Y’all

            We’ve been y’alled. We hear it all the time, here in Georgia. I don’t think I ever heard the word (if that’s what it is) in Michigan.

 

            What does “y’all” mean? Well, first of all it does not mean “you all,” as if to be referring to an inclusion of an entire group of people. “Y’all should get a flu shot” does not mean “You all – every one of you – should get a flu shot.”

 

            And it’s, in our experience, a positive term – almost an affectionate one. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it said in anger. This may be because of the friendliness we have found here in Georgia, but still, I like being “y’alled.” As I think about it – not hard to imagine it said in an unfriendly way: “Y’all better get your ass off my porch.” Still, for me, the “y’all” gives it a faint positive vibe . . ..

 

            Maybe the meaning is that the speaker is talking to all of me – not all of us. “Y’all come on in” invites my total self, conveying a kind of acceptance of my whole self that feels rather nice – maybe the way a child is supposed to feel when being loved by a parent.

 

            On the other hand, “y’all” might just be a way that a Southerner announces that he or she is a Southerner, and proud of it – willing to announce it with a particularly Southern word.

            My friend Rex commented: A tour guide in Texas explained to us that "y'all" is singular. The plural, he said, is, "All y'all." As in, "All y'all need to get out of that lake right now! It is ate up with gators!"

 

            I’m not sure if there is a racial factor at play here. My clearest memories are of white people saying it – especially Chase, my Atlanta realtor – but I just don’t know. I’ll have to listen for it. The Black people we’ve met here, mainly waiting on us in stores, have been universally friendly, but I just don’t recall hearing one of them saying “y’all.” I’m curious.

 

            Please be clear that the word “yawl” has a completely different meaning from “y’all.” From Wikipedia: “A yawl is a two-masted, fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with the mizzen mast positioned abaft the rudder stock, or in some instances, very close to the rudder stock. This is different from a ketch, where the mizzen mast is forward of the rudder stock. The sail area of the mizzen on a yawl is consequentially proportionately smaller than the same sail on a ketch.”

 

Just thought I’d share that information with y’all.