A question concerning some English expressions: Help needed

[cottierm]

Dear all,

I need the help of those of you living in North America (Canada and US) and willing to answer the five questions at the end of this message.

I am currently working on an English linguistic paper and need your opinion concerning expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' when the word 'guys' is addressed to mixed-sex groups or all-female groups. Additionally, question 5 bears on expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' when addressed to mixed-sex groups or all-male groups.

As I suspect that the majority of members on this forum are male, would you be kind enough to ask your girlfriend/partner/wife to answer this short questionnaire as well?

This questionnaire is very basic and extremely short; I just need you to answer me off-line by using my handle and indicating your answers as follows: '1. a; 2. b; 3. a', and so on.

Do not hesitate to add some personal comments to flesh out your answers to this questionnaire if you have any.

There is no prize/reward for participating to this questionnaire other than the satisfaction to have helped a fellow FOH member!

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

Michel

QUESTIONNAIRE:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. You are:

a. a man.

b. a woman.

2. Your age:

a. 20-30.

b. 31-40.

c. 41-50.

d. 50+

QUESTIONS

3. When you hear expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' addressed to a mixed-sex group or an all-female group, are you:

a. still surprised by this usage.

b. finding it a bit strange but nothing more.

c. hardly noticing it because this usage has become so common nowadays.

4. Do you yourself use such expressions to addressed mixed-sex groups or all-female groups:

a. never/not really.

b. sometimes.

c. frequently.

5. Conversely, when using expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' to address a mixed-sex group or an all-male group, do you do it:

a. ironically/jokingly.

b. as a conscious way of reversing gender stereotypes.

c. the question is irrelevant as you never use such expressions to address mixed-sex groups or all-female groups.

That's it! Thanks again

[wea1959]

I find your survey fatally flawed in that questions 3-5 never allow for a discrete response to the 'mixed-sex' group. Mixed sex defaults to the masculine. Not saying that's right, not saying its wrong ... Just sayin'. We the Deep South (USA) we use y'all for all three.

[cottierm]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for you answer. I am sure that you understand that by ‘mixed-sex group’ I was not suggesting anything other than a 'group including both some men/boys and some women/girls'.

I welcome your information concerning the use of 'guys' in the Deep South.

Best,

Michel

[DrunkenMonkey]

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. You are:

a. a man.

2. Your age:

c. 41-50.

QUESTIONS

3. When you hear expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' addressed to a mixed-sex group or an all-female group, are you:

c. hardly noticing it because this usage has become so common nowadays.

4. Do you yourself use such expressions to addressed mixed-sex groups or all-female groups:

c. frequently.

5. Conversely, when using expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' to address a mixed-sex group or an all-male group, do you do it:

c. the question is irrelevant as you never use such expressions to address mixed-sex groups or all-female groups.

I should note that I'm a teacher at an all-girls high school. I use the phrase 'you guys' all the time when addressing groups of students. It's never occurred to me that there's anything unusual about that, and no one has ever said anything to me about it.

[Vortigan]

1- a

2- c

3- c

4- c

5- c

[cottierm]

Thanks Drunk Monkey and Vortigan for your answers.

Personal comments are also extremely useful for this exercise (I'll add that in the description of the project).

Best,

Michel

[Drguano]

1. a

d

c

b

a

[cottierm]

Thanks Drguano!

[Pedro2486]

Dear all,

I need the help of those of you living in North America (Canada and US) and willing to answer the five questions at the end of this message.

I am currently working on an English linguistic paper and need your opinion concerning expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' when the word 'guys' is addressed to mixed-sex groups or all-female groups. Additionally, question 5 bears on expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' when addressed to mixed-sex groups or all-male groups.

As I suspect that the majority of members on this forum are male, would you be kind enough to ask your girlfriend/partner/wife to answer this short questionnaire as well?

This questionnaire is very basic and extremely short; I just need you to answer me off-line by using my handle and indicating your answers as follows: '1. a; 2. b; 3. a', and so on.

Do not hesitate to add some personal comments to flesh out your answers to this questionnaire if you have any.

There is no prize/reward for participating to this questionnaire other than the satisfaction to have helped a fellow FOH member!

Thanks in advance for your kind help.

Michel

QUESTIONNAIRE:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. You are:

a. a man.

b. a woman.

2. Your age:

a. 20-30.

b. 31-40.

c. 41-50.

d. 50+

QUESTIONS

3. When you hear expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' addressed to a mixed-sex group or an all-female group, are you:

a. still surprised by this usage.

b. finding it a bit strange but nothing more.

c. hardly noticing it because this usage has become so common nowadays.

4. Do you yourself use such expressions to addressed mixed-sex groups or all-female groups:

a. never/not really.

b. sometimes.

c. frequently.

5. Conversely, when using expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' to address a mixed-sex group or an all-male group, do you do it:

a. ironically/jokingly.

b. as a conscious way of reversing gender stereotypes.

c. the question is irrelevant as you never use such expressions to address mixed-sex groups or all-female groups.

That's it! Thanks again

1. A

2. B

3. C

4. C

5. Mix of both A and B

[Guest Robo]

1. a

2. c

3. b

4. b

5. c

I once addressed a group of girls as "you guys" and was promptly corrected: "we are not guys, we are gals". I'm now conscience to use "you gals" when addressing all female groups. However, I will address mixed groups mostly as "you guys" and rarely as "you guys and gals" and never as "you gals". In my opinion, it's acceptable to default mixed group to the masculine.

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[jtvrtas]

1. A

2. D

3. C

4. B

5. C

[cottierm]

Thanks Pedro2486 and JLT for your answers! Thanks Rob for the same as well as for your comment!

Any lady interested in this questionnaire?

[JPS72]

Hi Michel,

Here are my answers and my wife's answers:

My answers:

1. a

2. c

3. b

4. b

5. c

My wife's answers:

1. b

2. c

3. b

4. a

5. a

Joe

[cottierm]

Many thanks to your wife and you Joe!

Best,

Michel

[Rushman]

QUESTIONNAIRE:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. You are:

a. a man.

2. Your age:

c. 41-50.

QUESTIONS

3. When you hear expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' addressed to a mixed-sex group or an all-female group, are you:

c. hardly noticing it because this usage has become so common nowadays.

4. Do you yourself use such expressions to addressed mixed-sex groups or all-female groups:

b. sometimes.

5. Conversely, when using expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' to address a mixed-sex group or an all-male group, do you do it:

c. the question is irrelevant as you never use such expressions to address mixed-sex groups or all-female groups.

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[cottierm]

Thanks Rushman!

[NastyPirate]

Michel- I sent my answers to you via PM.

[cottierm]

Got it! Thanks Nasty Pirate

[ogus]

hey girls

[BBS]

Here you go:

QUESTIONNAIRE:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. You are: - a. a man.

2. Your age: - d. 50+

QUESTIONS

3. When you hear expressions such as 'Hi guys' or 'You guys' addressed to a mixed-sex group or an all-female group, are you: - c. hardly noticing it because this usage has become so common nowadays.

4. Do you yourself use such expressions to addressed mixed-sex groups or all-female groups: - b. sometimes.

5. Conversely, when using expressions such as 'Hi girls' or 'You girls' to address a mixed-sex group or an all-male group, do you do it: - c. the question is irrelevant as you never use such expressions to address mixed-sex groups or all-female groups.

[stogieluver]

As a born/bred, true, deep south boy/redneck, we NEVER use the term "you guys" and make fun of it when we hear Northerners/Yankees/Carpetbaggers use it down here.

We may use the term "girls" to address a group of men in a joking, sometimes derogatory, manner.

The term "Y'all" applies equally to men/women/boys/girls and all animals.

[DrunkenMonkey]

Up here we make fun of people who use the term carpetbagger.

[stogieluver]

Up here we make fun of people who use the term carpetbagger.

Meant in good fun, my Yankee friend. All in good fun. Relax.

Besides, "you guys" make fun of our accent.

[DrunkenMonkey]

Meant in good fun, my Yankee friend. All in good fun. Relax.

Besides, "you guys" make fun of our accent.

All in fun all around, brother. Should have put one of these in

[Laynard]

1. a

2. a

3. c

4. c

5. c

I find "guys" to be gender neutral in this age. And, "boys" would be a closer opposite to "girls".

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