Magnum P.I. quotes you still use in everyday conversation

[Mad Kudu Buck]

Unlike most here, I don't say "hi guys," as a native Texan, "hey y'all" is too deeply ingrained.

Whenever I hear somebody say "y'all", I think of John Candy in Midnight Cowboy II in 3D.


youtu.be/jksNntjfFiE

I was always confused by somebody saying "y'all" when only talking to one person.

[eagle]

I was always confused by somebody saying "y'all" when only talking to one person.

"Y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

Yes, of course. It's so obvious, I don't see how I missed it.

[eagle]

Yes, of course. It's so obvious, I don't see how I missed it.

I'm with you. I grew up in the south and it always makes me laugh.

[Reef monkey]

I was always confused by somebody saying "y'all" when only talking to one person.

"Y'all" is singular. "All y'all" is plural.

That's very Deep South, I don't think I ever have heard someone say "y'all" when addressing just one person here in Texas. Here, y'all is to address a group, just a contraction of you all, or serve the same person as "youse guys". It just fixes the flaw in standard english of both the singular and plural second person pronoun being exactly the same one. And "all of y'all" is letting a large group of people know you are addressing the group as a whole, rather than just two or more people within the group.

Regional dialects are so much fun. There was an older Oklahoman I used to work with who, upon parting, would say "I'll see y'all a while ago." I could never figure out that one. And then there was my wife's grandfather, sweetest guy, but from Tennessee, and had the thickest Appalachian accent, I could only understand about every third word.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

Imagine a Tennessee Magnum where you can only understand every third word he says. You'd be sitting there saying, "Wha.. what did he just say? It was something about a sunrise, I think, but I'm not sure."

Back to quotes, with my wife I've used something like, "I mean, here we are living in paradise. I'm talking paradise. Why can't we just do things for one another, simply because we want to?"

[marlboro]

"Y'all" is never used when talking about a single person. When you hear someone use it that way, rest assured, they are not from the south. Think of it as a redneck shibboleth.

[Pahonu]

Nobody is going to bring up the Pittsburgh equivalent "yinz" as in "you ones" as opposed to "you all". They even call themselves Yinzers. Here in Socal, "you guys" is the norm but I am related to some Yinzers.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

The California "your guyses" is even worse than saying "y'all" to one person.

[MHTR]

Pahonu wrote:
Nobody is going to bring up the Pittsburgh equivalent "yinz" as in "you ones" as opposed to "you all"

I grew up close to Pittsburgh and we pronounced/spelled it "yuns" (I didn't use a "z" sound, can't recall anybody else using it).

[☨magnum.t]

HAHA I was born and raised in East Tennessee and we say some pretty off the wall things. Like the pronunciation of oil and such. Y'all is def plural for you. people here say I seen it or even better, seent it, a lot instead of I saw it. It reminds me of Magnum and Billy Joe saying ING, I..N..G lol

[Mad Kudu Buck]

HAHA I was born and raised in East Tennessee and we say some pretty off the wall things. Like the pronunciation of oil and such.

Do you pronounce it like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwXs_y_1-R8&t=1144

[eagle]

That's pretty close to how I say it.

I can't say "oiyell"

But it's not "ol" as in "oliver"

[Reef monkey]

That's pretty close to how I say it.

I can't say "oiyell"

But it's not "ol" as in "oliver"

It's almost like a cross between all and awl.

[marlboro]

HAHA I was born and raised in East Tennessee and we say some pretty off the wall things. Like the pronunciation of oil and such. Y'all is def plural for you. people here say I seen it or even better, seent it, a lot instead of I saw it. It reminds me of Magnum and Billy Joe saying ING, I..N..G lol

I'm from Middle TN. I drop the g from most words ending in -ing. I replace the o sound at the end of many words with an "uh" sound; Camaro comes out like Camar-uh. I also often use "ye" instead of "your." There are some odd variables to account for: we say "defrost the turkey" but on a winter day we would turn on the "de-frost" to clear our car's windshield. Instead of "I am about to" I usually say "I'm fixin' to."

There are a lot of varieties when it comes to southern accents. Often actors juts fall back on some bizarre Gone with the Wind style imitation or, occasionally, an over the top Texas caricature. Oddly enough, British actors are much better at doing southern accents than non southern American actors.