| 词组 | you-all |
| 释义 | you-all The debate over you-all (and its contraction, y'alt) has to do with whether Southerners use it strictly as a plural of you or sometimes use it as a singular as well. An entertaining history of the dispute, which dates back to the end of the 19th century, can be found in H. L. Mencken, The American Language, Supplement II (1948). In brief, Southerners themselves have for the most part insisted that you-all is only a plural and that its use as a singular occurs only among Northerners doing a poor imitation of Southern speech, while contentious Northerners and a few renegade Southerners have argued that singular use is not unheard of among Southerners themselves. Just about everyone agrees, at least, that you-all does usually function as a plural. Even when only one person is being addressed, you-all normally implies the inclusion of another or others whom the single person is understood to represent; for example, "When will you-all be coming by?," addressed to a single person, means "When will you and [a person or persons unnamed] be coming by?" However, the evidence, most of which is testimonial, does indicate that you-all has also been used as a singular in the South, although such usage is certainly atypical and is not regarded with approval by a great many Southerners. The Northerner attempting to write Southern dialogue or imitate Southern speech would do well to restrict you-all to plural use. • "Hello, honey-chile," he said when the operator answered. "Think you-all could get me the Courier editorial office?" • "You know," said the operator, "down here we can always spot Yankees by the way they use 'you-all' in the singular."—Arthur Gordon, Reprisal, 1950 |
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