So you're sitting at that restaurant table and the waitress comes up to greet you.  She calls you and your wife "you guys."  In the southern part of the country she'd probably call you both 'y'all."

Means the same thing doesn't it?  Maybe.

Arkia Okrent, who just a released a book called "The Land Of Invented Language" says that 'y'all" means different things to different people.

Southerners use  "y'all" to refer to multiple people.  Southerners also exaggerate the term slightly when traveling in different parts of the country to show others that their from "away."

In his book Okrent also says that some people in the North think that "y'all" refers to just one person.

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Anyway, I find myself somewhat offended when a waiter or a waitress calls my wife and I "you guys."  It's almost too friendly.  What do you think?

 

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