You

You. Singular? Plural?

The fact is, you can’t tell.  Because our English language in its infinite perverseness, has deemed using the same word, you, for both singular and plural.  What the heck?  English couldn’t follow the lead of other countries, like Spain where the difference is clear?  Usted. Ustedes. Singular. Plural. 

However, Spain and other countries do have this thing for formal and informal use of the word you which just confounds things in a different way altogether. English stayed away from that situation at least. 

Back to our conundrum of how to differentiate in our English language when we mean you singular and you plural.

We being a country of innovators and not lacking for ingenuity in any way, came up with a solution.  Well, make that plural, solutions.  Depending on the region from which you hail, you will have your own version.

I haven’t done much, and by much, I mean no, research on this topic.  Everything I will share with you now is purely anecdotal and has been gleaned from either the various places I’ve lived or the various people I’ve encountered throughout my life.

As far as I can tell, we Americans have come up with 3 versions for a plural you.

Let’s start with where I am from, which is Philly.  Any of youse guys ever see the movie Rocky? If so, then you know that Youse Guys is Philly-ese for the plural you.  Youse can stand alone though and is not always paired with Guys.  Guys does not in anyway denote gender.  It is meant as a neutral and can be used for either gender or non-gender as the case may be. 

Being that Philly-ese is my native language, and Rocky is an all-time classic movie ranking in the pantheon of best movies ever, you’d think I’d be partial to Youse/Youse Guys.  But truth is, I am not.  Youse guys will have to wait to see though as to which one I am.  Please read on.

Next up, we move a bit further west of Philly, to that other city that is also in Pennsylvania.  The city with a chip on its shoulder because it’s not Philly and really, really, really wants to be taken seriously as a bonafide, world class city vs a real far away suburb of Philly.

Pittsburgh-ese has its own distinct language that sounds nothing like Philly-ese.  I discovered this when I went to Penn State (located conveniently in between the two cities) and my roommate was from McKeesport, a town outside of Pittsburgh.  We almost required a translator to be able to understand each other.  

This was the first time I heard their word for you plural.  Yins.  Youse heard me right.  Yins.  I thought I was in a Dr. Seuss book.  The Zins had his tins and his grins but most of all his yins.  Seriously? Yins?  Let’s move on, shall we? Yins isn’t even a contender for best version of you plural.

Now let’s move South. Y’all know what I am talking about.  Mmhmm.  Y’all.  A contraction for You All.  I’ve got to say, hats off to this one.  For one thing, it makes sense.  It’s not some made up word like youse or yins.  It’s legitimately based on two actual words.  It’s easy to say, and rolls off the tongue.  One doesn’t need a translator to understand it.  You get it immediately. Y’all is, IMHO, the best of the variations of you plural of which I am familiar.

Which leads to the next part of this discussion.  Should we not be able to choose and use our favorite version of you plural?  Just because I am from Philly, am I forever consigned to having to say youse? I think not.  I say no! I say, you plural and the word you choose to use, should not be bound by geography.  We should have the freedom to choose and not be accused of appropriation or false portrayals of any sort.

I say this because I have taken to saying y’all up here in Philly.  My friends and family look at me askance.  They raise their eyebrow.  They scowl.  They say what are you doing? You’re not from Texas or Georgia or anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon line.  You can’t use that word. You are a faker, a poseur.  Stop it right now, you sound ridiculous.

To which I proudly, defiantly say, later y’all.