You vs Youse

Buckle up, you are about to get a history lesson. Or should I say ‘youse’ about to get a history lesson?

Our lesson starts in the historic city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the first capital of the United States. Besides having the reputation of 'The City of Brotherly Love', Philadelphia also has another reputation: Its use of the word 'youse'.

As someone who came into existence in good ol’ Philadelphia, I am quite familiar with the use of youse. In essence, it is used as a plural form of you. For example, "all of youse" instead of "all of you". It may sound funny but you'd be surprised how common it is to hear on a day-to-day basis. I could step outside and immediately find someone who finds that word to be natural to them.

However, I never was the one to use it. I remember being asked many times as to why I said 'you' instead of 'youse'. Apparently, I was not speaking in the proper Philly way. It always felt like a weird slip of the tongue, a word that went against what I learned in school. The word ‘you’ is used in both singular and plural contexts, so why does youse exist?

Well, there is a pretty simple answer, the evolution of language.

The Changes in The English Language

Remember reading Shakespeare in your English class and seeing all the “thou’s” and “thee’s” and “ye’s” and never quite grasping them? Turns out they are all older forms of ‘you’ (thou and thee are singular, ye and you is plural). In the olden days of kingdoms, ye and you soon turned into words used to address one person, a superior, as a sign of respect. Thus thou and thee, specific singular forms of you, became obsolete. Nowadays, you is used in both singular and plural contexts usually being distinguished by verbs (you are, you was).

This is where dialect comes into play. A dialect, in summary, is a different form of a language that is particular to a specific region or group. The use of "you was” is a great example of this. By typing that phrase out, it gets the blue squiggly line from the grammar checker, but in some places, it is common practice. These dialects evolved as a way to distinguish singular and plural you. This is where we enter Philadelphia, with youse as its plural you.

If you ever heard anyone that isn't from Philadelphia talk about Philadelphia, they tend to mention a few things: the Liberty Bell, the iconic "Philly Cheese-stake", and the use of the word "youse". That last one tends to be a common complaint about the Philly dialect (which also includes a different pronunciation of water). Instead of using "you" when speaking, many Philly-born say "youse". This is an intriguing example of dialect differences throughout a language. Somewhere along the line in Philadelphia "you" became "youse".

The Big Question: Is “youse” correct?

Technically, no.

'You' can be used interchangeably for singular and plural, so there is no use for 'youse' (say that 10 times fast).

However, its use as a dialect is correct. While it is not the standard, its development highlights such an interesting aspect of language. Language is constantly evolving, and 'youse' shows that more than anything. Even though it won't sound correct to anyone outside of Philadelphia, 'youse' is still considered correct.

Feel free to use whichever you please. You or youse. Youse or you. There is little difference. Chin up Philly, now you have a bucket of knowledge to dump on anyone who makes fun of youse. So defend it and be proud of your regional dialect!