A few words on a perplexing word I ran into when I met my first Southerner . . .

The Meaning of the Term Y’all

I ain’t never lived in the Southern parts but I have become acquainted with some of the ways in which they all talk. It all has become rather fascinating to me all and I wishes to explain one particular term that I all have heard quite a bit when I has come into contact with southern folks who talk like they all have a habit of doing. Their most frequently used word is y’all and I have come to rather like the sound it lends to my manner of speaking, talking-wise.

Them southern folks uses this term y’all to mean anything from everyone in the room, to the person who all is a sittin’ by their elbow, to the dog that is a lyin’ outsides on their-all back porch, which is sometimes referred to by them as the cement patch in theirin backyard.

Sometimes it’s hard for us cultured folks to know what they all is a meanin’ when they use this here term y’all. How is I supposin’ to know whether they all is a speakin’ to me or to that there dog on the back cement patch? Y’all can see that this puts ONE into a quandary that ONE has a hard time a gettin’ ONESELF out of.

Now I ain’t a sayin’ that I can’t usually understand what these folks is a sayin’ cause I ain’t dumb. That’s one thing I ain’t, and that’s dumb, like as some people I knows that is pretty darn stupid, but I ain’t prejudiced either, causein we’re all human and some of us can’t help but makin’ mistakes and I all guess that some people’s mistake is that they are dumb. I’m just glad that I ain’t one of them poor rascals.

One of them southern folks must have invented the term a long time ago so as they all wouldn’t have to think up as many words to call people. This all term y’all seems to include everything that they could ever think of. Now, I ain’t a sayin’ that they is too stupid to think up better things to call

people. I ain’t a sayin’ that at all, y’all knows, but I all wonders about it sometimes, when I is a thinkin’ on the subject. Maybe they is too dumb to worry about a learnin’ more than one pronoun.

But don’t forget that I ain’t sayin’ they is, you know. If there is a anything that I ain’t, I ain’t prejudiced. I don’t hate anyone, well, exceptin’ my English teacher, and I figure he don’t count in things in reference to people.

Well I done counted one person that I all knows who comes from the South and he all said the word in question thirty-five times while I was a talkin’ to him, and I ain’t sure to this day whether he was talkin’ to me or that brown dog a lyin’ on the cement patch.

Well, all I can say is that southern folks sure is weird and they all sure does talk funny, but they all is humans too, although sometimes I wonder, and have a right to talk as they all wants to, I guesses.