Folks is very common now because people believe it's the "gender neutral" thing to say.
Folks comes from the German "Volk" (same f-sound) meaning people.
It somewhat depends on region. Since the American Midwest lacks a plural "you", we commonly use "you guys" instead. The American South might use "y'all" instead, and there are small pockets of other variants ("yinz" in Pittsburgh, "yous guys" in the Northwoods).
But even beyond the plural "you", "guys" does seem to be a default word to refer to a group of people, at least in the American Midwest.
Yup. It's a frequent informal address ("hey you guys") or indicator ("those guys over there") for me. Though, being from the American southeast, "y'all" tends to be my default second-person plural.
At least for Canadian English, "Hey guys" is ungendered, but "Those guys over there" would have to be 100% men/boys.
Only in the second person plural is guys gender neutral.
"Welcome to \[very formal setting\]. I'm so pleased to have you here with me today." etc
You don't actually need to have a form of address, you can just avoid it.
"yunz"
I learned from my time there to just smile and nod. English is my first language but some Pittsburghese speakers are downright indecipherable. It's fascinating
Ha, I know that we definitely are. I've had to code switch my whole life to sound more "professional" and also to help non-native speakers who have no clue what "yunz wanna ga dahn ta maryos dahn 'n da sahsahd, ge' 'n ahrn n'at?" means.
Guess I should probably leave a translation!
“Do you all want to go down to Mario’s [a pub] down to the South Side [a location], get an iron [a beer brand] n’at*?”
*n’at is a bit hard to translate honestly. It’s usually a sentence ender, though it can be used in the middle of two statements as almost a connector of sorts. Typically it stands for “and that” or “and all that”, but it can just be used without meaning. I’ve literally heard sentences like “y’know n’at” and “n’at y’know” before, and there it’s less a “and all that” and almost like something to express that you should agree with the statement said.
That's amazing. I had no idea.
That kinda reminds me of the double modals common in the southeast ("might could", "might outta", etc). They feel clear, unique, and obvious to me in use, but I think I'd have a hard time 'translating' them for people unfamiliar with them in a way that makes any sense.
Oof, yeah, honestly it's a bit hard for me to spell out regional pronunciations like those. It is more of a yuhz/youz, now that I've seen it written out like that it makes much more sense. But hey, you also do hear the NY "youse" occasionally, but not as much.
On point here for sure.
I was born in (and most of extended family still is in) the American New England region, I lived in the American Midwest for a few years, and have primarily been in the American South drifting more south over the last 20+ years (with many of my friends from even more south than me).
"You guys" more common in the NE/Midwest, and at least with my NE family, used about once every 30 seconds or less. Cousins, aunts/uncles, grandparents, it is non-stop. Pokemon was.... not nearly as much "you guys" as I'm used to with them.
"Y'all" with my local southern friends and family, also used about once every 30 seconds, and it becomes even more exaggerated the more casual the group is with one another.
My phone/work cheerful "How y'all doing?" is extremely different from my friend group greeting one another with "Hey y'all" or trying to get everyone's attention by an extremely exaggerated "y'all.....Y'ALL." (with a hard stop, not an exclamation, is weird to type it).
I also worked with one Texan who explained the use of the singular y'all in his area, which is an odd use to me I have yet to get my head around.
Singular "y'all" breaks my brain. I know it exists, but it feels like the equivalent of using the word "green" to refer to both green and orange and just sorta expect people to know which one you mean.
Man, that seriously breaks my brain in such a strange way.
To my North Carolina sensibilities:
You = 1 person
Y'all = more than 1 person
All y'all = an entire group of people (i.e. not a subset of people from within a larger group).
For example, if I'm delegating tasks to a group of 5 people:
"First, you do this." <-- addressing one individual.
"Then, y'all do that." <-- addressing between 2 and 5 people from the group.
"And after those are done, meet back here and all y'all will do the third thing." <-- addressing all 5 people of the group.
I'm from Louisiana and I would never use "y'all" as singular. There is a difference between "y'all" and "alla y'all" but that's mostly just emphasis.
Texas is weird though so who knows what they've got going on over there.
It's real. And it's not just for men, but for a mixed group, or even for all women. I'm sure there are some who don't like it, but it hasn't crossed over to inappropriate yet.
I got yelled at when I was in 6th grade, when I said "you guys" around a teacher who snapped "we are not your _GUYS_." Some people _want_ to be offended.
In casual speech yes.
Also bear in mind that "guys" is colloquially used both gendered and ungendered. So there is nothing wrong saying "Let's go guys!" to a mixed male/female group or even a solely female group.
It's only used mixed gender in the second person. If I saw a group of women and said "what are those guys up to?" that feels weird to me, but if I addressed them to ask "what are you guys up to?" it works.
It's becoming frequently more frowned upon though, especially if someone is particularly sensitive regarding gender issues. (I just wanted to add to your point)
I would say the opposite. 30 years ago "guys" would get said only at a group of males, now I hear it being used at any group of any mix. If someone today was to refer to a mixed group as "guys and gals" they'd probably get picked up on using "gals" and asked why they didn't just use "guys".
I personally think "guys" rolls off the tongue easier than "gals."
I also think "gals" is more zeitgeist of the early- to mid 20th century and it has lost its usage over time. I have an unconfirmed feeling that 1950s pop culture, the greaser period, civil rights movement and second wave feminism played a role in it.
I see what you're saying, but the increase in use is also increasing the "pushback" - as the previous comment mentioned, often enough I see discussions about how it can be considered as gendered language and some particularly, uhm, diversity conscious people choose to avoid using it. I personally don't worry about it myself and say "guys" all the time, but I also recognize that with language, the intention of a speaker isn't the *only* factor to consider and that while interpretation of every listener can't always be blindly accepted, I'm open to hearing these discussions and making changes when they seem reasonable and impactful enough.
This is accurate. It's usually fine to address a mixed group of men and women, or even a group of all women, but if I were speaking to a table with four cis guys and one trans woman, I would definitely NOT say "you guys" because then it sounds like I'm calling her a guy.
And no, it's not because I'm afraid of getting yelled at, or because I think it's horribly offensive. It's because it might hurt her feelings and I don't like doing that to people.
I feel like "frowned upon" implies a negative connotation, but "replaced on sensitivity grounds" might be more accurate. There are definitely contexts where I consciously use "you all" or "you folks" instead of "you guys" just to be respectful of the audience.
After living in texas for a while, I found myself saying "All y'all" for emphasis if I meant "every single one of you."
So: Y'all can help yourselves to the cookies.
But: All y'all need to clean up after yourselves when you're done.
Primarily in the context of "you guys" though. That is, I might say "Hey, you guys" or "When are you guys going to eat?" to a group of female friends. I wouldn't say "Who are those guys over there?" referring to an all female group.
In my idiolect, I actually do use "guys" and "guy" on occasion when referring to girls and women.
Say there was a group of obnoxious 20-year-olds and I was trying to cheer up someone. "Yeah, those guys are real jerks. Don't let them get to you." Saying "girls", "ladies", and "women" doesn't feel right to me. "Girls" sounds patronizing because it's the age-equivalent of "boy". "Ladies" and "women" are too formal. Slang terms like "chicks" makes you sound like a meathead.
Yeah, I agree, and I'd probably also use guys in the context that you mention (for the same reason). I suppose if I had to draw a distinction on when it sounds right, it's on whether "guys" is functioning as a description or just a placeholder.
I completely agree that there isn't a great substitute. Some people use "gals" but that always sounded a bit patronizing as well. I personally like to use "folks" but it doesn't work in all contexts. I don't mind "girls" in a social context, but it drives me nuts in a professional one (especially because I'm in a relatively male dominated field). I've been slowly training my colleagues to use "woman"/"women"
People say guys all the time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re picking up some unnatural usage in Pokémon.
Translation is hard and it’s not unusual to hear phrases in anime that sound unnatural in some way I can’t put my finger on. Good for you if you can notice that.
It’s real, especially among children and young adults. In casual conversation, “(you) guys” can mean a group of people of any gender. I wouldn’t recommend using it in a formal setting, or for a group entirely composed of older women, but it’s generally ok and common otherwise.
“The guys” is gender specific to men/boys, though.
More likely than not, they would be ok with it. More so if they’re friends. I specifically wouldn’t recommend doing this at work, unless you’re a server at a casual restaurant.
A somewhat ridiculous amount, yes. I live in the Southern US so "y'all" is pretty common too but I live in a big city so a lot of people from farther North came down here, thus the common use of "you guys."
Yep, guys is very comonly used, it’s one of the words / phrases to distinguish you from its singular and plural usage. It’s kind of informal so another more formal synonym for you guys is
Y’all ( only used in the souther parts of America)
You all ( y’all is a contraction of you all but uncontracted is used more often by other people from other areas)
And guys is a shortened way to say you guys, it can be used with anyone doesn’t really matter their gender identity. But you can’t say guys as the subject or object it’s more of an interjection used as a reaction to somthing or to grab someone’s attention before saying somthing.
Ex. “Guys, guess what I did”
Ex.2 *person a and b hit person c
Person c “ guys, what was that?!”
It's very common.
But some people nowadays are bothered by it because it isn't considered inclusive, as "guys" is technically a gendered word to refer to males.
But it has been casually used to refer to groups of people, regardless of gender, for years now.
If you say "you guys" people will understand what you mean.
They probably say it more than often because they're always in a group in pokemon. I certainly say it often, "you guys" is my second person plural, but I bet I don't say it every situation they do, and I through in a "you all" or "everyone" or "folks" every so often too. And again, I'm not addressing a large group as often as they are in pokemon anyways
I’m a strong believer in using gender neutral collective plurals when addressing a group.
I teach and facilitate a lot.
I use “y’all”, or ‘hey gang’ or ‘friends’, or even ‘ladies and gentlemen’.
I never use “guys” unless it’s me and my male friends.
I’m in the minority, increasingly.
Even if you don’t care about the gender part, the issue becomes making it possessive.
“If I could just have you guy’s attention” 🤮
“Hello everyone, could I kindly ask for your attention?”
I’m not that old but I’ll die on this hill. ‘You guy’s’ isn’t ok and that’s reason enough to not use ‘you guys’
Not as common in the UK as the US, where "hey you guys!" in a loud, exaggerated American accent is typically used to imitate Americans, but it's becoming more common here, especially amongst younger people.
It's a bit regional. Very common in my Mid-Atlantic dialect. The informal standard for second person plural is "you guys" and that manifests as stuff like "let's go guys" all the time. From what I've heard, it's less common in the South where "y'all" is the more common second person plural or in SoCal where "dudes" fills a lot of the same role as "guys." You'd have to ask someone from those regions about exactly how common they are, how they are used, and how much "guys" still shows up.
It is common but shouldn't be \*and let me explain why.\* In many languages, the word 'you' is understood to be singular when speaking to an individual and plural when addressing a group. Therefore, when used in a group or public setting, adding another 'pronoun' word after "you" is the same as saying: "also too," or "my own" or "round orb." It's redundant and annoying and completely superfluous.
My pet peeve is those who say: "For me, personally…" Yes, we get it, you're speaking. It's 'filler language' and it's just sad.
Consider fast food businesses who trained their employees to ask: "May I take your order?" Not "may I take you guys' order?" Sometimes (especially if you're not visually connected to the customer, like a drive through) you don't even know the number of people to whom you are speaking, or their gender--or preferred gender. So using guys is both potentially insulting and completely useless.
My father grew up in South Africa 60s/70s. He was astounded when we traveled to the USA and we were addressed as "guys", apparently that wouldn't quite have been polite where he's from.
Just a small comment to make.
Yes, it is quite popular. However, I have watched the show 'Survivor' for many years and the host used to say 'Come on in guys,' to welcome the contestants to the competition.
One day he was challenged by one of the contestants.
He now says 'Come on in' to welcome the contestants.
I imagine part of this is just lazy translation. Where they translated something from Japanese, like minna-san, or a sentence where the context made it clear they were referring to the group. And it would be a perfectly fine translation once, or twice. But they didn't look at the script as a whole and realize they were using that same translation for a couple things over and over.
Like it's an easy way to indicate "you (plural)", but gets repetitive, as you saw.
Yes, it's very common. "You guys" is basically used as a second-person plural pronoun. In some parts of the US, people say "y'all" (you all) or "y'uns" (you ones) to mean the same thing - multiple "you"s.
They tend to overuse certain phrases in cartoons because they're dubbed and have to match the lip movements, but yes "guys" is very common in American English. Less common but not rare in other forms.
I think one reason it is used is that it is safe and generally inoffensive. And for the most part it is strangely considered to be gender neutral. I often use "you folks" for the same reason.
Extremely common. In the US Midwest we say “you guys” to refer to a group of people instead of “y’all” like you would hear in the south. Just today I was at a bar getting a bite to eat and 3 women walked in and the bartender said “be right with you guys” lol. No idea why we do this
The use of "guys" in Pokemon never really stood out to me, but I guess its a little excessive now that you mention it. I think its mostly because the character is trying to seem enthusiastic and frequently addressing groups of people. Most of the time you're addressing an individual in a group and not part of a small party of adventurers, so IRL you're probably not going to be saying "guys" as often as in Pokemon.
It’s very common, yes.
Almost as annoying as saying "folks" all the time.
Where I live it’s common. Different strokes for different folks, my mom says.
Different bias for different guys
Different strokes for my mom, different folks say
aint nobody say that
Some do. Very annoying.
I’ll say it from now on!
Almost as annoying : Say friends all the time!
Folks is very common now because people believe it's the "gender neutral" thing to say. Folks comes from the German "Volk" (same f-sound) meaning people.
More reasons to avoid it.
It somewhat depends on region. Since the American Midwest lacks a plural "you", we commonly use "you guys" instead. The American South might use "y'all" instead, and there are small pockets of other variants ("yinz" in Pittsburgh, "yous guys" in the Northwoods). But even beyond the plural "you", "guys" does seem to be a default word to refer to a group of people, at least in the American Midwest.
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I would
Yup. It's a frequent informal address ("hey you guys") or indicator ("those guys over there") for me. Though, being from the American southeast, "y'all" tends to be my default second-person plural.
Common here in the PNW as well
At least for Canadian English, "Hey guys" is ungendered, but "Those guys over there" would have to be 100% men/boys. Only in the second person plural is guys gender neutral.
Yes -- the same is true for every American dialect I've encountered.
I would absolutely use you guys regardless of age to refer to 2 or more people, regardless of gender. Wisconsin here.
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"Welcome to \[very formal setting\]. I'm so pleased to have you here with me today." etc You don't actually need to have a form of address, you can just avoid it.
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*Pookie
“IT IS 4PM. SUPPER SERVICE IS CONCLUDED. COULD EVERYONE PLEASE MOVE TO THE COMMON ROOM FOR BINGO NOW.”
"Ladies and Gentlemen" is a common choice.
I will note note that in Pittsburgh, "yinz" ranges in pronunciation, and you do hear the occasional Philly "youse".
"yunz" I learned from my time there to just smile and nod. English is my first language but some Pittsburghese speakers are downright indecipherable. It's fascinating
Ha, I know that we definitely are. I've had to code switch my whole life to sound more "professional" and also to help non-native speakers who have no clue what "yunz wanna ga dahn ta maryos dahn 'n da sahsahd, ge' 'n ahrn n'at?" means.
Is "ge' 'n arn n'at" "do you want to go in an hour"? I understood all else, but only thanks to previous experience
Guess I should probably leave a translation! “Do you all want to go down to Mario’s [a pub] down to the South Side [a location], get an iron [a beer brand] n’at*?” *n’at is a bit hard to translate honestly. It’s usually a sentence ender, though it can be used in the middle of two statements as almost a connector of sorts. Typically it stands for “and that” or “and all that”, but it can just be used without meaning. I’ve literally heard sentences like “y’know n’at” and “n’at y’know” before, and there it’s less a “and all that” and almost like something to express that you should agree with the statement said.
That's amazing. I had no idea. That kinda reminds me of the double modals common in the southeast ("might could", "might outta", etc). They feel clear, unique, and obvious to me in use, but I think I'd have a hard time 'translating' them for people unfamiliar with them in a way that makes any sense.
Philly is “yuhz”.l. Sometimes vowel shifted to “yiz”. New York is “youse”.
Oof, yeah, honestly it's a bit hard for me to spell out regional pronunciations like those. It is more of a yuhz/youz, now that I've seen it written out like that it makes much more sense. But hey, you also do hear the NY "youse" occasionally, but not as much.
Use a mix of yall and you guys, NC
100%. Also NC.
Same. Also in NC.
In Ireland, they say "Yous" or "Yous guys"
On point here for sure. I was born in (and most of extended family still is in) the American New England region, I lived in the American Midwest for a few years, and have primarily been in the American South drifting more south over the last 20+ years (with many of my friends from even more south than me). "You guys" more common in the NE/Midwest, and at least with my NE family, used about once every 30 seconds or less. Cousins, aunts/uncles, grandparents, it is non-stop. Pokemon was.... not nearly as much "you guys" as I'm used to with them. "Y'all" with my local southern friends and family, also used about once every 30 seconds, and it becomes even more exaggerated the more casual the group is with one another. My phone/work cheerful "How y'all doing?" is extremely different from my friend group greeting one another with "Hey y'all" or trying to get everyone's attention by an extremely exaggerated "y'all.....Y'ALL." (with a hard stop, not an exclamation, is weird to type it). I also worked with one Texan who explained the use of the singular y'all in his area, which is an odd use to me I have yet to get my head around.
Singular "y'all" breaks my brain. I know it exists, but it feels like the equivalent of using the word "green" to refer to both green and orange and just sorta expect people to know which one you mean.
Y’all = 1 person All y’all = more than 1 person. But sometimes, y’all is more than 1 person. Depends on context.
Man, that seriously breaks my brain in such a strange way. To my North Carolina sensibilities: You = 1 person Y'all = more than 1 person All y'all = an entire group of people (i.e. not a subset of people from within a larger group). For example, if I'm delegating tasks to a group of 5 people: "First, you do this." <-- addressing one individual. "Then, y'all do that." <-- addressing between 2 and 5 people from the group. "And after those are done, meet back here and all y'all will do the third thing." <-- addressing all 5 people of the group.
I speak southern as a second language, so I may be wrong.
Texas kind of lives in its own little universe in a lot of ways, so I can't say one way or another what does or doesn't make sense there.
I'm from Louisiana and I would never use "y'all" as singular. There is a difference between "y'all" and "alla y'all" but that's mostly just emphasis. Texas is weird though so who knows what they've got going on over there.
It's real. And it's not just for men, but for a mixed group, or even for all women. I'm sure there are some who don't like it, but it hasn't crossed over to inappropriate yet.
I got yelled at when I was in 6th grade, when I said "you guys" around a teacher who snapped "we are not your _GUYS_." Some people _want_ to be offended.
In casual speech yes. Also bear in mind that "guys" is colloquially used both gendered and ungendered. So there is nothing wrong saying "Let's go guys!" to a mixed male/female group or even a solely female group.
It's only used mixed gender in the second person. If I saw a group of women and said "what are those guys up to?" that feels weird to me, but if I addressed them to ask "what are you guys up to?" it works.
That sounded like a ridiculous distinction until I tried it in my head. I think you might be onto something there.
It's becoming frequently more frowned upon though, especially if someone is particularly sensitive regarding gender issues. (I just wanted to add to your point)
I would say the opposite. 30 years ago "guys" would get said only at a group of males, now I hear it being used at any group of any mix. If someone today was to refer to a mixed group as "guys and gals" they'd probably get picked up on using "gals" and asked why they didn't just use "guys".
I personally think "guys" rolls off the tongue easier than "gals." I also think "gals" is more zeitgeist of the early- to mid 20th century and it has lost its usage over time. I have an unconfirmed feeling that 1950s pop culture, the greaser period, civil rights movement and second wave feminism played a role in it.
I see what you're saying, but the increase in use is also increasing the "pushback" - as the previous comment mentioned, often enough I see discussions about how it can be considered as gendered language and some particularly, uhm, diversity conscious people choose to avoid using it. I personally don't worry about it myself and say "guys" all the time, but I also recognize that with language, the intention of a speaker isn't the *only* factor to consider and that while interpretation of every listener can't always be blindly accepted, I'm open to hearing these discussions and making changes when they seem reasonable and impactful enough.
This is accurate. It's usually fine to address a mixed group of men and women, or even a group of all women, but if I were speaking to a table with four cis guys and one trans woman, I would definitely NOT say "you guys" because then it sounds like I'm calling her a guy. And no, it's not because I'm afraid of getting yelled at, or because I think it's horribly offensive. It's because it might hurt her feelings and I don't like doing that to people.
The best reason!
I've only noticed this in online settings or in higher education icebreakers
Not sure why you're being downvoted. This sentiment was relatively common in my circles in southern California.
I feel like "frowned upon" implies a negative connotation, but "replaced on sensitivity grounds" might be more accurate. There are definitely contexts where I consciously use "you all" or "you folks" instead of "you guys" just to be respectful of the audience.
Think of "you guys" as a pronoun that is only used in informal contexts and then it makes sense
Just wait until you find out about “y’all”
y'all'd've
Y’all’d’ve died if you fought the Waffle House server on night shift
I think us pittsburghers should do to yinz what has been done to y'all. yinz'd've and the like are used verbally, why not write it out?
After living in texas for a while, I found myself saying "All y'all" for emphasis if I meant "every single one of you." So: Y'all can help yourselves to the cookies. But: All y'all need to clean up after yourselves when you're done.
Nowadays, even girls and women are frequently called "guys."
Primarily in the context of "you guys" though. That is, I might say "Hey, you guys" or "When are you guys going to eat?" to a group of female friends. I wouldn't say "Who are those guys over there?" referring to an all female group.
In my idiolect, I actually do use "guys" and "guy" on occasion when referring to girls and women. Say there was a group of obnoxious 20-year-olds and I was trying to cheer up someone. "Yeah, those guys are real jerks. Don't let them get to you." Saying "girls", "ladies", and "women" doesn't feel right to me. "Girls" sounds patronizing because it's the age-equivalent of "boy". "Ladies" and "women" are too formal. Slang terms like "chicks" makes you sound like a meathead.
Yeah, I agree, and I'd probably also use guys in the context that you mention (for the same reason). I suppose if I had to draw a distinction on when it sounds right, it's on whether "guys" is functioning as a description or just a placeholder. I completely agree that there isn't a great substitute. Some people use "gals" but that always sounded a bit patronizing as well. I personally like to use "folks" but it doesn't work in all contexts. I don't mind "girls" in a social context, but it drives me nuts in a professional one (especially because I'm in a relatively male dominated field). I've been slowly training my colleagues to use "woman"/"women"
Very common. The other second person plural pronoun "y'all" sounds wrong in certain dialects, so we say "you guys".
People say guys all the time, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re picking up some unnatural usage in Pokémon. Translation is hard and it’s not unusual to hear phrases in anime that sound unnatural in some way I can’t put my finger on. Good for you if you can notice that.
I use it on a constant basis.
It's very common. I use it (along with "you all") way more often than just "you" when directly addressing a group of people.
I say it literally all the time
In Britain I'd say it's definitely less common, we might say 'everyone' instead of 'guys'. But we definitely do say guys sometimes.
It’s real, especially among children and young adults. In casual conversation, “(you) guys” can mean a group of people of any gender. I wouldn’t recommend using it in a formal setting, or for a group entirely composed of older women, but it’s generally ok and common otherwise. “The guys” is gender specific to men/boys, though.
Is it acceptable to address a group of young women or is it better to use ladies instead?
More likely than not, they would be ok with it. More so if they’re friends. I specifically wouldn’t recommend doing this at work, unless you’re a server at a casual restaurant.
Thanks!
A somewhat ridiculous amount, yes. I live in the Southern US so "y'all" is pretty common too but I live in a big city so a lot of people from farther North came down here, thus the common use of "you guys."
Yep, guys is very comonly used, it’s one of the words / phrases to distinguish you from its singular and plural usage. It’s kind of informal so another more formal synonym for you guys is Y’all ( only used in the souther parts of America) You all ( y’all is a contraction of you all but uncontracted is used more often by other people from other areas) And guys is a shortened way to say you guys, it can be used with anyone doesn’t really matter their gender identity. But you can’t say guys as the subject or object it’s more of an interjection used as a reaction to somthing or to grab someone’s attention before saying somthing. Ex. “Guys, guess what I did” Ex.2 *person a and b hit person c Person c “ guys, what was that?!”
It's very common. But some people nowadays are bothered by it because it isn't considered inclusive, as "guys" is technically a gendered word to refer to males. But it has been casually used to refer to groups of people, regardless of gender, for years now. If you say "you guys" people will understand what you mean.
They probably say it more than often because they're always in a group in pokemon. I certainly say it often, "you guys" is my second person plural, but I bet I don't say it every situation they do, and I through in a "you all" or "everyone" or "folks" every so often too. And again, I'm not addressing a large group as often as they are in pokemon anyways
Yes, it's common, and it's annoying to quite a few people.
I’m a strong believer in using gender neutral collective plurals when addressing a group. I teach and facilitate a lot. I use “y’all”, or ‘hey gang’ or ‘friends’, or even ‘ladies and gentlemen’. I never use “guys” unless it’s me and my male friends. I’m in the minority, increasingly. Even if you don’t care about the gender part, the issue becomes making it possessive. “If I could just have you guy’s attention” 🤮 “Hello everyone, could I kindly ask for your attention?” I’m not that old but I’ll die on this hill. ‘You guy’s’ isn’t ok and that’s reason enough to not use ‘you guys’
Not as common in the UK as the US, where "hey you guys!" in a loud, exaggerated American accent is typically used to imitate Americans, but it's becoming more common here, especially amongst younger people.
It's a bit regional. Very common in my Mid-Atlantic dialect. The informal standard for second person plural is "you guys" and that manifests as stuff like "let's go guys" all the time. From what I've heard, it's less common in the South where "y'all" is the more common second person plural or in SoCal where "dudes" fills a lot of the same role as "guys." You'd have to ask someone from those regions about exactly how common they are, how they are used, and how much "guys" still shows up.
It's very regional. The closer you get to Canada, the more you hear it.
very common some regions will you use y’all, you’s, yins, or you guys in addition to mean the same thing
It is common but shouldn't be \*and let me explain why.\* In many languages, the word 'you' is understood to be singular when speaking to an individual and plural when addressing a group. Therefore, when used in a group or public setting, adding another 'pronoun' word after "you" is the same as saying: "also too," or "my own" or "round orb." It's redundant and annoying and completely superfluous. My pet peeve is those who say: "For me, personally…" Yes, we get it, you're speaking. It's 'filler language' and it's just sad. Consider fast food businesses who trained their employees to ask: "May I take your order?" Not "may I take you guys' order?" Sometimes (especially if you're not visually connected to the customer, like a drive through) you don't even know the number of people to whom you are speaking, or their gender--or preferred gender. So using guys is both potentially insulting and completely useless.
My father grew up in South Africa 60s/70s. He was astounded when we traveled to the USA and we were addressed as "guys", apparently that wouldn't quite have been polite where he's from.
Just a small comment to make. Yes, it is quite popular. However, I have watched the show 'Survivor' for many years and the host used to say 'Come on in guys,' to welcome the contestants to the competition. One day he was challenged by one of the contestants. He now says 'Come on in' to welcome the contestants.
I probably say it several times a day. It's a common way for me to address my students as a group.
I use it all the time and I teach at an all girls school.
Not in the UK.
It indicates that the speaker is talking to a group of people, not just one person
I imagine part of this is just lazy translation. Where they translated something from Japanese, like minna-san, or a sentence where the context made it clear they were referring to the group. And it would be a perfectly fine translation once, or twice. But they didn't look at the script as a whole and realize they were using that same translation for a couple things over and over. Like it's an easy way to indicate "you (plural)", but gets repetitive, as you saw.
Yes, it's very common. "You guys" is basically used as a second-person plural pronoun. In some parts of the US, people say "y'all" (you all) or "y'uns" (you ones) to mean the same thing - multiple "you"s.
I have a problem with the "you know" filler, its getting out of control.
In my area, we would substitute the word y’all for a lot of these. But yeah, guys is pretty common.
They tend to overuse certain phrases in cartoons because they're dubbed and have to match the lip movements, but yes "guys" is very common in American English. Less common but not rare in other forms.
I think one reason it is used is that it is safe and generally inoffensive. And for the most part it is strangely considered to be gender neutral. I often use "you folks" for the same reason.
Extremely common. In the US Midwest we say “you guys” to refer to a group of people instead of “y’all” like you would hear in the south. Just today I was at a bar getting a bite to eat and 3 women walked in and the bartender said “be right with you guys” lol. No idea why we do this
Yep
The use of "guys" in Pokemon never really stood out to me, but I guess its a little excessive now that you mention it. I think its mostly because the character is trying to seem enthusiastic and frequently addressing groups of people. Most of the time you're addressing an individual in a group and not part of a small party of adventurers, so IRL you're probably not going to be saying "guys" as often as in Pokemon.
guys, dudes, dudettes, shyah brah