Off topic: Youse, Y’All, and Other Confusions of Modern English
Автор темы: Charlotte Blank
Charlotte Blank
Charlotte Blank  Identity Verified
Германия
Local time: 17:51
чешский => немецкий
+ ...
Feb 17, 2009

A nice article about the (mis)use of plural endings in English and other languages:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/04/16/youse-yall-and-other-confusions-of-modern-english/

Have fun!

Charlotte


 
Terry Richards
Terry Richards
Франция
Local time: 17:51
французский => английский
+ ...
It gets worse... Feb 17, 2009

What the author didn't point out is that "y'all" has gone full circle. It started off as an erzatz plural for "you", then it was used for both the plural and the singular and now it has developed a plural of its own - "all y'all"!

T.


 
chica nueva
chica nueva
Local time: 05:51
китайский => английский
'koutou katoa' 'youse all' Feb 17, 2009

Thank you Charlotte!

‘Even with the support of colloquial Kiwis, I doubt “youse” is a serious contender for replacing “you guys”, ’

Found this:

‘Coming to you as a gift from Maori English - "youse all."
Not just 'you' (koe) or 'youse' (korua +) but koutou katoa!’
(Google)


 
RichardDeegan
RichardDeegan
Local time: 11:51
испанский => английский
Why pick on the South (or just the US)? Feb 18, 2009

The article and related blog had a nice time ragging US dialectical versions, and copycat variants that popped up in Oz, Ireland and Scotland, but left the UK completely off the hook.
Has nobody ever heard of "You lot"????

[Edited at 2009-02-18 01:43 GMT]


 
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
США
Local time: 08:51
английский => немецкий
+ ...
Памяти
There we go: What on earth is "erzatz"? Feb 18, 2009

Aha! You are using the German word "Ersatz" (= replacement) while misspelling it, and that makes Modern English quirky and entertaining. Aha.

The article itself is both entertaining and a bit annoying at the same time, as it mixes up grammatically perfectly established contractions that can be found in any dictionary with regional dialects, slang, teenager speak and speech impairment as well as apparent hearing impairment.

What exactly is the point?

Peopl
... See more
Aha! You are using the German word "Ersatz" (= replacement) while misspelling it, and that makes Modern English quirky and entertaining. Aha.

The article itself is both entertaining and a bit annoying at the same time, as it mixes up grammatically perfectly established contractions that can be found in any dictionary with regional dialects, slang, teenager speak and speech impairment as well as apparent hearing impairment.

What exactly is the point?

People speak differently in different English speaking countries?
Peoples speak different kinds of English within an English speaking country that stretches across an entire continent?
People have different levels of education - please don't assume that what you heard at a gas station in a small town during your US trip is representative for American English.

What is considered an Appalachian accent for example will raise an eyebrow in the Northwest. And vice versa.


I am not a native speaker, but this little tourist blog is probably something that I would like to see in "Off Topic", rather than in "Linguistics".
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Youse, Y’All, and Other Confusions of Modern English






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