CompareDutchjullie (originallyjijlui(literally“you people”)) for a similar development of a new plural pronoun out of Proto-Germanic*jīz that originally was already plural.
1987, Judson D. Hale,The education of a Yankee: an American memoir, page 3:
Much later, after dozens of the men had come up to me to shake my hand (with both of theirs) and say "Y'all come back soon, hear? ...
2007, Roy Blount,Long time leaving: dispatches from up South, page117:
People in the South do indeed seem to be addressing a single person as "y'all." For instance, a restaurant patron might ask a waiter, "Whaty'all got for dessert tonight?" In that case, "y'all" refers collectively to the people who run the restaurant.
The formy'all is heard primarily in theSouthern United States, and nationwide inAAVE. It is also found amongIndian speakers ofSouth African English, and parts of theCaribbean. Recently the form has begun to be used by other American English speakers as well, and even some non-American English speakers to a lesser extent – though still less commonly thanyou guys.[2] For other second-personal plural pronouns, seeyou.
Y'all may be used as an implied plural when addressing a single person, e.g. "you [and your team]," "you [and your coworkers]," "you [and your family]." It is also rarely used as a singularyou,[3] although most (increasing) non-Southern / non-AAVE use is, like Southern and AAVE use, plural.[2]
Notwithstanding its etymology, theall iny'all is merely a plural marker, not a quantifier. Thus, just asus may refer either tosome of us orall of us in standard English,y'all may refer either tosome ofy'all or toall [of]y'all.
Y'all, as withyou all, is not widely considered to be formal English. Instead,all of you is preferred in formal speech and writing to disambiguate a pluralyou.
1971, Frank Deford,There she is: the life and times of Miss America:
She blithely maintained that she could have smiled magnolias and "y'alled" her way out of any tight spots.
1990, Paul Levy,Finger lickin' good: a Kentucky childhood:
With his swarthy complexion and jet black, straight hair, Louis was actually quite dashing. He wore his expensively cut clothes and heavy rings well, too. Besides his short stature, his most noticeable peculiarity was that he had a voice like Lytton Strachey's, which moved alarmingly, in the middle of a sentence, or sometimes halfway through a word, from a booming bass to the high-pitched, almost whistling soprano of a boy whose voice has not yet broken. As hey'alled and drawled ...
1997, Terence Sieg,Golf travel's guide to the world's greatest golf destinations: the ultimate resource for the discriminating golfer:
Indeed, non-Southerners may feel themselves "y'alled" to death down here, yet even the most stony- faced New Englander will be charmed by the warmth of the Cloister's staff. The tradition of service is simply better and more deeply entrenched in the South than in any other region of the United States.
↑2.02.1Black, Bill (12 November 2018), “Why Is Everyone Suddenly Saying 'Y'All'?”, inMel Magazine[2], archived fromthe original on8 December 2018
^Okrent, Arika (14 September 2014), “Can y'all be used to refer to a single person?”, inThe Week[3], The Week Publications, archived fromthe original on15 September 2014, retrieved15 September 2014
