> -----Original Message----- > From: Howard Brazee [mailto:howard at brazee.net] > > On Fri, 04 Feb 2005 12:32:36 -0500, <MedCat7 at aol.com> wrote: > > >> I think that's because we southerners (I'm assuming you're referring > >> the US > >> South) tend to be lazy about our pronunciation anyway, particularly the > >> vowels. > >> > > "Ya'll" "you all" "you guys" "all of you" > > When the rest of the country is content with "you" for singular and > plural, adding an extra bit for further knowledge isn't being lazy. I've never heard that usage. I hear "you all" sometimes, and "you guys" and maybe another phrase or two that I can't recall, but never just "you" to refer to a group; it's usually "y'all". Of course, I haven't spent much time outside of southern states to pick up on the differences in dialect.