Yall

Y'all (often spelled y'all, with or without apostrophe) is a second-person pronoun used to address two or more people. It originated as a contraction of "you all" in American English, with earliest attested prints in the 19th century in the Southern United States. It remains most strongly associated with Southern dialects, but has spread in popularity through media and migration, and is now heard in other regions and among speakers of diverse backgrounds.

In usage, y'all serves as a second-person plural pronoun; some speakers employ it for both singular and plural in informal speech, though most use it as plural. There are possessive forms "y'all's" or "y'alls." Contractions such as "y'all'd" (you all would) and "y'all'd've" (you all would have) appear in informal writing. The spelling "yall" without apostrophe is common in casual writing and digital communication, and in some regional writing.

In style guides, y'all is considered informal and regionally marked; formal writing typically avoids it. Sociolinguistically, y'all signals regional identity and solidarity, and its acceptance varies by audience and community. The term has become part of popular culture and linguistic study as an example of regional pronouns in American English.

Variants and related forms include "you guys" as a nonregional alternative, and some speakers use "all y'all" to emphasize plurality. The usage of y'all reflects broader patterns of pronoun variation in American English and the ways regional speech can influence written language.