WEBVTT - Could 'Y'all' Fill a Gap in Modern English?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brainstud a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>volbebam here. The term y'all is as ubiquitous in the

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<v Speaker 1>American South as boiled peanuts, college football, and kudzu climbing

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<v Speaker 1>the trees. If it were possible to hold a giant

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<v Speaker 1>microphone over the entire region right this minute, y'all would

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<v Speaker 1>probably be drowning out all the other words. It's as

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<v Speaker 1>Southern as grits, and as smooth and sweet as soft

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<v Speaker 1>butter on a warm biscuit. And it's inclusive. Y'all means

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<v Speaker 1>you all, and thus doesn't exclude anyone based on their

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<v Speaker 1>gender or class. Could this humble contraction turn out to

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<v Speaker 1>be the efficient second person plural pronoun the English lexicon

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<v Speaker 1>has long been waiting for. Of course, English has a

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<v Speaker 1>second person singular pronoun you, useful for addressing a solitary person,

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<v Speaker 1>but unlike other languages, modern English doesn't have a word

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<v Speaker 1>you can use to address a group of people. Back

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<v Speaker 1>in the day, ye was used as in hear ye,

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<v Speaker 1>hear ye, meaning listen up, y'all, or come all, ye faithful,

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<v Speaker 1>but it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue in these

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<v Speaker 1>are modern times, hey ye who has the Wi Fi password?

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<v Speaker 1>Sounds stilted. English speakers can colloquially bend the singular you

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<v Speaker 1>to apply to groups. Let's say you're getting ready to

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<v Speaker 1>leave a restaurant with your family or a few friends.

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<v Speaker 1>You could say you ready to go to the table

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<v Speaker 1>at large, and it would be understood that you were

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<v Speaker 1>addressing them collectively. But that's not super precise. So a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of speakers have adopted phrases or contractions to pluralize you,

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<v Speaker 1>like you guys around America use in the Northeast, and

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<v Speaker 1>Yann's in Pittsburgh specifically, then you lot around Britain and

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<v Speaker 1>Ala in the Caribbean, and then there is y'all for

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<v Speaker 1>the article. This episode is based on hast To Works

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<v Speaker 1>spoke via email with linguist Paul E. Read, PhD. Of

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Alabama. He explained that in the past

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<v Speaker 1>you was actually plural the now archaic thou was the

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<v Speaker 1>second person singular, but somewhere along the line, thou fell

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<v Speaker 1>away and you became singular, thus forcing English speakers of

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<v Speaker 1>different dialects to come up with their own ways of

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<v Speaker 1>pluralizing it. For a long time, now you guys has

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<v Speaker 1>been the dominant turn of phrase in most places when

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<v Speaker 1>addressing two or more people, but because guys is inherently masculine,

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people have been looking for an alternative that's

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<v Speaker 1>more inclusive. Of course, some feminine and non binary humans

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<v Speaker 1>don't mind guys, and that's cool too. How a person

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<v Speaker 1>would prefer to be addressed is up to them, but

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<v Speaker 1>it is a small easy thing to attempt to not

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<v Speaker 1>exclude anyone with your language, and certainly to change your

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<v Speaker 1>language if someone asks you to in that way. Y'all

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<v Speaker 1>has mosied its way across America and around the globe

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<v Speaker 1>as far as Australia. It's been picked up by everyone

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<v Speaker 1>from CEOs to queer advocacy groups. Since I moved to Atlanta,

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<v Speaker 1>I've certainly picked up the word and gotten ribbed by

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<v Speaker 1>my northern family a bit for using it. But where

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<v Speaker 1>did this jewel of a word that's easy to use

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<v Speaker 1>and flat out fun to say come from? It turns

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<v Speaker 1>out the exact origins of y'all are a tadhard to

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<v Speaker 1>pin down. Reid said. Some of the earliest attestations of

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<v Speaker 1>y'all come from English poetry in the eighteenth century, and

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<v Speaker 1>there are some possible attestations in the seventeenth century. It

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't appear very common, and it could have reflected certain

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<v Speaker 1>usages and was available also to fit the poetic meter.

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<v Speaker 1>There's about a century of distance between the English attestations

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<v Speaker 1>and the first American attestations in the eighteen twenties. In

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<v Speaker 1>the US, it was primarily a Southern US usage. Some

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<v Speaker 1>have theorized that it had the English you all origin,

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<v Speaker 1>and also was supported by the Scott's Irish term y'all,

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<v Speaker 1>which basically means the same thing you all. Once it

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<v Speaker 1>was in use, y'all has often been disparaged as it

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<v Speaker 1>made its way to regions beyond the South via caricatures

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<v Speaker 1>like the Beverly Hillbillies and musical genres like old school country,

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<v Speaker 1>hip hop and R and B, spreading from the ground

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<v Speaker 1>up for decades a Many linguists agree that y'all's current

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<v Speaker 1>assent and acceptance is fruit born of the grassroots dialogue

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<v Speaker 1>that's taken the word from social media into the mainstream.

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<v Speaker 1>Reid said the current embracing has emerged from a desire

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<v Speaker 1>to use non gendered and inclusive language. Since you guys

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<v Speaker 1>literally started out to mean only a group of men

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<v Speaker 1>even though many folks don't use it in a gendered way.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people want to use a term that's non gendered

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<v Speaker 1>in any way, y'all already had fairly wide usage and

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<v Speaker 1>was there to spread. Depending on how you define the South.

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<v Speaker 1>You're talking about tens of millions of users across roughly

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen states, as well as folks from the South who

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<v Speaker 1>moved and the great migrations African Americans and Appalachians, which

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<v Speaker 1>took Southern language practices to many other places. So y'all

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<v Speaker 1>was known further the South, and its language practices are

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<v Speaker 1>often considered friendly and polite. And you can make slogans

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<v Speaker 1>like y'all means all if you haven't heard that one.

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<v Speaker 1>It's been picked up by groups like the Southern Poverty

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<v Speaker 1>Law Center and the Human Rights Campaign since the early

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenties to indicate solidarity amongst different justice and equality

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<v Speaker 1>movements in the South and beyond, and has even made

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<v Speaker 1>its way into country pop songs. It's a good slogan.

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<v Speaker 1>I dare say that y'all is for all y'all. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article y'all Isn't just for

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<v Speaker 1>Southerners Anymore? On how stuffworks dot com, written by Kerry Tatrow.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>how stuffworks dot com and is produced by Tyler Plang.

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<v Speaker 1>But four more podcasts from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.