Solved - Y'all, All's-y'all, and You'ins

**ungawa** · November 14th, 2009, 08:04 PM

I've brought this up twice over the past two years and never got an answer that satisfied me. I talked to a long-time friend from SC and I think I have it figured out. These are not his exact words, this is what I figured out from the discussion. Also, understand I was not an English major so I don't remember all the proper terms from High School.

Y'all - This means everyone here I am speaking with. But, as individuals.

Y'all look like gubermen types type me.

This is referring to the subjects of the statement. But not as a collective group.

All's-y'all - This refers to everyone here I am speaking with, but collectively.

All's-y'all didn't tell me that there sheep had the snatchy scratchies. I hope All's-y'all think it's funny 'cause I'm a comin'!!!

This is the simplest example I can come up with. It refers to a conspiracy. Which means the group being addressed are being addressed as a unit.

You'ins - This seems to refer to you and your "kind," group, or family. It does not refer to a group in a collective effort, like a baseball team or a sheep prank conspiracy. It refers to a group distinct from your own.

You'ins aint from around these parts.

Am I close?

**bortle** · November 14th, 2009, 08:49 PM

What about yooze and yins, or the plural, yoozes' and yinses'. I'm a hick, I hear these words every day. I think yooze is more of a picksberg thing. Yins is more of a rural thing.

**ungawa** · November 14th, 2009, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by bortle

What about yooze and yins, or the plural, yoozes' and yinses'. I'm a hick, I hear these words every day. I think yooze is more of a picksberg thing. Yins is more of a rural thing.

I think "Yins" is probably a dialection of "You'ins" so maybe you can help me with that.

As for yoozes and yinses', goodness gracious. I haven't run into that. But it reminds my of my Sergent Airborne in Georgia that complained about my "bootsesses." I sh*t you not. That's three plurals attached to the end of one word. And it rolled right off his tongue in a split second.

**LittleRedToyota** · November 15th, 2009, 02:48 AM

the proper plural of you is yinz.

yinz doesn't mean anything more than "you" when there is more than one "you"...and it always means that. thus, in any situation when people mistakenly use y'all, or all y'all, or you'ins, or yous, or even you except when referring to a single person, they should just be using yinz.

(seriously, though, in pittsburgh, "yinz" means all of those various things you listed. it is just the plural form of you.)

**LittleRedToyota** · November 15th, 2009, 02:59 AM

Originally Posted by ungawa

As for yoozes and yinses', goodness gracious. I haven't run into that. But it reminds my of my Sergent Airborne in Georgia that complained about my "bootsesses." I sh*t you not. That's three plurals attached to the end of one word. And it rolled right off his tongue in a split second.

another funny thing around here is the way people use the word "joist".

they think the singular is "joists" and the plural is "joistses".

"yinz better sister 'em joistses 'n'at."