a question of spelling preference

[keryx]

[Poll #1302360]

I've been told this is a US regional issue, but aside from a few people from Canada, the Northeast US and Louisiana who use the second, freakier spelling ("ya'll" - what's that, a contraction of "ya" and "all"?), most everyone else seems to use the other.

Comments

[zorah.livejournal.com]

the contraction is of 'you all' - obviously, as when a Southern Mama is mad at her kids she actually draws it out into its full form.

"I TOLD YOU ALL TO STOP JUMPING ON THE BED!"

[chubbyninja.livejournal.com]

seems to me that the second answer would be correct if you were trying to contract the entire phrase "you all will" and didn't want to say "y'all'll"

"If y'all can line up right over there against the wall, ya'll be issued a bullet to the brain for trying to push your fancy book-learning upon our children."

in which I try to demostrate that I learned something about grammar

[luguvalium.livejournal.com]

My Virginia raised Latin teach explained it this way:

In English since the 2nd person singular and 2nd person plural is both you it can occasionally be confusing which one is intended. Thus y'all is actually more specific than standard english for 2nd person plural.

Only later when I took French (and going to Quaker meeting) did I learn historically the 2nd person singular had been thou or ye but was replaced by you due to some Norman court fashion thing, like the "royal We"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-V_distinction#English
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluralis_Majestatis

Now if I could actually speak those languages...

[quietdeath.livejournal.com]

All ya'll makin this too damn complicated.

[peregrin8.livejournal.com]

It's y'all.

And the plural is all y'all.

[drownophelia.livejournal.com]

y'all or yall. my understanding, via dorothy allison, as they word is a technical contraction common to a type of southern dialect that frequently drops many other ends-of-words (ridin, doin, sexin, somethin), the apostrophe is option. also i learned it's aint not ain't; no use in properly contracting improper english, ms allison taught me.

haha

[(Anonymous)]

as an oklahoman and a text junkie, i can tell you its ya'll.