I'm not a big grammar and usage pedant. As you might notice, I occasionally take liberties with English, and don't apologize, or even call back later to talk it over. But spelling errors do catch my attention, especially when I make them, and even more especially when they are of the homophonic variety. "They're, there, their," you might say, "don't feel bad. Or badly. Or whatever." But I do, and I do try to fix stuff when I find it.
Anyway, I understand that I don't have a lot of room to talk about other people'ses mistakes, but there is one that keeps gouging at my eyes every time I see it.
I cannot STAND to see that good old Southern contraction for you all rendered as if the first word is "ya." And the second is, well, something ending in two ells.
It's y'all. Y(ou) all.
So stop spelling it wrong right now.
Y'all have been warned.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 10:49 AMI thought I was the only one that bugged! Also, when people who don't know any better use it to refer to one person. Y'all is a plural.
Posted by: Kathy at May 16, 2006 10:58 AMHeck, I didn't even recognize that it is a contraction. I thought it was the word and all those other means of addressing multiple persons are simply wrong.
Posted by: Larry Anderson at May 16, 2006 11:00 AMHey, yawl.
Are you sure they weren't talking about small boats?
Posted by: LittleA at May 16, 2006 11:01 AMGood ketch, LittleA, but sadly, I think that sailing is probably the last things on their minds. I think they just don't know any better.
Larry, it's okay.
And Kathy, some people just don't know anything about plurals and singulars. Thus their consternation with grits.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 11:21 AMWhat about "all of y'all?"
Posted by: Jordana at May 16, 2006 11:42 AMThat's what I call an superlative indicative. It distiguishes between an entire group and any smaller portion of a group. If you want all of them to move, you say "All of y'all move over yonder." (Waving arms toward direction of intended destination.) If only part is to move one way or another, you say something like, "Half of y'all move right, and half move left. Other left."
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 01:09 PMAnd LittleA gets 10 points for working two puns into a single comment thread.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 01:10 PMFor those of you from the Great State of New York, allow me to translate:
Y'all = Youse Guys
Thank you. Please carry on.
Posted by: Skinnydan at May 16, 2006 01:48 PMLeave it to Dan to make this a multi-cultural blog.
Posted by: Jordana at May 16, 2006 01:52 PMI was reading the Wiki entry on y'all, and it pointed out that English does not have single stand-alone word for a second person plural pronoun.
Apparently, neither does New Yorkian.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 02:00 PMWell, then, SOMEone needs to get on there and correct that Wikipedia entry!
Such discussions always make me smile when I remember Fred Gwynne asking Joe Pesci, "Did you say 'utes'?"
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 03:08 PMAn underappreciated actor, Fred Gwynne. Though the Munsters never really did it for me.
Posted by: Skinnydan at May 16, 2006 03:25 PMAmazing how long you can milk a premise for a television show.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 03:29 PMOooh!!! 10 points!
Les'see, if I add this 10 points to my previous total...carry the 1...wait a minute, I'll get it...OK. I figure sometime about 2012 I'll get back to positive numbers.
Such is the life of a punster. It's a heavy load, but at least I have ya'll to share it with.
Posted by: LittleA at May 16, 2006 04:52 PMMinus 20 points for pushing your luck one apostrophe too far.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 04:53 PMDang!
Posted by: LittleA at May 16, 2006 04:54 PMAnd a nickel for the cuss jar.
Posted by: Terry Oglesby at May 16, 2006 04:55 PMWell, shoot. Now I'm a net negative for the day in points and money.
Oh well, there's always tamale.
Posted by: LittleA at May 16, 2006 05:03 PM