" is doing okay but there's something indefinable that I like a little less about it, but that's less important than not making people feel excluded.
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@WizardOfDocs @brooke @ZachWeinersmith I did my postdoc in Pittsburgh just before covid and barely heard "yinz" – but it is true I was mostly frequenting academics, who came from elsewhere. And maybe local want to spare me when they hear my French accent. But I did get the sense it was disappearing.
@locha @brooke @ZachWeinersmith that's a shame. When I was there in the early teens, there were quite a few linguists studying the local dialect.
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@WizardOfDocs @catmisgivings @ZachWeinersmith
I am forcing myself to stop using the "gender-neutral guys" but it's hard. Mostly because it was my default email greeting for multiple people. "Hey folks" is doing okay but there's something indefinable that I like a little less about it, but that's less important than not making people feel excluded.
@stevegis_ssg @WizardOfDocs @ZachWeinersmith "folks" is loaded for me because historically, fascist nationalist projects co-opted folklore and made it weird! In addition to ... folk tradition just continuing anyway and being cool and often explicitly opposed to that sort of thing! And I don't necessarily want to stop and think about it every time I address three or more people, because I so totally would, so I usually just pick something else
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@krono @ZachWeinersmith english had the same, it just got lost and coming back slowly now
@labria @ZachWeinersmith I know. God was the last one to be called onto in singular (KJV) iirc.
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith I'm in New Zealand and I use "y'all" reasonably often. I'd say that's more me being weird than a common thing though.
I blame Applejack.
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@brooke @ZachWeinersmith I did my linguistics undergrad in Pittsburgh, and briefly considered picking up "yinz" but decided it was too location-specific. If I'd stayed there, I definitely would have.
@WizardOfDocs @ZachWeinersmith Fellow Pittsburgh-for-colleger here; I decided to embrace the spirit of the Great American Melting Pot, and have spent the last two decades on a one-man campaign to make "y'allnz" happen.
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
I am fond of "youse". Most likely from Irish immigrants to US.
Having an audible 2nd person plural makes for clarity.
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@WizardOfDocs @ZachWeinersmith Fellow Pittsburgh-for-colleger here; I decided to embrace the spirit of the Great American Melting Pot, and have spent the last two decades on a one-man campaign to make "y'allnz" happen.
@cort @ZachWeinersmith one syllable or two?
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@stevegis_ssg @WizardOfDocs @ZachWeinersmith "folks" is loaded for me because historically, fascist nationalist projects co-opted folklore and made it weird! In addition to ... folk tradition just continuing anyway and being cool and often explicitly opposed to that sort of thing! And I don't necessarily want to stop and think about it every time I address three or more people, because I so totally would, so I usually just pick something else
@catmisgivings @WizardOfDocs @ZachWeinersmith
I clicked the little star for the thoughtfulness and nuance of this response even as I recoiled, thinking NO DON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME I NEED SOMETHING
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@ZachWeinersmith Speaking as a Canadian that uses it only online...
I only use it as an affecctation for online communication. But vocally, it doesn't come easily off the tongue. If I try it, it's closer to Yuall.
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@cort @ZachWeinersmith one syllable or two?
@WizardOfDocs @ZachWeinersmith One, I guess? More YALN-z, not YAL-unz. But, this feels prescriptivist; I could condone regional differences in pronunciation.
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith I'm surprised you're not surrounded by people who use it as the second person plural there. It's about 50/50 near Richmond and the proportion goes up the further away from the city or closer to Varina you get
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
IRL, the first time I heard it spoken was here in northern canada by a Catholic priest visiting from north Carolina. His version was the redundant and humorous "all y'all" during his homily. -
Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith I stopped using y'all in speech when I moved from Texas to California, and I was particularly careful not to use it with people whose native language wasn't English.
I'm using it online now and then. It's still unusual for me to use it in speech.
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith a fellow British friend who moved over the Philly now says 'y'all' a lot in texts. I dread to think how that sounds in real life...
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith
Ya'll is verbalized in Alberta, sadly. Relatively recent, maybe 10--15 yr. -
Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith I refuse to use it, neither online nor in person.
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
The real rural south deep cut is "you'ins".
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith I'm native WA and have been using it for as long as I can remember.
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Hey linguistic dorks:
So, I grew up in Texas where "y'all" was normal, though not always used when outside the US South. In the last 10-20 years, it seems like it's become normal. Like I see Canadians using it. But it occurred to me that I *actually* only see it used online. I had the impression that Y'all basically won the Second Person Plural wars via the popularity of AAVE, but perhaps it's more of an online slang usage?
@ZachWeinersmith I studied in Liverpool where "yous" is also pretty common. Also looked down on, though.
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