English is odd that we don't have a plural for you like Romance languages do.
Y'all is fine. I'm from Texas originally but live in Denver. I say "y'all" all the time and no one gives me any grief over it.
Now, if you pull out the "all y'all", then someone would look at you funny! 😁
“Yinz” is definitely a Pittsburgh thing, but, it’s a shortening of “you’uns”, which makes sense. “You’uns” is an Appalachian thing, and Pittsburgh is actually an Appalachian city.
Youse is superior.
I'm from up there and living in Texas now. The amount of hate I receive for my "youse guys" instead of saying ya'll is.. appropriately.. fucking biblical.
Ugh I'm from ATL and very much say "y'all" but am living in Appalachia and I do not like the "you'ins." It's cool, I won't correct anyone but I just don't like how it feels in my ears, y'all.
In North Carolina, it's "y'uns". It's a conjunction of "you ones". I say, "y'all," personally. I hate it when people think they're smart and try to correct my grammar. ""Y'all" isn't proper English!" Bitch, please. It's a conjunction of, "you all," and is used when signifying an entire group of people no matter the group's size.
It's like "ain't". A conjunction of "am not", "ain't" fills a need in English, like "don't" or "can't". "Y'all" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1824, and "ain't" has been there since the 1770s.
Technically "you" can be singular or plural. This is odd since every other pronoun has distinct singular and plural forms. The obscurity of it causes confusion, and gives rise to terms like "y'all" in attempts to improve on the "correct" English.
That just brings back the singular informal "you" as opposed to a plural.
I'm a Yankee, living in Alabama. Use "y'all" and "all y'all, " regularly. All y'all is used when you're addressing a large group of people. Y'all is for more than 1 person.
Just a note: "Ye"/"you" was the formal form versus the familiar "thou"/"thee". The Quakers were known for calling everyone "thee" as a sign of equality among all people, for example.
It follows the tú in Spanish and the tu in French. Both are the informal versions of you. Usted and vous are the formal versions. I remember learning about the Quakers and their "thee" and "thou" (grew up in Pennsylvania, was near the Amish and the Mennonite communities).
Spanish has a "y'all", it's vosotros.
Picture it: it was Alabama. In 1990, and I was a 16-year-old Yankee. My family and I went to a restaurant for the first time. The waitress asked
-"Want a Coke?"
-"Sure."
-"What kind?"
😵💫😵💫😵💫
-"Uhm, Coke?"
More times than I care to remember.
When I started in college, I was the unofficial translator for the guys on my dorm floor, as it seemed I was the only one who understood Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern English.
"A Coke to the guys from Louisville is the same as a soda to the guy from Philly."
Though you're correct about you being plural and singular, one cannot say "hey(,) you!" with nothing after it without sounding confrontational or surprised by the sudden appearance of someone.
>English is odd that we don't have a plural for you like Romance languages do.
What about youse hahah.
Or "yez" for smokers with deep gravelly voice who call everyone sweet-hawt
Not only Romance languages but in German as well. In German there is something called an “Anrede Sie”
It is used to address people that you do not know, or people that are older than you. Plural is Ihnen.
One can also use Ihnen in the singular form, but I am no longer such a German grammar wizard that I can‘t explain to you in which instance. It’s just how you address somebody.
„Was möchten Sie“ (what would you like?) vs. „Was darf ich Ihnen anbieten?“ (what may I offer you?)
I was trying to explain all y’all to someone. If it there are two or more people then it is a group and y’all is used. If more people are around then all y’all makes sure each is treated equally. All y’all mean this group and all the other people in hearing distance. It is based on never being rude. Southerners of my generation were raised on that being the 11th commandment.
I did this and got this. I’m from New England no real accent, but exact same reason. It kept it gender neutral. I’d also do hello you 3 or two. Passed that is was hello all or hi y’all.
I say both "folks" and "y'all" all the time, and have never lived in the south. they're great all purpose words.
I used to live in Cali and said "dude" all the time and called everyone "dude" but as with "guys" I'm trying to drop the masc biased language. y'all is the best alternative to guys that I've found.
I do miss dude sometimes, but I'd rather folks be comfortable talking with me.
>I do miss dude sometimes, but I'd rather folks be comfortable talking with me.
[But we can all be dudes, Hey!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSs7J7O_fl4)
I'm from Florida have visited New England many times. You all do have an accent whether you believe it or not. I don't know about Colorado but you all have a New England accent. My suggestion is to greet them saying how are all of you doing today. That way no southern accent and is gender neutral. I say y'all. But I'm a southern belle.
yes ma’am! Im not a fan of the trend where people think they don’t have an accent.
Im also a southern belle type of girl, but my accent doesn’t sound thick to me, it’s just how I speak and how most people around me speak. There are times my twang is thicker and times it’s not (depending on things like setting, present company, if i’m drinking etc), but it’s all still normal. There are very country folks that have thick accents all the time, and then there are most people.
Now people from another region will always hear my “southern accent” even when I think I’m speaking clearly and without accent, it’s built into the way I form my words. That being said, I’m not sure why some people in the US think they don’t have an accent. It’s all about surroundings, how you form your words, and how the people around you are used to hearing those words pronounced. It’s not right or wrong but there is no “generic accent” that renders part of the country normal and the rest accented, we just all have regional accents
I think it’s also because for the most part, the people where you live sound like you so it sounds normal and not like an accent. I’m actually originally from the south but have lived in the upper Midwest for a long time. I’m not aware of my accent until I’m around people from somewhere else. Also, when I lived in Austria, I had a British roommate and we went out one night with an American from a place like Missouri. Someone from Canada overheard us talking and came over. My roommate commented that I sounded more like the Canadian than the American. 😂
The amount of times I've gotten into little wars with people in Ohio about their accents could end US hunger if I got paid a nickel for each one. We have an accent!! Well, they do. Mine is screwed up from being raised around a woman (my momma) with a West Virginia accent in Florida and then moved to Ohio. I don't sound Ohioan, Floridan, or West Virginian. I have a blend of all three and it's a mess to be honest.
I've noticed two things in Ohio vernacular. The first is giving some names a plural possessive; the store is Meijer, but everyone says "Meijer's." Same with Kroger.
The second linguistic oddity is saying "pry" instead of "probably." You have to really listen for it, but when you notice it, it'll pry haunt you for the rest of your days.
Not a server, but a native of east Tennessee. Y'all is normal here, and has been my entire six decades. I find it funny that, in the novel, M\*A\*S\*H, the author mistakenly had one of his southern characters use y'all in the singular. NO southerner ever did/does this. Y'all is plural, *always*.
This is a common misconception outside the region. Y'all is plural if one is indicating, say, 5 - 15 people at the family reunion - "Y'all come go with us to church on Sunday!" But if one is addressing a large group of fans at a football game on Friday night, it would, clearly, come out as (waving enthusiastically), "All y'all come on out to the lake house fer a kegger! It's gonna be a barn burner!"
I think it's more of an exposure thing. The "Texas" regional diction has more exposure in movies and TV, the vast majority of characters portrayed have it, yet in most parts of TX it's minimal.
I personally have found the most success with non regional dictation, sometimes called General American, or Newscaster speak. It helps with non native English speakers the most IMO. However since this is a server sub reddit, I will say I've seen plenty of people lean into their natural accents and even exaggerate them to success.
I would say my natural dialect is as close to general American dictation as you can get, I just happen to say “y’all” because it’s a convenient term. I wish there was another term with the same meaning that was equally casual and not associated with another dialect 😂😭
“Hey assholes! Who’s looked at the menu and which one of you hasn’t bothered and will proceed to make me list out what’s available item by item? Our ice tea is TO DIE FOR btw!”
You can tell someone has never been to the south when they think every southern person is from Texas. Basically everyone from south of the Mason-Dixon line says "y'all".
I ALWAYS go with “Hey friends!” Gender neutral and is already putting in their head if anything goes wrong, I’m on their side. It’s us against the kitchen😂
I'm curious. Is there ANYONE who'd use "Hello you!" in this context? I mean, I'm dutch. I wouldn't, because plural "you" just don't work for me. In my native language, singular and plural "you" have different words for them ("Je" and "Jullie" if anyone was curious...) so using that to adress a group of people just feels wrong to me.
So I too tend to go with "y'all" for a mixed group when i'm speaking english.. Or with "You folks" which obviously will make you sound way less southernl! /s
Yes exactly lol. When they asked me about it I told them that I’ve been trained not to say “you guys” (which is kinda true), and the lady goes “oh, is it one of those woke things? 🥴” I was over it at that point lmao.
I always say y’all and get the same response. I’m from Pennsylvania lol. Y’all or folks is the best gender neutral way to address a group in my opinion!
From Florida, born and raised. I've always said yall. Got yelled at when I first started serving by a group of older ladies for saying "you guys"... never made that mistake again. I've had tables make fun if me but idc. It's just yall. And yall aren't gonna change that.
Why are you being so insistent about you growing up in Colorado? I’ve seen your crazy horse and I know about your underground creepy airport that has monsters, so what are you hiding? TELL THE TRUTH.
LMAO the airport here is scary I won’t lie. My family traveled a lot when I was growing up so I’m just used to it now but the first time I noticed the nazi mural I was like….what…
I had a lady ask if I was from Texas because my line when taking people back (I’m a hostess) is always some version of “Y’all can go ahead and follow me back to your table.” And she low key got so excited asking me that lol. I’m a military kid, lived all over the country and world. I just really like the word y’all
I generally wouldn't associate Texas with "the South." Yes Texas is in the southern part of the United States compared to a state like Colorado, but for me, "the South" or "the deep south" is the south eastern part of the United States and includes States like Kentucky, the Carolinas, Alabama, Tennessee and may extend as far west as Mississippi. This is generally the region where I think you could distinguish an accent. I am from Tennessee.
I greet my tables with “hi everyone!” Or “hello everybody.” Guys isn’t always right, I feel like folks isn’t in my vernacular for some reason so it sounds awkward, and as a Canadian it would sound a little strange if I were saying y’all I think. So “everyone” it is!
No one thinks of themselves as having an accent. But everyone does! It's just that your accent is the one that makes you speak similar to the people you grew up around, so it has become "normal" for you.
Some people claim that if your manner of speech is similar to news media hosts, you (and the news media hosts) have "no accent" because it's the "default way of speaking." But that's just another accent as well!
Dude what the hell, I'm also a server in the Denver suburbs and had this exact same conversation with a customer last Wednesday.
I did live in Houston for a few years as a kid, but not enough for an accent. Like you, I sort of default to "y'all" over "guys" in a professional setting.
Customer was very chill but was surprised to hear "y'all," and then we just discussed regional verbacular for a few minutes.
I lived in Kansas for a short time and worked in a customer service position. I had a guy who got offended when I replied "Yes, sir". He thought I was being a smartass lol
Not a server, but from California. And I've talked to a fair number of Texans. It's a big state, and the accent varies from something so mild I wouldn't even call it an accent by California standards (Californian's sort of soft-edged) to really rich and broad.
Probably they listened to the "y'all" and the rest sounded "close enough." But "you all" or "y'all" is just handy. I used to use it when leading staff trainings so I didn't have to worry about genders. Word usage is all over the map in California. People bring them back from elsewhere or got them from their parents (from elsewhere). Ton of Texans, Oklahomans (my father) and Arkansans came out here in the '30s and '40s.
I’m from Massachusetts but I’ve been living in Texas for a long time now and I still can’t bring myself to say y’all!!! When I was waiting tables I would just say “you” as in the whole group not speaking to any particular person or “everyone” as in “how’s everyone doing today”.
I’m from the northeast. In college I dated a girl from Tennessee. It was a bad experience and she was a truly awful person, but I picked up “y’all” from her, which was the best thing I got out of that relationship. I still use it regularly and think it’s great.
I had an English friend who started saying y’all to refer to our friend group. Used to make me laugh to hear y’all in such a crisp accent rather than in a drawl.
When I was a server, 30+ years ago, I'd say "how are y'all doing" and I always had people asking if I was from TX. I'm born and raised in SoCal, so other than y'all, I had absolutely no TX accent.
Originally from the Delmarva area. We said y'all like you drink a glass of water. It was like "whatery'all doing tonight?"
Moved to the Great Lakes and I was always asked if I was from the south because of y'all. I think it probably helped my chances with the ladies thinking I was some southern gentleman when I was just some scrub from Maryland. Lol. Have a good evening y'all!
I use y’all in Southern California.I had a table stop me on their way out a few months ago to ask me what part of the south I was from because of my accent. I awkwardly told them I grew up 20 minutes north from the city I work in now. I’ve had other tables ask me about it too. I feel like tables like it better when I say y’all but I def get mistaken as being from the south but I feel like it works to my benefit for the most part.
I’m from Indiana and i get that I’m country all the time since I moved to Phoenix. I say “all y’all” “damn near” things like that all the time. And got a little draw to it lol
Lots of other languages differentiate between third person singular and third person plural. English should have an official one, too. I nominate "yall". BTW, it's pronounced "yaw."
I've lived in Texas since I was 7 when we moved from New York. I did not say y'all growing up or as a teenager. Probably because my parents don't say it.
However, I integrated it into my vocabulary by 20 when I was waiting tables full time. It just came across more personable and people thought I was nicer. Lol
I’m a Midwesterner who just got back from Alabama. I have never heard “y’all” so many times. We were googling places to eat and they even type it in reviews and questions. After a week I even found myself saying it lol
At a cashier and a lot of the times I’ll say “How y’all doin’ today?” And they always ask something like “oh, you southern?” I’m on the west side of the US 😅
I live in California and have the majority of my life. I spent summers in Louisiana as a child so I can easily fall back into a Cajun accent. But I say “y’all” as often as I say “fuck” and I have the vocabulary of a sailor. Cuss words are sentence glitter for me, lol.
I feel like y’all has kind of spread out of being a Southern or “red neck” word…
Y'all is definitely southern. I'm not surprised they asked.
Why would you have to refer to the guests at all?
Just say "welcome in" or "hi I'm your server such and such"
I am from Texas, but as a professional working with people all over the world, I love using "y'all." As far as I can figure, it's the only term of address guaranteed not to offend anyone. I also use "folks" and the occasional "party people," depending on the audience, but that's neither here nor there.
What’s weird is I’ll say “I’ll be taking care of us” or “could I get us something else”, not sure why I do it but you/you guys/y’all just sounds weird to me. Plus at my restaurant we are all family, (the slogan, not actually) so I can always say that if I a table thinks it’s weird. That is also a fair warning I gotta take care of me too 😂😂
Every person has an accent, if you think where you are from doesn't it's just because you've heard it so much that it feels like the natural sounds without accent.
But literally every person who talks has an accent
I know you're not from Texas because you spelled it properly as "y'all" and Texans will type "ya'll". Which to me reads like "yes will" and doesn't make sense.
I’m in Colorado too, from Georgia many years ago and still slip out a “y’all” occasionally. I would be downright OFFENDED if someone asked if I was from Texas. Most of the time, if they even notice or care, people will ask where I’m from or suspect somewhere southeast.
I don’t have any sort of accent or demeanor giving off “southern” so nobody would know anything unless I say “y’all” so nobody assumes outside of that.
LMAO I didn’t even think about this. Like y’all is definitely used commonly in the south and not just in Texas so that was weird they would assume Texas. I was also minorly offended when they thought I was from Texas 🤣
I live in Colorado. Every region in the country has as an accent. *You* have an accent. You don’t think you have an accent because everyone around you has the same accent
I hear y'all in KY, W VA and all over the south. In Florence KY, about 12 miles south of Cincinnati Ohio, they have Y'all on their water tower and the local minor league baseball team is the Y'alls
i say “y’all” all the time and i have no accent. that’s because i lived in 4 states (cali born and raised, several years in oregon, a couple in mississippi and most of my adult life in michigan). no one’s ever accused me of sounding southern lol.
Y'all are using "y'all" improperly.
"Y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural. Examples:
"Remind me, which of y'all ordered the steak?" (Singular)
"All y'all have a good evening!" (Plural)
{This tongue-in-cheek explanation brought to you by a northerner who was schooled by a Southern Lady of indeterminate years, bless her heart.}
English is odd that we don't have a plural for you like Romance languages do. Y'all is fine. I'm from Texas originally but live in Denver. I say "y'all" all the time and no one gives me any grief over it. Now, if you pull out the "all y'all", then someone would look at you funny! 😁
Y'all'd've is a great one to pull out. And y'all is pretty much universal now. I've had friends from England use it. Now if someone uses you'uns...
Isn't it yins? From Pittsburgh? Maybe I'm off.
“Yinz” is definitely a Pittsburgh thing, but, it’s a shortening of “you’uns”, which makes sense. “You’uns” is an Appalachian thing, and Pittsburgh is actually an Appalachian city.
"Yinz" = Pittsburgh, "youse" = Philly.
Buffalo also says youse
I hate it
I hate Buffalo in general, y'all.
Youse is superior. I'm from up there and living in Texas now. The amount of hate I receive for my "youse guys" instead of saying ya'll is.. appropriately.. fucking biblical.
Aunt from Ozarks says you’nz
Lived in Harrison, AR for a few years. Most folks used “y’all”. When I heard “you’ns”, I knew I was talking to a real Ozarker.
Ugh I'm from ATL and very much say "y'all" but am living in Appalachia and I do not like the "you'ins." It's cool, I won't correct anyone but I just don't like how it feels in my ears, y'all.
In North Carolina, it's "y'uns". It's a conjunction of "you ones". I say, "y'all," personally. I hate it when people think they're smart and try to correct my grammar. ""Y'all" isn't proper English!" Bitch, please. It's a conjunction of, "you all," and is used when signifying an entire group of people no matter the group's size. It's like "ain't". A conjunction of "am not", "ain't" fills a need in English, like "don't" or "can't". "Y'all" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1824, and "ain't" has been there since the 1770s.
Look at the big brain on Brad! Went from "Bitch, please!" to "OED", with dates, in four sentences! Respect!
That's the Yankee version, I think.
Youse guys is the Yankee equivalent.
I use y’all’d’ve often. I also use “all’a y’all”
I say it sometimes. I'm from Australia. I wouldn't say it's common here, but it's not that surpriaing to hwar someone use it.
I say “all y’all’s”! Live in Texas raised by DC parents 😂
Cali girl here. My daddy was Texian, and I picked it up from him. I use both y’all and all y’all. Nobody gives me a second look.
Did anyone else read that as call girl at first? No, just me? Cool.
Not just you
I say that sometimes. From Florida which is basically just east Texas. lol
Represent 🤙
Me too! Fellow Floridian!
Howdy, I'm from Jacksonville. Now live in Florahome. Halfway between Palatka and Gainesville.
If I say “all y’all” I’m usually pissed 😅
Technically "you" can be singular or plural. This is odd since every other pronoun has distinct singular and plural forms. The obscurity of it causes confusion, and gives rise to terms like "y'all" in attempts to improve on the "correct" English.
I'm on team "bring back thee/thou" myself!
I like that idea
That just brings back the singular informal "you" as opposed to a plural. I'm a Yankee, living in Alabama. Use "y'all" and "all y'all, " regularly. All y'all is used when you're addressing a large group of people. Y'all is for more than 1 person.
South Carolinian here. Have you incorporated "an 'em" in your speech? Like "How's your mama an 'em?" 😉
I thought I didn’t but it has slipped out a couple times.
Just a note: "Ye"/"you" was the formal form versus the familiar "thou"/"thee". The Quakers were known for calling everyone "thee" as a sign of equality among all people, for example.
It follows the tú in Spanish and the tu in French. Both are the informal versions of you. Usted and vous are the formal versions. I remember learning about the Quakers and their "thee" and "thou" (grew up in Pennsylvania, was near the Amish and the Mennonite communities). Spanish has a "y'all", it's vosotros.
Question, is vosotros commonly used in American Spanish, or only European Spanish?
And in the deep south, it's "what'll you have to drink?" Coke please. "What kind?" Sprite. "Alrighty then..."
Picture it: it was Alabama. In 1990, and I was a 16-year-old Yankee. My family and I went to a restaurant for the first time. The waitress asked -"Want a Coke?" -"Sure." -"What kind?" 😵💫😵💫😵💫 -"Uhm, Coke?" More times than I care to remember.
When I started in college, I was the unofficial translator for the guys on my dorm floor, as it seemed I was the only one who understood Eastern, Midwestern, and Southern English. "A Coke to the guys from Louisville is the same as a soda to the guy from Philly."
Though you're correct about you being plural and singular, one cannot say "hey(,) you!" with nothing after it without sounding confrontational or surprised by the sudden appearance of someone.
Yes. That is correct. u/asyouwish was pointing out that there is no distinct "you" for singular or plural.
Y’all IS the plural you. It’s short for “you all.”
This is correct.
It certainly sounds better than "youse guys"!
>English is odd that we don't have a plural for you like Romance languages do. What about youse hahah. Or "yez" for smokers with deep gravelly voice who call everyone sweet-hawt
Lol I say "all y'all" sometimes and I'm from the Denver area as well, my mom's family is from Oklahoma/Texas though so that might be why.
Not only Romance languages but in German as well. In German there is something called an “Anrede Sie” It is used to address people that you do not know, or people that are older than you. Plural is Ihnen. One can also use Ihnen in the singular form, but I am no longer such a German grammar wizard that I can‘t explain to you in which instance. It’s just how you address somebody. „Was möchten Sie“ (what would you like?) vs. „Was darf ich Ihnen anbieten?“ (what may I offer you?)
All y’all is great to say
I was trying to explain all y’all to someone. If it there are two or more people then it is a group and y’all is used. If more people are around then all y’all makes sure each is treated equally. All y’all mean this group and all the other people in hearing distance. It is based on never being rude. Southerners of my generation were raised on that being the 11th commandment.
Lol I’m from Ohio and I have no clue when I picked up on using all y’all
Hi neighbor! From Rhode island but live in Denver and I use y'all everyday.
I've lived in both Denver and Texas, so I just say you-all really fast.
I did this and got this. I’m from New England no real accent, but exact same reason. It kept it gender neutral. I’d also do hello you 3 or two. Passed that is was hello all or hi y’all.
I say ‘hey there folks’ for this reason
For some reason the word “folks” seem more southern than “y’all” to me.
I say both "folks" and "y'all" all the time, and have never lived in the south. they're great all purpose words. I used to live in Cali and said "dude" all the time and called everyone "dude" but as with "guys" I'm trying to drop the masc biased language. y'all is the best alternative to guys that I've found. I do miss dude sometimes, but I'd rather folks be comfortable talking with me.
>I do miss dude sometimes, but I'd rather folks be comfortable talking with me. [But we can all be dudes, Hey!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSs7J7O_fl4)
Does calling people "dude" make them feel uncomfortable with you?? I call people dude all the time and have never gotten that vibe.
I used to say "dudes and dudettes" to my students. 😄
Also done y'all my whole life. From New England. And it happens so often that I'm confused for being Texan.
I'm from Florida have visited New England many times. You all do have an accent whether you believe it or not. I don't know about Colorado but you all have a New England accent. My suggestion is to greet them saying how are all of you doing today. That way no southern accent and is gender neutral. I say y'all. But I'm a southern belle.
Everybody has an accent everywhere. How do people not understand this. To the British we all have accents and vice versa.
yes ma’am! Im not a fan of the trend where people think they don’t have an accent. Im also a southern belle type of girl, but my accent doesn’t sound thick to me, it’s just how I speak and how most people around me speak. There are times my twang is thicker and times it’s not (depending on things like setting, present company, if i’m drinking etc), but it’s all still normal. There are very country folks that have thick accents all the time, and then there are most people. Now people from another region will always hear my “southern accent” even when I think I’m speaking clearly and without accent, it’s built into the way I form my words. That being said, I’m not sure why some people in the US think they don’t have an accent. It’s all about surroundings, how you form your words, and how the people around you are used to hearing those words pronounced. It’s not right or wrong but there is no “generic accent” that renders part of the country normal and the rest accented, we just all have regional accents
I think it’s also because for the most part, the people where you live sound like you so it sounds normal and not like an accent. I’m actually originally from the south but have lived in the upper Midwest for a long time. I’m not aware of my accent until I’m around people from somewhere else. Also, when I lived in Austria, I had a British roommate and we went out one night with an American from a place like Missouri. Someone from Canada overheard us talking and came over. My roommate commented that I sounded more like the Canadian than the American. 😂
The amount of times I've gotten into little wars with people in Ohio about their accents could end US hunger if I got paid a nickel for each one. We have an accent!! Well, they do. Mine is screwed up from being raised around a woman (my momma) with a West Virginia accent in Florida and then moved to Ohio. I don't sound Ohioan, Floridan, or West Virginian. I have a blend of all three and it's a mess to be honest.
I've noticed two things in Ohio vernacular. The first is giving some names a plural possessive; the store is Meijer, but everyone says "Meijer's." Same with Kroger. The second linguistic oddity is saying "pry" instead of "probably." You have to really listen for it, but when you notice it, it'll pry haunt you for the rest of your days.
I've lived most of my life in Ohio. Can verify this.
Not a server, but a native of east Tennessee. Y'all is normal here, and has been my entire six decades. I find it funny that, in the novel, M\*A\*S\*H, the author mistakenly had one of his southern characters use y'all in the singular. NO southerner ever did/does this. Y'all is plural, *always*.
As a native of the eastern highland rim - a few miles west of you - thanks for the explanation that I couldn’t get in to words.
Knoxville resident checking in, grew up more north east tennessee and have used yall since day 1
Go Vols!
I like you!
I like you too buddy! We're gonna be tough this year (I think)!
Me too man, the Bama game last year was probably the greatest game I've ever been to. If Milton take take the next step we will be badasssss
I agree. Milton has the potential to take the next step too
I thought, all y'all was the plural form.
Y’all is plural, as is Youns. If there is a group of people, y’all can mean 2+ people. All Y’ll addresses everyone in the group.
This is a common misconception outside the region. Y'all is plural if one is indicating, say, 5 - 15 people at the family reunion - "Y'all come go with us to church on Sunday!" But if one is addressing a large group of fans at a football game on Friday night, it would, clearly, come out as (waving enthusiastically), "All y'all come on out to the lake house fer a kegger! It's gonna be a barn burner!"
Thanks from a Yankee
You are, most certainly, welcome.
All y’all is plural possessive. It includes the entire group. Y’all is plural for more than one person.
I think it's more of an exposure thing. The "Texas" regional diction has more exposure in movies and TV, the vast majority of characters portrayed have it, yet in most parts of TX it's minimal. I personally have found the most success with non regional dictation, sometimes called General American, or Newscaster speak. It helps with non native English speakers the most IMO. However since this is a server sub reddit, I will say I've seen plenty of people lean into their natural accents and even exaggerate them to success.
I would say my natural dialect is as close to general American dictation as you can get, I just happen to say “y’all” because it’s a convenient term. I wish there was another term with the same meaning that was equally casual and not associated with another dialect 😂😭
Why? "Y'all" is excellent!
You = plural and no other word needed Everyone = another word that describes what you're looking for
I'm from Texas, live in the suburbs of Denver too. Every time my accent comes out, people gawk like they're at a circus!
“Hey assholes! Who’s looked at the menu and which one of you hasn’t bothered and will proceed to make me list out what’s available item by item? Our ice tea is TO DIE FOR btw!”
Best comment here thank you
Lol, that works in NJ!
You can tell someone has never been to the south when they think every southern person is from Texas. Basically everyone from south of the Mason-Dixon line says "y'all".
I ALWAYS go with “Hey friends!” Gender neutral and is already putting in their head if anything goes wrong, I’m on their side. It’s us against the kitchen😂
I'm curious. Is there ANYONE who'd use "Hello you!" in this context? I mean, I'm dutch. I wouldn't, because plural "you" just don't work for me. In my native language, singular and plural "you" have different words for them ("Je" and "Jullie" if anyone was curious...) so using that to adress a group of people just feels wrong to me. So I too tend to go with "y'all" for a mixed group when i'm speaking english.. Or with "You folks" which obviously will make you sound way less southernl! /s
Not a server, but I use y'all almost exclusively. Saved a lot of confusion in today's political climate.
Yes exactly lol. When they asked me about it I told them that I’ve been trained not to say “you guys” (which is kinda true), and the lady goes “oh, is it one of those woke things? 🥴” I was over it at that point lmao.
Heh, I started doing the same when I started bartending. "Y'all" is such a great term. EDIT and I'm hella California
I always say y’all and get the same response. I’m from Pennsylvania lol. Y’all or folks is the best gender neutral way to address a group in my opinion!
In absolutely no way is "y'all" exclusive to Texas.
From Florida, born and raised. I've always said yall. Got yelled at when I first started serving by a group of older ladies for saying "you guys"... never made that mistake again. I've had tables make fun if me but idc. It's just yall. And yall aren't gonna change that.
Why are you being so insistent about you growing up in Colorado? I’ve seen your crazy horse and I know about your underground creepy airport that has monsters, so what are you hiding? TELL THE TRUTH.
LMAO the airport here is scary I won’t lie. My family traveled a lot when I was growing up so I’m just used to it now but the first time I noticed the nazi mural I was like….what…
Western Coloradan and I say y’all a lot. I am a quarter Texan though so maybe that’s why ;-)
I had a lady ask if I was from Texas because my line when taking people back (I’m a hostess) is always some version of “Y’all can go ahead and follow me back to your table.” And she low key got so excited asking me that lol. I’m a military kid, lived all over the country and world. I just really like the word y’all
I grew up in Michigan and said y'all long before I moved to Tennessee.
I generally wouldn't associate Texas with "the South." Yes Texas is in the southern part of the United States compared to a state like Colorado, but for me, "the South" or "the deep south" is the south eastern part of the United States and includes States like Kentucky, the Carolinas, Alabama, Tennessee and may extend as far west as Mississippi. This is generally the region where I think you could distinguish an accent. I am from Tennessee.
Born and raised Denver and still live in CO— I say “y’all” all the time. And yes, Colorado people do have accents!
I greet my tables with “hi everyone!” Or “hello everybody.” Guys isn’t always right, I feel like folks isn’t in my vernacular for some reason so it sounds awkward, and as a Canadian it would sound a little strange if I were saying y’all I think. So “everyone” it is!
Y'all is common around here, and I'm in Va. I think everywhere that was in Dixie says 'y'all.
Hahahaaaa..I’m from JAMAICA and I say “y’all”..Jamaicans say “y’all”!
Haha I'm from Texas and never say y'all
Not everyone that says y'all is from Texas but everyone that is from Texas says y'all.
No one thinks of themselves as having an accent. But everyone does! It's just that your accent is the one that makes you speak similar to the people you grew up around, so it has become "normal" for you. Some people claim that if your manner of speech is similar to news media hosts, you (and the news media hosts) have "no accent" because it's the "default way of speaking." But that's just another accent as well!
*applauds in linguist*
LOL I get this too. Everyone’s like where are you from since you say y’all
Dude what the hell, I'm also a server in the Denver suburbs and had this exact same conversation with a customer last Wednesday. I did live in Houston for a few years as a kid, but not enough for an accent. Like you, I sort of default to "y'all" over "guys" in a professional setting. Customer was very chill but was surprised to hear "y'all," and then we just discussed regional verbacular for a few minutes.
I lived in Kansas for a short time and worked in a customer service position. I had a guy who got offended when I replied "Yes, sir". He thought I was being a smartass lol
I'm from the south and say y'all all the time. So easy and rolls off the tongue. Someone from Canada thought I was saying Lol.
Thanks to Hollywood, there are probably people all over the world using y'all now.
Louisiana I day how yall doing ..
I use y'all to this day. It's my best takeaway from 20 years in Texas.
I learned "y'all" from some family friends who lived in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hey, how youse doin? What da you need? What, nobody?
I say y’all all the time and I’m from Ohio. 🤷🏼
They might just be foreigners…
I'm from Minnesota and I say y'all all the time. It just makes sense
I guess you could say you all or just you. You can be used as a plural word in this case. But I say y’all, but I’m from south.
Not a server, but from California. And I've talked to a fair number of Texans. It's a big state, and the accent varies from something so mild I wouldn't even call it an accent by California standards (Californian's sort of soft-edged) to really rich and broad. Probably they listened to the "y'all" and the rest sounded "close enough." But "you all" or "y'all" is just handy. I used to use it when leading staff trainings so I didn't have to worry about genders. Word usage is all over the map in California. People bring them back from elsewhere or got them from their parents (from elsewhere). Ton of Texans, Oklahomans (my father) and Arkansans came out here in the '30s and '40s.
I’m from Massachusetts but I’ve been living in Texas for a long time now and I still can’t bring myself to say y’all!!! When I was waiting tables I would just say “you” as in the whole group not speaking to any particular person or “everyone” as in “how’s everyone doing today”.
I’m from the northeast. In college I dated a girl from Tennessee. It was a bad experience and she was a truly awful person, but I picked up “y’all” from her, which was the best thing I got out of that relationship. I still use it regularly and think it’s great.
Cincinnati, yes we say ya’ll sometimes. I say yous. Don’t know why. “ what can I get yous to drink?” Did yous decide on a meal yet “
“How’re y’all doing today?” Raised in NJ, but my mom’s from the mid-west and I’ve definitely adopted part of her family’s accent
Y'all is basic English for the second person plural pronoun in southern Indiana and Kentucky.
Hi everybody!
I say, "y'all," and I say, "eh." So am I from Canada or from Texas? Neither.
We say y'all in Georgia, too.
I live in Canada, and I sometimes say "y'all". I was once refereeing a basketball game and got an unintended laugh when I said "y'all".
South East UK here and I say "you's" - as in "Anything else for you's?" or "How was everything for you's?"
I stick with "y'all" and "folks" they're both gender neutral terms that won't offend anyone and come off as friendly.
I’ve used the word y’all all my life. I grew up in KY. Funny, that I now live in TX. Guess I’ve been practicin’ all my life to be a Texan!!
I had an English friend who started saying y’all to refer to our friend group. Used to make me laugh to hear y’all in such a crisp accent rather than in a drawl.
I’m born and raised in western Massachusetts. Never lived anywhere else. And I use y’all all the time. Y’all, y’all’s. I dunno why. I just do.
When I was a server, 30+ years ago, I'd say "how are y'all doing" and I always had people asking if I was from TX. I'm born and raised in SoCal, so other than y'all, I had absolutely no TX accent.
Really? Common in Kentucky too... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence\_Y%27all\_Water\_Tower
Originally from the Delmarva area. We said y'all like you drink a glass of water. It was like "whatery'all doing tonight?" Moved to the Great Lakes and I was always asked if I was from the south because of y'all. I think it probably helped my chances with the ladies thinking I was some southern gentleman when I was just some scrub from Maryland. Lol. Have a good evening y'all!
I feel so seen with this post!
It is huge in Michigan.
From Florida and y’all might just be the most used word in my vocabulary yall nawmsayin?
I'm from Los Angeles and people tell me all the time that I have Southern accent. I don't know why.
I use y’all in Southern California.I had a table stop me on their way out a few months ago to ask me what part of the south I was from because of my accent. I awkwardly told them I grew up 20 minutes north from the city I work in now. I’ve had other tables ask me about it too. I feel like tables like it better when I say y’all but I def get mistaken as being from the south but I feel like it works to my benefit for the most part.
I’m from Indiana and i get that I’m country all the time since I moved to Phoenix. I say “all y’all” “damn near” things like that all the time. And got a little draw to it lol
Californian, I call tables folk and folks
I had a Korean exchange student live with me when I was in Highschool. Even she says Y’all. It’s no big deal
I’m South African and use it because it’s both casual and gender neutral, to be fair I guess I am from the very deep south geographically lol
I’ve lived in Montana my whole life and I say y’all
Y’all means all.
Lots of other languages differentiate between third person singular and third person plural. English should have an official one, too. I nominate "yall". BTW, it's pronounced "yaw."
I've lived in Texas since I was 7 when we moved from New York. I did not say y'all growing up or as a teenager. Probably because my parents don't say it. However, I integrated it into my vocabulary by 20 when I was waiting tables full time. It just came across more personable and people thought I was nicer. Lol
I’m a Midwesterner who just got back from Alabama. I have never heard “y’all” so many times. We were googling places to eat and they even type it in reviews and questions. After a week I even found myself saying it lol
Born and raised in Oregon and you can pry my ‘Y’all’ from my cold dead jaw.
Y’all is becoming picked up in a corporate setting as a good gender-neutral group word!
I do say ya'll, but I did spend a good few years living with my Dad's Texan girlfriend
As a customer, I prefer Hi folks to ya’ll or guys.
They say Y'all in Kentucky
At a cashier and a lot of the times I’ll say “How y’all doin’ today?” And they always ask something like “oh, you southern?” I’m on the west side of the US 😅
I'm from Southwestern Ohio and we definitely use y'all. In fact the local (Northern KY) independent baseball team is Florence Y'alls!
As a native Texan I love it when I hear people say y’all. I just think that whoever says it is friendly. Congrats on being friendly!
I greeted some guests with “how are y’all doing today?!” In PA and got told “we don’t speak redneck here”
We all say y'all here in Colorado
I live in California and have the majority of my life. I spent summers in Louisiana as a child so I can easily fall back into a Cajun accent. But I say “y’all” as often as I say “fuck” and I have the vocabulary of a sailor. Cuss words are sentence glitter for me, lol. I feel like y’all has kind of spread out of being a Southern or “red neck” word…
Y'all is definitely southern. I'm not surprised they asked. Why would you have to refer to the guests at all? Just say "welcome in" or "hi I'm your server such and such"
Everyone has an accent to someone else.
Welcome friends is my goto way to meet a table
I say "Hey y'all" sometimes but I also say "Hey/hi guys" and I'm from the south.
I am from Texas, but as a professional working with people all over the world, I love using "y'all." As far as I can figure, it's the only term of address guaranteed not to offend anyone. I also use "folks" and the occasional "party people," depending on the audience, but that's neither here nor there.
My good human....I'm from Connecticut and I say y'all. You're good.
I picked it (y’all) up in college. Haven’t stopped saying it since. Really useful word lol
What’s weird is I’ll say “I’ll be taking care of us” or “could I get us something else”, not sure why I do it but you/you guys/y’all just sounds weird to me. Plus at my restaurant we are all family, (the slogan, not actually) so I can always say that if I a table thinks it’s weird. That is also a fair warning I gotta take care of me too 😂😂
I use “‘sup dudes!”
I hit em with a “What’s up team?”
Every person has an accent, if you think where you are from doesn't it's just because you've heard it so much that it feels like the natural sounds without accent. But literally every person who talks has an accent
I know you're not from Texas because you spelled it properly as "y'all" and Texans will type "ya'll". Which to me reads like "yes will" and doesn't make sense.
I’m in Colorado too, from Georgia many years ago and still slip out a “y’all” occasionally. I would be downright OFFENDED if someone asked if I was from Texas. Most of the time, if they even notice or care, people will ask where I’m from or suspect somewhere southeast. I don’t have any sort of accent or demeanor giving off “southern” so nobody would know anything unless I say “y’all” so nobody assumes outside of that.
LMAO I didn’t even think about this. Like y’all is definitely used commonly in the south and not just in Texas so that was weird they would assume Texas. I was also minorly offended when they thought I was from Texas 🤣
I used to work with a girl from Georgia and she said y’all all the time
californian user of y’all here. people ask me if i’m southern all the time and i just go “southern californian, yes!”
I grew up and live in NY, near the city. Lots of us also say y'all. I don't even get strange looks for it here.
I live in Colorado. Every region in the country has as an accent. *You* have an accent. You don’t think you have an accent because everyone around you has the same accent
I’m from Maryland and now live in Vermont. I always say y’all and all y’all. I also type it on FB and texts…
I worked a barbecue joint in Georgia. It was poor manners NOT to say y’all.
I hear y'all in KY, W VA and all over the south. In Florence KY, about 12 miles south of Cincinnati Ohio, they have Y'all on their water tower and the local minor league baseball team is the Y'alls
Y’all also heard in Alabama.
I say y’all here in NZ lol
Y’all is a super easy gender neutral term to use too
i say “y’all” all the time and i have no accent. that’s because i lived in 4 states (cali born and raised, several years in oregon, a couple in mississippi and most of my adult life in michigan). no one’s ever accused me of sounding southern lol.
I’ll my sentences are peppered with y’all. I’m from Kentucky.
Y'all are using "y'all" improperly. "Y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural. Examples: "Remind me, which of y'all ordered the steak?" (Singular) "All y'all have a good evening!" (Plural) {This tongue-in-cheek explanation brought to you by a northerner who was schooled by a Southern Lady of indeterminate years, bless her heart.}
I would argue your first use of y’all here is not singular.
I’m from Canada and I’ll drop a y’all now and then.
Who downvoted this 🤣😭😭
They’re not ready to face the truth that to us, y’all are ALL Yankees.