I grew up in the southeast US and while I don't think I have a strong accent and have tried to cut other southern things out of my speech, I quite like "y'all". In my opinion it's the best gender neutral second person plural word. Most others are needlessly gendered or sound even weirder.
I hear you on the needlessly gendered words. I also try not to use words like "guys." Instead, I use words like "everyone" or just "you." They work just fine in most instances. On rare occasions, I sneak in a "you all." Same content without the southern sound.
I'm pretty sure I sound like even more of a hick than usual if I try to say "you all" over just admitting defeat and saying "ya'll".
I grew up in the southeast US and while I don't think I have a strong accent and have tried to cut other southern things out of my speech, I quite like "y'all". In my opinion it's the best gender neutral second person plural word. Most others are needlessly gendered or sound even weirder.
I hear you on the needlessly gendered words. I also try not to use words like "guys." Instead, I use words like "everyone" or just "you." They work just fine in most instances. On rare occasions, I sneak in a "you all." Same content without the southern sound.
I'm pretty sure I sound like even more of a hick than usual if I try to say "you all" over just admitting defeat and saying "ya'll".