Yinz Guys! And other ways to address a group in American English

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer  from English with Jennifer.  

Besides "Hi everyone!" how else could I address  you all? How about, "Hi everybody," "Hi all,"  

or simply, "Hey there"? We can use "everyone"  to address a group. Good morning, everyone.  

"Everybody" is considered a little more casual.  Morning, everybody. Moving from hello, hi, hey,  

we also become friendlier and more  laid back. I grew up in Pennsylvania,  

and now I live in Massachusetts, so my  English is representative of the Northeast.  

Another way I address a group of people is  with "guys." Hi guys. Hey guys. I often do this  

even if the group is made up entirely of women.  In that case, I may also use "ladies." Hi ladies.  

I can address a group of female friends this  way or a group of female students. I might say,  

"Okay, ladies. Let's get started."  This isn't formal. I'm just addressing  

the group and acknowledging that the  group is made up of women. Of course,  

some women might address their female friends  with "girls" or "gals," but that's not my habit.

You may be wondering what the men say. Well,  I hear them use "bro," as in, "Hey bro."  

And to a group, I hear "dudes." I hear  "guys," as in, "Hey dudes." "Hi guys."

Putting "ladies" and "gentlemen" together  sounds formal. Good evening ladies and  

gentlemen. Would I use "gentlemen" all  by itself? That too sounds formal to me.  

In a casual setting, I prefer  "guys." Hi guys. Hey guys.

My preferences, however, won't be the  same as other Americans in all 50 states.  

Did you see my lesson on  the US states and capitals?  

I also went over the regions and  explained that the Mason-Dixon line  

is one way to divide the North and South. In the  Northern states, I'd expect to hear, "Hi guys"  

"Hey you guys." And do you know what I'd expect to  hear more in the Southern states? "Y'all." Short  

for "you all." In fact, you may hear the full  form, too. Hi y'all. Hey y'all. How ya doin'?

Let me tell you one more way we can address a  group of people. Do you remember my home state?  

Pennsylvania. My hometown is Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh, PA. Well, back in the Burgh,  

we have a certain way of talking, and it's called  Pittsburghese. It's heard outside of the city,  

too, so it's probably more accurate to  call it a dialect of Western Pennsylvania.  

There are words and certain pronunciation  patterns that are unique to Pittsburghese.  

We tend to address each other with "yinz."  This word is written different ways. "Yinz."  

We often say it in the phrase "yin's guys."  Hey yinz guys. What are yinz guys doing?"

I'm not going to address the grammar of  all these different forms of address.  

It's not about what's grammatically correct.  It's about what people say every day.

So, the next time you hear an American  English speaker address a group,  

pay attention to their word choice. You just might  be able to figure out where the person is from.  

All right, yinz guys. We're going to end here.  I hope you found this interesting and useful.  

Please like the video. As always,  thanks for watching and happy studies!  

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