5 ms·

As a non-native English speaker, I love "y'all" because it lets me directly translate our word for, well, "y'all" to English. I seriously struggle to formulate

As a non-native English speaker, I love "y'all" because it lets me directly translate our word for, well, "y'all" to English. I seriously struggle to formulate sentences such that it's clear from context that I mean "plural you" in this here case. So what happens is, I start saying a sentence that has "you" in it, and at the "y" I notice that it'll be unclear, I quickly bend it to "y'all", and the day is saved! Hooray for Texas!

BugsJustFindMe 2y ago
To casually throw a wrench into your process, how do you deal with the fact that y'all is actually singular and all y'all is the plural form? I'm kidding. You're doing great.
harimau777 2y ago
I picked up "y'all" in English when I started studying Spanish. After using "plural you" constructions in Spanish I found myself wanting them when speaking English.
- BitwiseFool 2y ago
  I hadn't considered y'all the English equivalent of vosotros, but this makes perfect sense.
wepple 2y ago
What’s your word for it?
- harimau777 2y ago
  In Chinese it would be 你们. Pronounced "ni men". The first character means "you" while the second character means "the previous noun is plural".
- Ajedi32 2y ago
  In Spanish it would be "Ustedes".
  - 1-more 2y ago
    Spanish is a fun example of the euphemistic treadmill applying to pronouns. Usted comes from "vuestra merced" meanining "your (plural) mercy" but refers to a singular person. We can take that to mean that the second person plural "vosotros" already was a plural-meaning-formal-for-singular thing and then that wasn't enough and we got another word based on it. Fascinating!
- skrebbel 2y ago
  jullie
alistairSH 2y ago
Hooray for Texas! "Y'all" didn't originate in Texas. Or, rather, nobody's really sure where it started, but it definitely isn't unique to Texas and more likely came from the Deep South.
- skrebbel 2y ago
  Hey, I'm a foreigner, the nuances of American history and regional culture are lost on me. If y'all can call my country "Holland" even though that's like calling the US "Carolina", then I can refer to the entire American South by "Texas".
greentxt 2y ago
"Folks" "Do you folks need more time?" The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile. "Do you people need more time?"
- dingnuts 2y ago
  if y'all is too "ethnic" for John McWhorter (I find this characterization disappointing compared to some of his other work) certainly "folks" is even more cultural appropriation
- stronglikedan 2y ago
  > The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile. That seems like a projection. Most people I know would be fine with it.
  - BugsJustFindMe 2y ago
    I don't know who you know, but most people I know would not be fine with it in every context. "You people" is widely considered pejorative, and any speaker who cares about communication should be aware of that. https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/w0zx8e/why_is_you_people_a_bad_word/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/w0zx8e/why...
  - hx8 2y ago
    "You people" can have racists connotations inside the United States, so I wouldn't say that phrase casually when speaking to people in North America.
- banannaise 2y ago
  That's "you folks" which I suppose would be "y'olks". I'll stick with "y'all", thanks.
epiccoleman 2y ago
I also enjoy having a second-person plural in my lexicon. I took Latin in high school and often got a kick out of translating words in that case with a y'all. My Latin teacher was particularly great and enjoyed it too, in moderation. She liked when our translations had just a little bit of personal style to them, and it really helped me appreciate the craft that goes into a good translation. It takes a bit of artfulness to translate a 2000 year old sentence, using all the same words, conveying all the same meaning, but make it feel natural and readable too.
OJFord 2y ago
The direct translation is 'you', surely you're not similarly confused when translating say a gendered 'the' or something? It's a lossy translation sure, but it is correct, you don't need regional dialect to be able to do it; depending on audience 'you' is in fact a much better translation.
- stavros 2y ago
  "I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to you".
robocat 2y ago
Maybe use yous/youse in other English speaking countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa): https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/yous https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/yous (informal situations) If you have a strong US accent or a drawl then perhaps stick with y'all.

BugsJustFindMe 2y ago

To casually throw a wrench into your process, how do you deal with the fact that y'all is actually singular and all y'all is the plural form? I'm kidding. You're doing great.

harimau777 2y ago

I picked up "y'all" in English when I started studying Spanish. After using "plural you" constructions in Spanish I found myself wanting them when speaking English.

BitwiseFool 2y ago
I hadn't considered y'all the English equivalent of vosotros, but this makes perfect sense.

wepple 2y ago

What’s your word for it?

harimau777 2y ago
In Chinese it would be 你们. Pronounced "ni men". The first character means "you" while the second character means "the previous noun is plural".
Ajedi32 2y ago
In Spanish it would be "Ustedes".
- 1-more 2y ago
  Spanish is a fun example of the euphemistic treadmill applying to pronouns. Usted comes from "vuestra merced" meanining "your (plural) mercy" but refers to a singular person. We can take that to mean that the second person plural "vosotros" already was a plural-meaning-formal-for-singular thing and then that wasn't enough and we got another word based on it. Fascinating!
skrebbel 2y ago
jullie

alistairSH 2y ago

Hooray for Texas! "Y'all" didn't originate in Texas. Or, rather, nobody's really sure where it started, but it definitely isn't unique to Texas and more likely came from the Deep South.

skrebbel 2y ago
Hey, I'm a foreigner, the nuances of American history and regional culture are lost on me. If y'all can call my country "Holland" even though that's like calling the US "Carolina", then I can refer to the entire American South by "Texas".

greentxt 2y ago

"Folks" "Do you folks need more time?" The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile. "Do you people need more time?"

dingnuts 2y ago
if y'all is too "ethnic" for John McWhorter (I find this characterization disappointing compared to some of his other work) certainly "folks" is even more cultural appropriation
stronglikedan 2y ago
> The problem with "people" is it sounds vaguely rude or hostile. That seems like a projection. Most people I know would be fine with it.
- BugsJustFindMe 2y ago
  I don't know who you know, but most people I know would not be fine with it in every context. "You people" is widely considered pejorative, and any speaker who cares about communication should be aware of that. https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/w0zx8e/why_is_you_people_a_bad_word/ https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/w0zx8e/why...
- hx8 2y ago
  "You people" can have racists connotations inside the United States, so I wouldn't say that phrase casually when speaking to people in North America.
banannaise 2y ago
That's "you folks" which I suppose would be "y'olks". I'll stick with "y'all", thanks.

epiccoleman 2y ago

I also enjoy having a second-person plural in my lexicon. I took Latin in high school and often got a kick out of translating words in that case with a y'all. My Latin teacher was particularly great and enjoyed it too, in moderation. She liked when our translations had just a little bit of personal style to them, and it really helped me appreciate the craft that goes into a good translation. It takes a bit of artfulness to translate a 2000 year old sentence, using all the same words, conveying all the same meaning, but make it feel natural and readable too.

OJFord 2y ago

The direct translation is 'you', surely you're not similarly confused when translating say a gendered 'the' or something? It's a lossy translation sure, but it is correct, you don't need regional dialect to be able to do it; depending on audience 'you' is in fact a much better translation.

stavros 2y ago
"I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to you".

robocat 2y ago

Maybe use yous/youse in other English speaking countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa): https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/yous https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/yous (informal situations) If you have a strong US accent or a drawl then perhaps stick with y'all.