Y’all
Y’all
Y’all
Damnit!
It is short for “you all” – get it right if you are going to use it. This is such a simple use of the language. It isn’t that hard to remember the basics of contractions from those early school years… Is it?
I had to correct someone on a Web development list today who proudly proclaimed he was a Texan (as well he should) and thus had the right to use the term. Then he spelled it wrong multiple times!
sigh
So which is correct then?
Thanks.
LOL
Y’all is the proper spelling.
Who cares?
Dolly Parton used ya’ll on the sign at the exit of Dollywood, but I believe it is y’all
It is most definitely “y’all.” I am an English and Spanish teacher. Just a few days back, several of my Spanish students had the audacity to suggest that it might be “ya’ll.” I just told them they were wrong.
Sanger High School
Interesting topic of debate, I’ve posed this question to myself on many occassion: [Y'all] returned 1,030,000 hits on a popular search engine, [Ya'll] returned approximately 464,000 hits on the same engine. Both spellings of the second person plural pronoun form of ‘you all’ return the same definition at Dictionary.com – with the former listed as the alternate spelling, You-All being dominant – Ya’ll is not mentioned as a spelling option. I’m afraid I must support the minority on this topic – The [Y'all] spelling is a conspiracy instigated by the Yank[ee]s – who also happen to be the machine behind Dictionary.com.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ya%27ll
Interesting topic of debate, I’ve posed this question to myself on many occassion: [Y'all] returned 1,030,000 hits on a popular search engine, [Ya'll] returned approximately 464,000 hits on the same engine. Both spellings of the second person plural pronoun form of ‘you all’ return the same definition at Dictionary.com – with the former listed as the alternate spelling, You-All being dominant – Ya’ll is not mentioned as a spelling option. I’m afraid I must support the minority on this topic – The [Y'all] spelling is a conspiracy instigated by the Yank[ee]s – who also happen to be the machine behind Dictionary.com.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ya%27ll
Of COURSE, it’s y’all. The apostrophe denotes letters left out as in don’t which is DO NOT. The two words are put together ina contraction and we drop the o in the word NOT, thus the word DON’T. In YOU ALL, the contraction is Y’ALL because the “OU” is dropped and the two words become one.
Now, i am just a young’n and still learning, but if you generally look at it, most contractions only leave out one letter…so the ‘ actually replaces a leter, not “usually” more than one, an exception could be can’t, however, the n could just be considered to work twice. (and yes, i miss-used it then, if you want to look at my young’n spelling, but that was not my intent). Now, i am guilty of spelling it “ya’ll”, and i see a good argument in “y’all” however, either works fine for me, besides, that is being too logical for it to be proper english, english is designed around the basic fact that it makes no since to spell it that way, thats why it is.
oh and (won’t = will not) what’s up with that then? now i am really confused. Explain to me how that is logical, and i will spell it “y’all”, however, until then…i do as english tells me to, think of it really messed up, and go with it. As well, i am a west texan, born and raised, and we spell it “ya’ll” usually, so it could be a regional thing as well.
* not all ‘ replace one single letter, that is just the majority…
** also, i am figuring out php/mysql combination for site creation on-the-fly, as i like to say, so its cool to see what you do with it. (i am Chris’ nephew, if you remember me…)
In my native Alabama it’s considered one of the cardinal sins of the South to misspell y’all. Of COURSE it’s y’all! The apostrophe simply replaces the missing letter(s), as in “He should’ve reviewed his rules of contractions.” And what Yankee says y’all? It’s “you guys” to them!
I have abandoned my hick ways, and I now refuse to use the contraction at all. After all, “you” is perfectly acceptable as a plural pronoun.
Of course it’s y’all. The contraction simply goes in the space of the missing “o” and “u” from you all. I also have the answer for the “won’t” question posted above. Years ago the verb will was irregularly spelled. It was sometimes spelled wil, wille, wol, or wolle. This was common in the late Medieval period. For some reason the word became standard as will, but the contraction remained won’t. It simply used the “o” vowel from wol or wolle. It has even been spelled willn’t. However there is still some confusion because it seems that won’t should have two apostrophes since the “ll” and the “o” are left out!
I’m a Texan as well and I was raised to spell it ya’ll. I really don’t who is right. The English and Spanish teacher, or me. :)
I humbly yield for your consideration that the rules of grammar do apply to contrived words of diction, such as “ya’ll”. Colloquially speaking, “ya’” is what we may say in conversation to represent “you”. “Ya’ll” is a contraction of the two words, “ya’” and “all”. The formal standard rule, where the apostrophe represents dropped letters or words, will apply.
Don’t let those Yankees, influence your proper Southern orthography and lingo. This is a Dialect-able Dilemma!
“Y’all” or “Ya’ll” does not stand for “ya all”. It stands for “you all”. If you don’t believe me look it up in an English text book. And what’s up with spelling it “ya’ll”? You’re putting parts of the words “you” and “all” together. Why would you break up a word if you were going to use all the letters in the word? So, it’s clearly “y’all” because the apostrophe takes the place of the “o” and the “u” in the word you.
It’s y’all. You all. Ya’ll would suggest that, not only did the apostrophe take the places of the ‘ou’, but it also seperated the word ‘all’. We all know an apostrophe isn’t powerful enough for that. Now a semicolon… THAT is powerful. Ya;ll? Maybe. ;)
Wrong. It’s a phonetic approximation, not a contraction. Remember all the English teachers who said it wasn’t a word? It’s not. You can’t contract a pronoun with an adjective. It’s an attempt to spell a sound, not a grammatically correct word. Ya’ll is right. Y’all is screwed up on many levels.
Actually, a phonetic approximation would be used if we were trying to teach someone how to pronounce the phrase utilizing sounds that they are already comfortable with. Y’all at it’s most basic form is a contraction. It utilizes an apostrophe to merge two words. Now, while using y’all in a written statement may be improper, it is indeed a word. Your teachers were wrong to state that it is not a word. They should have said it is not an acceptable word for your papers. ;) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition provides a nice definition and history of the word:
I’m a Yankee, from Buffalo, NY. I’ve had relatives in TN & OK since I was a little green Yank.
I have been using “y’all” for many years because it does make a distinction between “you” plural and “you” singular. If I understand correctly, that’s what this is all about. I also prefer the way “y’all” makes a sentence much smoother. Some Yanks say that using “y’all” makes one sound unlearned. I laugh in their general direction. So, one fine day, I said “screw impressions” and just began to use it regularly. As you know, “you guys”, or even worse, “yous guys”, is the form used up here. I still tend to use “you guys” occasionally but using “guys” as a general reference to both genders sounds crass to me.
The spelling I have always used, which I concocted from my own snow-covered brain, is “y’all”. I thought it must be a contraction of “you” and “all”. But, last month, I married a very fine woman from Dallas. In emails with her daughter, I noticed that the daughter spelled it “ya’ll”. I figgered that it must be the proper spelling because, who am I to say? I decided that maybe it’s a contraction of “ya” and “all”. But I was still uncertain, so that’s why I searched out this website.
I see the point in most of the comments above and that leaves me undecided about which I should use. At this point, it’s a flip of a coin or two. But my decision is based sillyly on the heading at the top of this page. The “Y’all” just looks better to me. The word is more symmetrical that way.
Seems us Texans are the ones who spell it ya’ll all the time, and other folks, i.e. non-Texans, spell it y’all.
Ya’ll have a nice day
it’s ya’ll … if you’re so bent on contractions please explain couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t, can’t, shan’t, shalln’t, willn’t and won’t ….
Concurring with Jacob, the “ya’ll” form keeps with the Southern dialect of using “ya” rather than “you”. There’s a reason why Dubya has this nickname (instead of Doubleyou). Those of ya’ll citing dictionaries and English textbooks as the gospel need to check out where they’re published – sure ain’t here in Carolina….
Here in South Carolina, we spell it ya’ll. I do have a few friends in NC who spell it y’all, but that just looks wrong to me.
There both right just depends on whether your Southern Speaker or a Northern speaker
Autumne is correct. “Ya” is commonly used in many southern dialects. Being born and raised in the south it is commonly spelled “ya’ll”. Personally I think it best that we southerners educate others on our own dialectual colloquialisms. Thanks ya’ll!
It’s interesting to see the back-and-forth on the debate over the last five years. Given that there is division within similar regions and states, the eternal debate rages on.
I have yet to hear a fellow Texan or any Southerners use the longer version implied by some commenters of “ya all”. We may say “catch ya later” or “see ya”, but the vast majority of the time that’s a reference to a single individual, not a group.
I stick by my original post – it’s y’all.
So every couple years this comes up in conversation for me and enters my consciousness to the point that I feel compelled to look it up and find what others are thinking on the subject.
With nods to many, I’ll throw my lot in with Brady and Autumne, who I think was most eloquent, and decidedly more brief than I will be capable of being, to her credit. My thoughts on the subject tended toward exactly her argument before I even made it that far down the board.
For the record, I am most currently a Portlander, in Oregon (pronounced “OR-i-gun”, incidentally, for you Northeasterners and Midwesterner who might think otherwise)…To the point, however, I am a native Floridian, and one who was taught in a Catholic primary school. As such, I possess a fairly unique combination of Southern gentility and grammatical correctness. Further, I am also by training an engineer, and therefore one who despises errors and embraces logic and rules.
If you’ve not yet gone back to see what Brady and Autumne had to submit, you’re likely mistaken at this point in what you think my take is…So, read up, ya’ll!
Whether by understanding or saying so directly, several entries above have implied one thing on which we can probably all agree: that language (and spelling) evolves and changes, and that this change occurs, both in the written and spoken forms, through the vernacular.
Now the word “ain’t” is one similar in many ways to the one being discussed. Most notably, it is a contraction (of “am not,” according to dictionary.com) which is certainly a word, albeit one not commonly accepted as “proper” for formal use. Still, in this case we all know how to spell the word, despite it being resistant to our “rules” for contractions. Another, “shan’t,” is referenced twice in posts above. Short for “shall not,” I still remember the morning almost thirty years back when Sister Anne, the pricipal, came into the second-grade classroom and stumped us with this one.
One of the “rules” we’d been taught was that the apostrophe indeed was there to note the (one) absent letter.* As noted by others above, many words do not follow this rule, but if we attempt to follow it in contracting to either “y’all” or “ya’ll,” then it is Autumne’s argument alone that fits the rule.
My point is that following the rules only gets one so far, and in many cases will leave one with an incorrect answer. I submit, humbly, that the vernacular, in cases such as this one being discussed, is the best guide, and I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that, where I grew up, the common, agreed upon spelling of the form was “ya’ll,” rules be damned.
I would not presume to correct anyone else from a different area (where the word was also used) on the matter, for some seem to support the alternate spelling, and with good argument. I would, however, warn those who think the answer is obvious, and flatly label their objectors as wrong, that their overconfidence is self-limiting. Especially careful, I think, should be those Northern souls who never spoke the word in common language.
Thanks to Alex for keeping this thread alive (it’s 12/08 right now), even if we might not see eye to eye.
*interesting footnote from dictionary.com on the very word in question: “y”all …1909, U.S. dial. abbreviation of you all (see you)”…note the two apostrophes denoting the TWO contracted letter. Also note that the hundred-year-old origin given for a word does not detract from my belief that the evolved vernacular is the strongest factor in deciding what is correct (i.e. for better or worse, common usage becomes correct usage, even if it is not or was not as some previous time).
** From the same source (methinks) that Alex quoted the regional note (dictionary.com) the conclusion edited out is interesting, especially (perhaps) for those dear Yankee readers here intrigued: “In addition to y’all, other forms for plural you include you-uns, youse, and you guys or youse guys. Youse is common in vernacular varieties in the Northeast, particularly in large cities such as New York and Boston, and is also common in Irish English. You-uns is found in western Pennsylvania and in the Appalachians and probably reflects the Scotch-Irish roots of many European settlers to these regions. You guys and youse guys appear to be newer innovations than the other dialectal forms of plural you. See Note at you-uns.” My father, who grew up in Pittsburgh, occasionally spoke “you-uns”, although I’m sure I’ve seen it spelled “you’ns”; likewise, “youse guys” was spelled “yous guys” just in this very thread. Perhaps yous guys could have yerselves a similar discussion??
Dearest Alex you must reconsider your stand… go to the State Fair of Texas and you will see the proper/correct spelling on our farewell sign “Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?”…
Ok, honestly I didn’t read all the post, but enough to get a general consensus…
What it boils down to (I am a Texan, proudly as well) is, proper “ain’t” got a thing to do with it. :D It’s a southener word, made by southeners. Who’s going to tell who how to spell it. When you make up a word, who’s to say what is proper. The english didn’t produce it, the yankees (no offense) didn’t produce it, we did. In agreement as to what would be a proper contraction would be a good argument, unless you revert back to what I originally said. We made it, we spell it, that’s proper spelling.
As a side note, my brother (Texan also) and I have disagreed for yrs on proper spelling, but I have to remind him he lived up north for a long time, and he’s forgiven. :P
Born and raised in Texas and I have always spelled it ya’ll (as in ya all). I think it is right either way but prefer the Texas spelling.
Just got beaten up on another website for having the nerve to spell it ya’ll, which is what my Oklahoma mother taught me. Was so glad to find some authority here that even Dolly and The Texas State Fair concur. I vote for ya’ll: ya (a complete, if dialectical form of you) with the apostrophe replacing only the ‘a’ in all.
Ya’ll !
–Columbus, Ohio
I am a born-and-raised Texan, and proud of it. I have always spelled it ‘y’all’. I was never specifically taught how to spell the word, but after second grade grammar, common sense told me that the apostrophe went between the ‘y’ and the ‘a’, replacing the ‘ou’ in ‘you’ to create the contraction of ‘y’all’ between the words ‘you’ and ‘all’.
And I believe an apostrophe can replace two letters in a contraction, such as in ‘She’ll’, ‘He’ll’, and ‘We’ll’ (In all of these, the apostrophe replaces both the ‘w’ and the ‘i’ in ‘will’)
I’m no english teacher, but I try to pay attention in class. :) Personally, I believe it is spelled y’all. ‘Ya’ll’ cuts the term in half, and personally, when I read it out loud, it sounds weird. And once again, the grammar I learned when I was seven comes back and ‘y’all’ meets the rules of grammar where ‘ya’ll’ does not.
Well, there’s my two cents. :)
Well, there are my two cents.
I am from South Mississippi. I have always spelled it y’all, because after learning in grade school about contractions, it just made sense. Even if you separate it by “ya” and “all”, which some posters have tried to do, “ya” is short for “you”…that means it is still “you” and “all”, there is just no way around it. But it does seem to be that most Texans spell it ya’ll and everyone else spells it right! :-)
Y’all is a contraction of “you” and “all” while ya’ll is a contraction for “ya” (you) and “will” as in “Ya’ll like it.” If you think about it,why would u break the word “all” like that? Putting the “a” before “ll” makes no sense at all,y’all. And to say that “ll” is a contraction of “all” makes less sense. That would mean the the word “we’ll” would mean “we all” so that when you say “we’ll see y’all”, that would be like saying “we all will see you all”. Does that make sense? I think not. And,no offense to y’all yankees,but y’all don’t know what y’all are talking about. Just my thoughts on it. Y’all come on down south,but if you don’t like it here,there’s a bus,train or car leaving town headed back north. Leave your money,but you can go.
I am 72 years old and was born, raised, and still live in rural Georgia. Frankly, I don’t give a damn what the grammarians say or write. It’s ya’ll.
LOL Mr.C….I am with ya on that. I am from Mississippi and it is spelled y’all as far as I am concerned. I do see it spelled both ways alot though. So I say just spell it like you want to. Y’all come back now…ya hear?
I think its a regional thing. But- I also dont consider Texans “SOUTHERN” either- thats the midwest….. From the responses (with a couple exceptions) I gather most that said y’all is the proper spelling are from the TRUE SOUTH!!!!!
Now, pardon me- but i’m going to sit on my porch, sip my sweet tea and yell “Hey y’all” to my neighbors!!!! HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
I’m glad you agree with me Kristy, though I take issue with your categorization of Texas as the Midwest. Missouri is typically the furthest south of any Midwest state and given Oklahoma isn’t included in that label, I think Texas doesn’t qualify either.
If you want to separate the Texas from the rest of the southern US, you could label states like Georgia, Florida and Alabama the Deep South and just call us Texas.
Y’all – “you all” – [pronounced “yawl”]
example: “Do y’all wanna go out for some drinks tonight?”
Ya’ll – “you will” – [pronounced “yuhl”]
example: “We’ll get there around 9, ya’ll meet us there.”
I’ve lived in Texas my whole life- between College Station and Austin. All’a my teachers tried to instill that this is the way that things are supposed to be done. The Texas state fair sign simply implies that you WILL go back— it’s a statement through question and shows the typical Texas Ego.
I’m always shocked when I hear somebody say “All’a y’all,” … All of you all? Okay.
But this is a tender subject for Texans– we’re very hardheaded and don’t like hearing that we’re wrong. Everywhere else [in the south] that I’ve seen it in public, it’s y’all. Maybe it has something to do with our rebellious nature.
Hi! I am from New Orleans and I have always used Ya’ll! I came across your site in search of the same answer since I really had no idea what the correct spelling was. I grew up spelling it this way and really thought that was the right way. Now I know, but out of habit will still spell it this way.
Who cares how its spelled, everyone knows exactly what you mean when you say it! heck, just forget it and say YOU-UNS, or Yuns like I do here in Tennessee! LOL!!!