Yinz is a derivation from the original
Scots-Irish forms "Yin(s)" (meaning 'One(s)) and related contractions of
you ones,
yous ones and ''ye 'uns
, a form of the second-person plural that is commonly heard in Scotland, Ulster and parts of Ireland and Northern England. In the first and third person, standard English-speakers use distinct pronouns to denote singular and plural. In the first person, for example, speakers use the singular I
and the plural we
. However, the second-person pronoun you
performs a double duty since it is both the singular form and the plural form. Crozier (1984) suggests that during the 19th century, when many Irish-speakers switched to speaking English, they filled that gap with you ones
, primarily because Irish has both the singular second-person pronoun tú
and the plural form sibh
. The following, therefore, is the most likely path from you ones
to yinz
: you ones
> you'uns
> youns
> yunz
> yinz
. Because there are still speakers who use each form, there is no stable second-person plural pronoun form in the southwest or central Pennsylvania area, so the pronoun is variably referred to or spelled as '''you'uns
, y'ins
, y'uns
, yunz
, yuns
, yinz
, yenz
, yins
, or ynz'''''. In other parts of the United States, similarly regional British, Irish and Scots-Irish speakers brought over different dialectal second-person plural forms. Examples include
yunz, which is used in and around Middletown, Pennsylvania;
youse, which is found mainly in New York City and Chicago, the
Philadelphia dialect and New Jersey; and ''
y'all'', which is ubiquitous in the South. A similar form with similar Irish and Scots roots is found in the
Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Rarely written, it is spelled
yous and is usually pronounced as or something between and . It is sometimes combined with
all for emphasis, as in, "are yous all coming to the party?" That usage is also common within Carbon and Schuylkill Counties, Pennsylvania. ==In popular culture==