Uneasy Rhetoric

More and more I think English is missing something by not having a separate pronoun for the second person plural.

Today we ate breakfast at 33rd Street Bistro (a good breakfast, but a very small menu). As the hostess was seating us, she said “you guys” three times. Once would have been fine, but three times caught my attention and, frankly, made me uncomfortable.

I’ve explained before how I often use “y’all” for the second person plural. I think it sounds better and it occupies a realm that is less formal than the straight-up “you both” but more formal than “you guys.” In a restaurant, especially a somewhat expensive one like 33rd Street, one expects a little bit of formality.

Y’all is also certainly more gender neutral. I’m young enough that I know “guys” has become an ungendered term, but I’m old enough to be made uncomfortable by its use.

English is probably better off with just one second person pronoun, even if it wasn’t always that way (“thou” was singular/familiar and “you” was plural/formal in much the same way as “tu” and “vous” in French.) Confusion is rare because the number of people addressed is usually contextually determined: “Here is your table. I hope you both have a nice breakfast. Your server will be with you shortly.” Still, in semi-formal speech, I am advocating for y’all, and I’m going to try my best to stop saying “you guys.”