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bolido_sentimental  1yr ago (text post)   4133 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 25, 2022

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Are you saying that "y'all" can be used to refer to one person?

I've always heard y'all to refer to one person with all y'all is the plural form.

Yes. Particularly if the speaker is black.

In some contexts, yes, it's used as a sort of a formal or impersonal version of the 2nd-person singular. Especially in customer service contexts you'll sometimes hear a singular "y'all" as a sign of respectful distance between the speaker and the person being addressed.

(Note: my comment is referring to standard usage in Texas and isn't directly addressing the point above about black American vernacular).

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