Re: "y'all" --Cautious Contention for Correcting Contractions

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Piabinha at aol_com said about the comment "i can see everyone laughing at
the ya'll"

> that's because it should be y'all...  :-)
> 

Yes and no.  "Y'all" is indeed the more commonly employed form for
transcribing the contraction.  If the contraction comprises the formal
English words "you" and "all," then "y'all" is the standard
contraction.  

If the contraction comprises the slang word "ya" (as in, "Ya gotta be
kiddin'"), then "ya'all" is a reasonable way to contract the written
terms into one word.  Especially if one wants to visually emphasize the
vowels, which regardless of transcription, are joined but rarely elided
in oral speech -- at least in places where "ya'all" is often said.

"Y'll" is right out of the picture though, while "y'u'll" is sometimes
used for "you will" (as in, "Y'u'll have t' ask f' help t' get rid o'
the algae").

S'long all,   ;-)
Sc'tt H'

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