You, ye, yis, y'all

SoapAlchemist

SoapAlchemist

Joined
Sunday September 6, 2009
Coming from Ireland, where in Dublin it was normal to say 'yis' for 2nd person plural, and 'down the country 'ye' was common, I totally relate to the American (in parts) 'Y'all'.
Am I the only person still missing a proper identifiable 2nd person plural? I really can't imagine why it seems to have wasted away in English English - it is so often needed.
 
Oh missus, I was away looking at daft plants there and now I'm all confuddled. To be sure and I am now. English usually gets round it by using phrases like "You lot" which, when I was at school and one of the 'lot', usually had the adjective "bloody" inserted. You two, you three, etc. I could be talking rubbish again though.....

Youse or something like it is still widely yoused round here. Geddit?
 
I come from the Wirral... which sounds quite scouse to untrained ears. I found the word changed as you went up that side of the Mersey... from Birkenhead to Ellesmere Port... from yous (yews) as mentioned above, to youse (yoose... to rhyme with noose)

Anyway, I've lived in Yorkshire for 25 years... when I go back to the Wirral it all sounds funny to me... tha knows!
 
Dear oh! dear! Clearly, having invaded and painted most of the world pink has not had desired effect! We even seem to have imported some grammatical horrors! If there is any doubt, I address all before me, including the pair of you.
 
The more correct way of identifying the 2nd person plural is to add a pro-noun such as...

'Oi you 'w**kers'
or
'hey, you little feckers'.

The grammar is correct and no need to make up a new word.
 
There are a few options in local dialects.

1. Y'all
Used primarily in the Southern US, this is a shortening of the phrase "you all," which is also used in its full form as a plural address. It may have been introduced to America by Ulster Scots immigrants who used the phrase "ye aw." Y'all also has a possessive form, as in, "How was y'all's day?"

2. Yinz
This one is a hallmark of the dialect known as "Pittsburghese." People who speak this dialect are referred to as "yinzers."

3. You-uns
Yinz originates from this form, also used in the Ohio River Valley around Pittsburgh. It's a shortening of "you ones," a usage that goes as far back as Chaucer.

4. You Guys
In the parts of the U.S. where they don't use "y'all," they use "you guys" instead, as shown on the map above.

5. You Lot
The "you guys" of Britain.

6. Yous/Youse
This one is found all over the English-speaking world, from Ireland to South Africa, to New Zealand, to New Jersey. It makes a lot of sense. How do you make something plural? Add an 's'!

7. Ye
When English had a plural form back in the Renaissance, this was it. It is still used in Ireland.

8. Super Plurals
Sometimes a plural is simply not plural enough. That's when it's time to pull out "yees," "all y'all," and "youse guys."
 
Entertaining, and thanks to all. But what I want is a legal grammatically correct way to say 'yis'; which ASTONISHINGLY is not in the Chambers dictionary!!!! Not to mention 'yisser'. Ah, how the women of Dublin's crys of 'Yisser dinner's ready' still ring in my ears. And the late child couldn't say 'Oh, I thought you were calling [insert sibling name].'
How cumbersome for a mother to have to lean out of the window and scream 'The dinner of all of you is ready' or 'All of your dinners are ready'.
Nothing will convince me that the loss of the plural 'you' has been anything but a retrograde step. All forms should be immediately incorporated into the school curriculum, and tested at GCSE and A level.
 
I teach at a college in Japan. I think I'll tell my students about the plural of you being yous, because they might well hear it in many places!
 
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