5E Mearls' "Firing" tweet

[lowkey13]

Don't know about Publix, but if the butcher at the H.E.B. said that to me, I'd look around to see who else he was talkin' to.

The second quote, well... the Southerner might be talkin' to a single fan, but the reference is to all misguided fans of midwest teams. That Southerner was politely acknowledging that while the person he was talkin' to might be deluded, it's a common delusion and nothing to feel too terribly ashamed about.

What?

For the first, this is a fairly common usage, especially when dealing with differing levels of authority (formality). So while it is often confused with the "missing plural," it is missing formality.

For the second, it is used when a Southerner is talking to a non-Southerner, as a marker. For example, I would say the following to you-

"Y'all don't know jack; Texas A&M isn't a real SEC team, and Texans can't play football. S...E...C!"

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Like ... the actual South, or the made-up South (aka Texas)?

Because in the actual South, the singular "y'all" occurs.

Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

 

[Umbran]

I've lived in the South my entire life and I've never really seen this fabeled "singular y'all" out in the wild. If the conversations where it's attributed are taken in context, there is most likely an address of unseen others.

As one example, I am specifically thinking about a friend of mine, born and raised in Georgia, came north only after college. He will walk into a room in which there's only one person, and ask, "How y'all doin'?"

So, whatever. If you feel you can speak for the language use of tens of millions of people without having done a solid survey of that use, and reject ear-witness testimony on basis of... I don't know what... y'all do you.

 

[lowkey13]

Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

I'll give you three of those states.

....Well, all five are more Southern than Texas, but that's not saying much. That's like, "I'm a real New Englander! I'm from Pennsylvania!"

 

[Gradine]

You're hilarious.

Thanks!

 

[Gradine]

I'll give you three of those states.

....Well, all five are more Southern than Texas, but that's not saying much. That's like, "I'm a real New Englander! I'm from Pennsylvania!"

Or "I'm from Arizona, that's basically the West Coast!"

 

[Elfcrusher]

Grammar does matter, despite some of the responses here. Submit a job application with "I can't wait to work for you're company. I've only heard really good things their." Or write a book like that.

And see what happens. Just because lots of people keep messing up grammar doesn't mean it's suddenly acceptable to do.

Is anybody arguing that grammar does not matter? (Maybe they are; if so I missed it.)

But there's a difference between being sloppy/ignorant of grammar, and intentionally trying to nudge its evolution. It's like broken meter or rhyme in poetry: if accidental it's probably bad writing; if intentional it's artistry. (Or at least it's an attempt at artistry. Results are not guaranteed....)

In fact, I would say that if grammar did not matter, then the he/she/they thing would have no meaning. It is precisely because grammar does matter that the willingness of some of us to bend the rules carries significance.

 

[epithet]

Like ... the actual South, or the made-up South (aka Texas)?

Because in the actual South, the singular "y'all" occurs.

Maybe to the south of the caves of ice, along the banks of the River Alph. There, the people dine on honeydew and call each other, singularly, "y'all." This is due to being drunk on the milk of paradise.

 

[robus]

No, those words are spelled correctly. "Their' is a correct spelling. The usage is wrong, therefore, grammar issue.

I dunno. Spelling “there” as “their” certainly looks like a spelling mistake to me. I was not confused by their meaning (which is typical for grammar issues), just their spelling. But that’s enough on that.

 

[billd91]

I dunno. Spelling “there” as “their” certainly looks like a spelling mistake to me. I was not confused by their meaning (which is typical for grammar issues), just their spelling. But that’s enough on that.

I would generally agree. The whole their/there/they're issue is a question of sloppily writing the wrong homophone. My freakin' auto-correct does that on me.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'll give you three of those states.

....Well, all five are more Southern than Texas, but that's not saying much. That's like, "I'm a real New Englander! I'm from Pennsylvania!"

Heh... as if any of us who live in these six states really care that we are "New Englanders". The only New England thing that matters to us enough to warrant taking pride in it is the Patriots. Other than that... we just get all lumped together to get our land area up to the size of a normal state.

 

[Gradine]

Heh... as if any of us who live in these six states really care that we are "New Englanders". The only New England thing that matters to us enough to warrant taking pride in it is the Patriots. Other than that... we just get all lumped together to get our land area up to the size of a normal state.

Also the chowder?

 

[lowkey13]

Heh... as if any of us who live in these six states really care that we are "New Englanders". The only New England thing that matters to us enough to warrant taking pride in it is the Patriots.

Oh, Defcon, you root for the Patriots? Bless your heart!

 

[billd91]

Also the chowder?

As long as that chowder isn't the tomato-based one that's a legacy of Portuguese cooking... that they blame Manhattan for despite it being native to New England as well.

 

[Elfcrusher]

Heh... as if any of us who live in these six states really care that we are "New Englanders". The only New England thing that matters to us enough to warrant taking pride in it is the Patriots. Other than that... we just get all lumped together to get our land area up to the size of a normal state.

Wait, who is this "us" and "we"? Sorry, but MA, CT, and RI are not really part of New England any more. The only bits of MA that are still New England have small plaques in front of them and are surrounded by parking lots.

The other day I was explaining to my 5 year old that "Roman" means "somebody from Rome" just like "Coloradan" means "somebody from Colorado." He pondered that and asked, "What do you call somebody from Massachusetts?"

I chuckled and said, "Well, I tell you when you're older."

(Hint: I'm from Maine...)

 

[lowkey13]

(Hint: I'm from Maine...)

Maine is just an LL Bean Outlet store surrounded by a sea of hunter's orange.

It's basically the South, if southerners said, "You can't get there from here."


There was a young lady from Gloucester
Who complained that her parents both bossed her,
So she ran off to Maine.
Did her parents complain?
Not at all — they were glad to have lost her.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have heard southerners (and by "Southerner" I include people as far north as Ohio, because the term is frequently used that far north), use "y'all" as both singular and plural, repeatedly enough that I can't call it accidental. I think it is just eliding to use "y'all" to mean "you", which is used in both singular and plural constructions.

I’ve witnessed that same thing within my family- we’re Louisianans, most currently living in Texas (myself included)- more than once. Often lampshaded, as in, “ What y’all ought to do- and by ‘y’all’, I mean “you”- is to go take care of that situation immediately.”

 

[Elfcrusher]

Maine is just an LL Bean Outlet store surrounded by a sea of hunter's orange.

It's basically the South, if southerners said, "You can't there from here."

That's what I'm talking about! THAT'S New England.

(Except that it's not an outlet, it's the mother ship. Which you would know if you dared to cross the border.)

There's an old SNL skit about driving directions in New England. Hilarious.

"What's the quickest route from Providence, RI, to Dorchester, MA?"
"BZZZZZZ!"
"Yes?"
"Dorchestah? Why would you want to go theyah?"
"That is correct! There is no reason to go to Dorchester!"

 

[DEFCON 1]

Oh, Defcon, you root for the Patriots? Bless your heart!

Of course I don't "root" for the Patriots. To "root" for a sports team is to give all your positive energy to that team in the hopes that it will help that team finally succeed. But the Patriots have proven their vast superiority over every other professional football team these past 20 years, and thus my "rooting" for them is completely unnecessary.

I just get dragged along in the Patriots wake and take ultimate pleasure in watching every other team and sports fan get run over by them, and I can't help but smile as I look back over my shoulder at all the corpses being left behind.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Wait, who is this "us" and "we"? Sorry, but MA, CT, and RI are not really part of New England any more. The only bits of MA that are still New England have small plaques in front of them and are surrounded by parking lots.

The other day I was explaining to my 5 year old that "Roman" means "somebody from Rome" just like "Coloradan" means "somebody from Colorado." He pondered that and asked, "What do you call somebody from Massachusetts?"

I chuckled and said, "Well, I tell you when you're older."

(Hint: I'm from Maine...)

Massachusetts is to New England what Matthew Fox's character Charlie was to "Party of Five"... drunken, immature, irresponsible, and yet seemingly the one in charge. Whereas Maine is the Baby Owen of New England... no real reason to be there other than just as a possible story point for the other characters to have to deal with.