Southern Translation
Mary L B Pendergraft
pender at wfu.edu
Thu Oct 15 05:43:16 EDT 1998
At 06:06 PM 10/14/98 EDT, Christopher Hutson wrote:
>
>Jonathan wrote:
>
>>
>>I use this in Little Greek 101. However, it's important to be aware
>that
>>many Southerners use y'all as a 2nd person singular or plural form,
>so I
>>carefully state the distinction that I'm drawing.
>>
>
>I think that "y'all" as a 2nd person singular is a Yankee
>misperception of traditional Southern speech. When Southerners say
>"y'all," they usually (always?) intend the plural force. That is, if I
>ask, "How are y'all doin' today?" I am addressing a group. If I say
>it to you when we are the only two in the room, then I am asking about
>your family.
>
That's correct for NC too.
Mary
Mary Pendergraft
Associate Professor of Classical Languages
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem NC 27109-7343
336-758-5331 (NOTE: this is a new number) pender at wfu.edu
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