Y’all is not bad English, y’all.
I’m a Yankee by birth, but I’ve spent enough time with Southern friends to have picked up occasional use of y’all. I’m certain my
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twang-inflection of the word amuses or irritates those friends no end. I might have chosen you’ns, which is more colloquially Northern, or youse, or the phrase that seems to more commonly express the same sentiment: “You guys.” 5
Yes, all these forms are informal, but just like ain’t, they exhibit good English grammar in that they are necessary English forms, filling holes left by shifting meanings and word uses.
Y’all and its kin indicate second person plural—more than one you. Once upon a time, the phrase “more than one you” would have been redundant, as you and companion word ye were used exclusively to indicate second person plural. The old word for the second person singular was thou (and thee as an object). It’s easier to see this in an example:
• Thou give to me. I give to thee.
• Ye give to us. We give to you.
But thou/thee began to communicate familiarity (much like du vs. Sie in German), and eventually to communicate disdain, so thou and I stopped using those words and turned to the plural pronouns ye/you to replace thou/thee. And eventually you—you usurper, you—replaced ye, as well (now performing the work of four pronouns with no likely raise in salary—talk about downsizing). But that leaves some unclarity, with no specific word indicating the second person plural exclusively. A void, which y’all have stepped in to fill. And for that, I thank you and ye and thee and thou —for not having to return thee and thou to the lexicon, I thank y’all.