Klarinet Archive - Posting 000767.txt from 2002/10
From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay) Subj: Re: [kl] naming instruments Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 16:19:52 -0500
On Tue, 29 Oct 2002 13:08:18 -0800, gshannon@-----.com said:
> "you guys" is an American English plural of 'you'. It's regional and
> it's what we say in Buffalo, NY too. Other variations around the
> country are "youse", "youse guys", and "y'all" (though someone once
> told me that y'all is singular and "all y'all" is plural). At any
> rate, it's totally gender-neutral.
I wonder. Of course, it may become so, eventually; but surely, "guys
and gals" still retains some sense.
Douglas Hofstadter wrote,
"...when I have asked some people about it, they have adamantly
maintained that, when in the plural, the word 'guy' has completely lost
all traces of masculinity. I was arguing with one woman about this, and
she kept on saying, "It may have retained some male flavor for *you*,
but it has none in most people's usage." I wasn't convinced, but
nothing I could think of to say would budge her from her position.
However, fortune proved to be on my side, because, in a last-ditch
attempt to convince me, she said, "Why, I've even heard *guys* use it to
refer to a bunch of women!" Only after saying it did she realise that
she had just unwittingly undermined her own claim."
Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
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