There has been some debate on another blog about the proper spelling of the word "y'all". It is a southern idiom and a contraction of "you all" (in Spanish, we say "ustedes" which cannot be contracted). The rules say that when using an apostrophe to create a contraction, it replaces missing letters. Therefore "you all" would contract to "y'all" with the apostophe replacing the letters "ou" from the word "you".
However, apparently in the South, they don't say "you" -- they say "ya" and therefore argue that the proper contraction is "ya'll", with the apostrophe replacing the "a" in "all". I somehow doubt people in the South who eschew the use of contractions are walking around saying "ya all" but this is what they are trying to make us believe. Whatever ...
On the subway this morning, I noticed a poster advertising the Downtown Yonge Kidzfest with a Window Wonderland (you can see the poster here). Note the second sentence in this beauty: "RYERSON STUDENTS MUST CREATE HOLIDAY WINDOW DISPLAYS ON A BUDGET OF $100. COME DOWN AND SEE HOW THEY FAIR." (emphasis added)
You would think that the person who designed this poster should have a better command of the English language. I'm only writing a blog so my slip-ups (I call them "typos" ... tee hee) are not plastered all over the subway. By the way, this obsession started long before I started reading Lynne Truss' grammar books (note the correct use of the possessive apostrophe here!). :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment