Thursday, November 26, 2009

My You-Plural

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Incidentally, I'm starting to come around on the various plurals of "you." Incorrect though they may be, they do add efficiency. I actually prefer "yous" to "y'all," but for some reason it sounds a little awkward to end a sentence with it (though even if one were wishing a singular person a happy holiday, one wouldn't put "you" after a direct address comma to conclude the benediction).

So here's what I propose (and I know it's complicated, but so is the rest of our language):

1) When ending a sentence addressed to a group, a folksy Southern "y'all" is correct.
e.g.) "Happy Thanksgiving, y'all"
2) In the middle of the sentence, a hearty Northeastern "yous" is correct.
e.g.) "What do yous want?"
3) When beginning a sentence, "y'all" is correct, unless addressing a named group of people, in which case "yous" becomes the modifier.
e.g.) "Y'all come back now!" and "Y'all want some lemonade?" as opposed to "Yous guys are good people" or "Yous congressional leaders need to stop acting like children."

So...what do yous readers think?

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