I am increasingly hearing the word "yous" being used as a word for the plural of you.
I was intrigued that at a University seminar for prospective students one of the presenters used the word "yous".
Is it going to become the norm I wonder?
Your thoughts?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2019 04:17AM by helen.

Nooooo!! Tell me it isn't so.

I would hate to see this in mainstream usage, to me it is an indicator of poor literacy.

Out of curiosity I searched and found this very interesting discussion . Language warning......

[ell.stackexchange.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2019 04:17AM by TPANDAV.

I agree and I spend a lot of time correcting my 14 year old son on this one. It is something he has picked up in the last year.

I hope not. Language is evolving day by day and although I am flexible with language, depending on the user, it doesn't sit well with me.
Next thing we know "definately" will be an acceptable spelling for definitely.

I agree with TPANDAV that it signals poor literacy, but then so, to me, does putting K on the end of 'ing' words: somethinK, nothingK, and yet there are well known examples of this being freely used where the literacy of the user is unquestionable. I don't understand.

I certainly hope that will not happen. Poor literacy. Also agree with Stephanie’s comment regarding the use of k when it’s g. Just dreadful in my opinion. Yes, language is evolving but often not in a good way.

There's a transition that I missed: a while ago "sketchy" stopped meaning incomplete and started to mean untrustworthy. How did that happen? It leads to some serious confusion.

...and the word 'presently' used to mean 'soon' and these days seems to mean 'at present' or 'now' Agree TPANDAV these variations can lead to some serious confusion.

Had anyone noticed that the PM herself adds 'k' to the end of 'ing' words? You'd have to wonder where the habit originated and it must be a habit because she is surrounded by speech writers and media people who surely must have pointed it out to her.

Re 'yous' - I have always associated its usage with poor literacy and dare I say it, a particular ethnic group. I am surprised to hear that it is becoming common parlance.

..oh and another of my bugbears - devine, instead of divine.

Regards,

Barbara Anne



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/2019 03:10AM by Barbara Anne.

Oh and my other gripe is over use of punctuation.
Why do questions need 3 question marks or a row of exclamation marks?
Isn’t one enough?

As I understand it punctuation in texting and other apps can now convey subtleties of meaning. E.g. finishing with a full stop has a different meaning from finishing without one. I assume the number of exclamation marks and question marks is significant. I think it changes all the time though, and anyone older than 20 is probably out of touch...

[brobible.com]

Digging into this is fascinating. More on question marks:

"Question marks have a tendency to stack onto each other. And with each stack the meaning changes.

What time do you want to meet up? Simple, unassuming, and friendly. Gets the point across, elicits a response, but also drives toward a solution.

What time do you want to meet up?? Looks like a typo.

What time do you want to meet up??? Feels impatient, childish. It's an aggressive question: It demands a response, and suggests that the response had better be to your liking.

What time do you want to meet up???? Cycles back to playful. Now it's a joke. If you (God forbid) talked to the person on the phone, you might sing-say that entire question.

What time do you want to meet up????? Too many. Now it's just confusing. Why were five question marks necessary? This seems like the kind of person who would write "kewl."

So ... use one question mark to just move the conversation along, and four to move it along flirtatiously. Anything else and you're doing it wrong."

Oh that is amusing Tpandav.
I don't think I am needing to flirt so will probably stick with one unless I feel the need to scream out the question and then I guess a few more add emphasis.

TPANDAV, fascinating what your research threw up. I am quite content not to be with it.

Yous grates like fingernails on a blackboard. Grammar doesn't feature highly in English classes today. Will now start limiting my use of ? and !.

I occasionally use two question marks or exclamation marks. It denotes emphasis or a strong feeling about the subject in question. I hope I don't overuse them, but I think they do have their place, even if grammarians tell me it's wrong!!

I hate hearing or seeing this!!!! (Ha Ha I cant believe I actually did this now Ive read all the posts ;-) ) No excuses!
Ive recently seen some of my 11 year olds messages and group chats - OMG talk about hard to understand! ARGHHHHH

Kids today certainly have a unique way of communicating with each other, its full of emojis, acronyms and new slang. I tyhought I was up with the play but sadly Im nowhere near!

I had a laugh the other day. The kids at school told me about a singer, they repeated the name and I cut them off say actually his name is Billy Idol. I went on and on about him, the kids clearly humoured me.
It turns out it was a singer called Billie Eilish - 17 or 18 years old and to my surprise very talented! Check out "BAD GUY" By Billie Eilish.

Vanessa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2019 08:55AM by Vanessa45.

I'm with Lorna here, although I don't use double question marks I commonly use double exclamation marks. I have just smacked myself on the hand, but I don't think I'm going to break the habit any time now - too old in the tooth me thinks!
Regards,
Dawn.

Language is evolving all the time but it doesn't mean we always like the evolution. An "f" instead of "th" drives me crazy, as in fing instead of thing, even worse when it is everyfink!

Stephanie D I need a laughing emoji. When my elder grand daughter was small she went through a phase of 'everythinking' and I performed simulated hair pulling out rage when it occurred in my hearing. She would get the giggles but it worked!

I hate 'yous' as well. I always remember a particular Christchurch cafe (I haven't been to for some time) and their young male staff who would always say 'yous guys want knives and forks?'

We had also noticed that the PM says 'anythink' instead of 'anything' - really surprising as it makes her sound uneducated when obviously she is not. I'm surprised she does not have some sort of adviser that would have kindly corrected her. My husband has just finished reading 'The Queen's English and How to Use It' from cover to cover and enjoyed it! I will not be attempting to read it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/29/2019 05:24AM by Jacki1.