Y'all, sometimes spelled as "Ya'll", "Yawl", or "Yaw", and archaically spelled "You-all'", is a fused grammaticalization of the phrase "you all". It is used primarily as a plural second-person pronoun, and less often as a singular second-person pronoun. Commonly believed to have originated in the Southern United States, it is primarily associated with Southern American English, African American Vernacular English, some dialects of the Western United States and also Sri Lankan English.

Usage

There are currently seven recognized properties that y'all follows:

1. a replacement for singular you
   • Example: "Y'all can fix my dinner now"
   • Example: "Y'all can use the internet at the same time"
   • Example: "We're free after 10," John says. "Y'all can come over at around 10:30," Chris replies.
   • Chris explains to John that he and John's friends, who are not present at the time, can come over at around 10:30. Chris is speaking to John, but treats John as a representative for others (i.e. his friends).
   • Example: "Y'all sell the best candies, Mrs. Johnson."
   • Y'all is received by Mrs. Johnson who is the representative of a small candy business
   • Example: At the sky, Alex yells "Y'all can't beat me!"
   • Alex is yelling at an unknown party
   • Example: "Hello, y'all"
   • A greeting that addresses a multitude of people without referencing a singular identity comprising that multitude
   • Example: "You all look tough, but y'all aren't!"
   • Y'all enables a quick three-syllable clause that is easier to say than "but you all aren't." In this context, it is possible that the speaker would use "ain't" as opposed to "aren't."

   Y'all is also used in the phrase "all y'all", which is a more inclusive form comparable to "all of you". This can cause some amusement as "all y'all" can be interpreted as "all of you all". Note that we can be used as the first-person analog of y'all for the first three properties listed above.

   Origin

   The true origin of the term is uncertain. It is a common belief that y'all evolved in the speech of people in the Southern United States as a replacement for "you all" due to its convenience. Rather than say you all, you-uns, you lot, or you guys; y'all may be construed as a single element requiring only one morpheme.

   Though the you all contraction argument may make sense when considering current-day vernacular, it is prudent to consider the vernacular which existed at the time which y'all was likely invented. By the late 1700s, Scots-Irish immigrants had settled in the Southern United States. It is well established that Scots-Irish immigrants frequently used the term ye aw. Some evidence suggests that y'all could have evolved from ye haw due to the influence of African slaves who may have adapted the Scots-Irish term.