Y'all arose as a contraction of you-all. The term first appeared in the Southern United States in the early nineteenth century, though it was probably uncommon, its usage not accelerating until the twentieth century. The earliest attestation, with the spelling you all in the specific second-person plural pronoun usage, is 1824. Earliest attestations with the actual spelling y'all are from 1856. Another notable early attestation is in the Southern Literary Messenger in April 1858. Many aspects of the word's derivation are unknown; for example, the pronunciation of y'all may not be reflected by early writers who preferred the spelling you all, as in the 1824 citation. Also, it is not certain whether its use began with black people or with white immigrants in the South. One supposition is that the term evolved from the earlier Ulster Scots term ye aw. Scots-Irish immigrants to the Southern United States frequently used the term ye aw. Some evidence suggests that y'all could have evolved from ye aw due to the influence of African slaves who may have adapted the Scots-Irish term. An alternative theory is that y'all is a calque of Gullah and Caribbean creole una via earlier dialects of African-American English. Y'all is an original form, deriving from indigenous processes of grammar and morphological change, not from input from other English dialects. Y'all appeared at different times in different dialects of English, including Southern American English and South African Indian English, and hence it is a parallel independent development in those dialects. The forms ya'll and yall are also known, but the form y'all is the most prevalent in print, being ten times as common as ya'll. Other less-common forms include yawl and yo-all.
Linguistic characteristics
Functionally, the emergence of y'all can be traced to the merging of singular and plural second-person pronouns in Early Modern English. Y'all thus fills in the gap created by the absence of a separate second-person plural pronoun in standard modern English. Y'all is unique in that the stressed form that it contracts is converted to an unstressed form. The usage of y'all can satisfy several grammatical functions, including an associative plural, a collective pronoun, an institutional pronoun, and an indefinite pronoun. Y'all serves as a "tone-setting device to express familiarity and solidarity." When used in the singular, y'all can be used to convey a feeling of warmth towards the addressee. In this way, singular usage of y'all differs from French, Russian or German, where plural forms can be used for formal singular instances.
Singular usage
There is long-standing disagreement among both laymen and grammarians about whether y'all has primarily or exclusively plural reference. The debate itself extends to the late nineteenth century, and has often been repeated since. While many Southerners hold that y'all is only properly used as a plural pronoun, strong counter evidence suggests that the word is also used with a singular reference, particularly amongst non-Southerners. H. L. Mencken recognized that y'all or you-all will usually have a plural reference, but acknowledged singular reference use has been observed. He stated that plural use
Possessive forms
The existence of the genitive formy'all's indicates that y'all functions as a pronoun as opposed to a phrasal element. The possessive form of y'all has not been standardized; numerous forms can be found, including y'alls, y'all's, y'alls's, you all's, your all's, and all of y'all's.
''All y'all''
All y'all, all of y'all, and alls y'all are used by some speakers to indicate a larger group than is necessarily implied by simply y'all. All y'all can also be used for emphasis; the existence of the form is further evidence that y'all is considered a fused grammatical form.
Regional usage
United States
Y'all has been called "perhaps the most distinctive of all grammatical characteristics" of Southern American English, as well as its most prominent characteristic. People who move to the South from other regions often adopt the usage, even when other regional usages are not adopted. Outside the southern United States, y'all is most closely associated with African-American Vernacular English. African Americans took Southern usages with them during the twentieth-century exodus from the South to cities in the northeastern United States and other places within the nation. In urban African-American communities outside of the South, the usage of y'all is prominent. The use of y'all as the dominant second person-plural pronoun is not necessarily universal in the Southern United States. In the dialects of the Ozarks and Great Smoky Mountains, for example, it is more typical to hear you'uns used instead. Other forms have also been used increasingly in the South, including the use of you guys. Overall, the use of y'all has been increasing in the United States, both within and outside the southern United States. In 1996, 49% of non-Southerners reported using y'all or you-all in conversation, while 84% of Southerners reported usage, both percentages showing a 5% increase over the previous study, conducted in 1994.
In South Africa, y'all appears across all varieties of South AfricanIndian English. Its lexical similarity to the y'all of the United States is attributed to coincidence.
