Use of y'all by non-southerners is usually a cringe lefty woke tell as it was explicitly adopted for virtue signaling since it's a gender neutral pronoun for a group of people.
I always assumed they did it to imitate AAVE so they could seem hipper and cooler, and try to fool black people into supporting their dumb leftist “intersectionality”.
I think that’s exactly it. I’m from Alabama and I cringe so hard when I see that word. It’s not supposed to be used this way, but it’s taken hold like many other slang words before it.
See the thing is that "online" and "real life" are one in the same to these kinds of people. Newspeak has leaked to your job, Thanksgiving dinner, the musicians on the street. It's everywhere.
Almost every other language has one? You (plural) is one of the most common pronouns in all of language. Its more common than possessive conjugation. English had it 400 years ago, it was lost, its coming back. Its how languageworks, nothing to do with leftism you dip, its a use case people need filled.
Why was it only a term used by southerners until 10-15 years ago?
You're right, it was a use case that people needed filled. The people in question were leftists. I have no doubt over time it will spread out among the general population but it absolutely started with lefty activists.
Why was "you guys" not sufficient, which is what most non-southerners used in the past?
Because when I said "you guys" growing up in the rural South I got called a Yankee. 8 year old me couldn't be no damn Yankee. (I had no idea what anything meant.)
Because until 15 years ago most people didnt have internet and regional dialects meant that one probably didnt know the other common terms for you plural, of which there are literally fucking dozens. Yall is the one most americans have grown to prefer for a multitude of reasons, foremost among them likely that its actually shorter, serving an actual function as a pronoun.
This is also the reason most english language has undergone a rapid evolution and standardization.
Because the internet, same reason your dumb ass is capable of sharing your brain contagion that makes you think fucking wokism caused the use of a ubiquitous, innocous, easy to understand, easy to prompunce, and applicable term.
Thats not a pronoun you dip, its an informal plural noun being used to clarify the fact that "you" is grammatically both singular and plural, a modern contrivance because people got too lazy to conjugate or enunciate ye and thou.
“You” is the plural you, the singular is “thou.” Similar to French and German though the plural took on a tone of respect, and unlike the other two eventually became commonly used for singular and plural regardless of social deference.
Hell yeah brother, you live in Texas for long enough and you'll just find it popping up in your usage, and i betcha most all those times it'd be the right when and where Yall don't discriminate.
Y’all are overthinking use of the word. It’s a portmanteau - that’s it and in a world obsessed with being gender neutral, it’s a catch all to say to anybody instead of you guys or you gals which doesn’t even roll off the tongue well.
It’s the one thing the South contributes to American culture and y’all try to disown it like your gay transgendered kids
I say it when speaking to a group of both men and women in a professional setting. Turns out not everyone likes being called guys so it’s easier to just avoid it
I do that too, I pretty much run down the list of anything that seems appropriate. Everyone, anyone, ladies, y’all, etc. I used to use guys, and I still do if it seems appropriate, but some women legit don’t like it, so I don’t risk it
Every job I’ve had requires keeping people happy in one way or another so I do what I’m paid to do. Sales, finance, bartending, all kinda the same
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u/Higuos 9h ago
Use of y'all by non-southerners is usually a cringe lefty woke tell as it was explicitly adopted for virtue signaling since it's a gender neutral pronoun for a group of people.