Thant Tessman  <thant@acm.org> wrote:
+---------------
| Richard C. Cobbe wrote:
| > I do note, however, that you spelled the second-person plural pronoun
| > correctly.  I'm glad that I was able to accomplish *something* while I was
| > at Rice.  :-)
| 
| Minor correction: "y'all" is second-person singular. The second-person 
| plural pronoun is actually "all y'all."
+---------------

*BZZZT!*  Not in north Alabama or Georgia (including Atlanta), where
Richard's comment is correct and second-person singular is simply "you".

The phrase "all y'all" is reserved for the rare case where there might
be ambiguity about exactly who is being included in the target group.
For example, if you're standing around the water cooler talking with
a group containing both close friends and less-close acquaintances,
you might say to your friends, "Why don't y'all come over to Chastain
Park on Sunday and listen to that new band that's playin'?" Only if
you're feeling particularly expansive might you then add, addressing
the entire group, "In fact, why don't *all* y'all come, too?"


-Rob

-----
Rob Warnock			<rpw3@rpw3.org>
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