atw: Re: Youse
- From: Ken Randall <kenneth_james_randall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 00:37:25 -0800 (PST)
In his post-bout speeches Jeff Fenech used to say "I love youse
people". That was sort of a trademark of his.
--- On Tue, 2/2/10, Terry Dowling <Terrence.Dowling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Terry Dowling <Terrence.Dowling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: atw: Re: Youse
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Received: Tuesday, 2 February, 2010, 6:07 PM
Dicitonaries tend to say 'non-standard use' as a polite way of saying some
people use it, but it's wrong.
I think what I was aiming for is called a double entendre. Looks like I missed.
So, apart from its non-standard use, making a plural by adding 'se' is also
non-standard. Can you think of any other example?
Most things we just add 's' e.g. plural => plurals, cup => cups. Others we
change the text e.g. wolf => wolves, wife => wives, party => parties. Where
there is an 'e' with the 's', the 'e' always seems to come first -- except in
youse = thus non-standard.
Like Rebecca (and several others) I have issues with it's use in conversation
(and believe it is indicative of poor education or a need to sound stupid to
fit in) and object to use in formal writings. I do use it in jest. Maybe I am
an intellectual snob (certainly ain't a financial one). These are my
preferences and prejudices.
I'm sure a lot of the folk who use 'youse' would look down on my football
prowess or my boxing skills or my lack of street smarts or my car or the fact
that I don't have tattoos. Fair call. These are their preferences.
Also, I write manuals to be used in the mining industry -- which probably has a
higher representation than most of those who use youse -- but I'd rather they
learnt English than for me to go to lowest denominator mode. The miners are
also over-represented in the smoking and drinking leagues and I feel no need to
match them there, either.
I love youse all,
Terry
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Geoffrey Marnell
Sent: Tuesday, 2 February 2010 11:46 AM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Youse
Not sure I understand you Terry. "Yous" is not a word in Australian English, so
the non-standardness can't be referring to the adding of an e at the end.
"Non-standard" typically means not widely accepted in general writing or speech.
==
The Macquarie now lists "youse". It calls its use "non-standard"
Surely, the 'non-standard' simply refers to the use of the 'e' after the 's'.
:-) I'm struggling to think of a similar example.
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