Y'all Don't Know What You're Missin'

            One of my favorite Mitch Hedberg jokes goes like this: When I play the South, they say "y'all" in the South. They take out the "O" and the "U". So when I'm in the South I try to talk like that so people understand me. "Hello, can I have a bowl of chicken noodle s-p? Come on, I'm in the South, you understand. I mean I'm in the S-th, and I want some s-p!" "I stubbed my toe, -ch!" "I need to lay down on the c-ch!" "I need to get the f*** -t of the S-th!" (Mitch All Together (2003), track 14, "Mitch in the S'th")

            Now, Mitch is not the only one that makes fun of my home region for its infamous “y’all”, and although I find this joke hilarious, I beg to differ. The South is often seen as backwards, years behind the industrial north, but in reality, it’s advanced. We have a word that solves English speakers’ pronoun problems; it functions on a higher level and finally answers that annoying question of how to pluralize “you” without being confusing, inaccurate, or sounding ridiculous. How many times have you tried to write something formal, be it an email, letter, or college paper, and struggled with the “you” plural? How many times have you incorrectly addressed a group of men and women as “you guys”? The South has done it right.

            Other languages have already figured out that a specific word for multiple “you” makes sense. I remember discovering German’s ihr in high school and being ecstatic that we in Atlanta, Georgia were the ones doing things like other countries – we were the global ones. This discovery was affirmed with my study of the Italian language and my exposure to the Spanish language, French, and Arabic.

            Upon further reflection, especially during my study of linguistics, I realized that the South is not the only one with the plural “you.” My grandma’s Pittsburghese “youns”, “yinz,” and Northeastern “youz guys” have figured it out as well. This is fascinating, especially from a sociolinguistic standpoint. Maybe we as English speaker don’t have the plural you because in general, the American and English individualistic society focuses more on the individual. However, the plural has popped up in the places of the United States where community is historically very important (usually due to isolation or poverty): the immigrant communities of the Northeast and western Pennsylvania, Chicago, and the South. I argue continuously with my students and foreign friends that America does have a culture (to be diverse), and within that there are several strong cultures and proud communities, one of the most prevalent being that of the Southeast. Case in point: The South was one of the poorest and largest communities, and is also the best known (and most made fun of) for its y’all.

            Not only does it make linguistic sense, but it’s just more friendly. Someone says y’all and you (excuse me, y’all) feel warm, fuzzy, and a part of a welcoming group.  Who doesn’t watch Steel Magnolias and love the ladies and their sweet southern accents? And although in my opinion Paula Dean, bless her heart, overuses the phrase (not to mention butter) for marketing purposes, she still gives you that mamma/grandmamma feeling that you can only get from that word. “Yinz” doesn’t cultivate that same feeling in me, but I think if I were raised elsewhere it might.

             I hold a graduate degree in the Applied Linguistics and TESOL, and yet I refuse to let go of my y’all. In fact, I advocate that we all adopt a form of the plural you. Y'all don't know what you're missing. The freedom of being able to easily call a group of people by a pronoun that makes sense is liberating. Come on Standard English, catch up! You’ve got a whole region two steps ahead of you!

Have any of y’all had experiences with the plural you? What do you think?