Most definitely "y'all" is a real word! Just because it's a variant doesn't mean it's not real. And is it any less of a word than some others in use of late: props, dis, metrosexual, anything with an "i" in front of it, etc.? If your family wants to argue about "y'all", come back at them with "yous", as in "Hey yous guys!" Another word that's not real: oppositized. THAT is not a real word, yet my kids insist on saying it to me as often as possible, because they know it bugs me!

The dictionary says it is a word. Since it's a regional colloquialism, it is probably best to use it in conversation but not in writing.

My college English professor used y'all as an example for forming contractions. The word follows the rule precisely (running two words together, dropping some letter in the pronunciation and inserting an apostrophe to replace the dropped letters). Y'all is as accurate a contraction as can't or won't and the fact that it is used regionally makes no difference.

Y'all are absolutely correct, Colleen. I have a Spanish learning CD and the pronouns, vosotros and ustedes are given for y'all, so y'all stick to your guns.

Ha ha! Thanks Anthony and all y'all.

Yes, thank you Anthony and all commenters. And thank you to the Grammar Goddess of Eve for raising the grammatical question.

It is in the south! People up north have their little piccadillos and they're way worse that ours. Let's see...in the faaaaar north, you have the word "out' and it's pronounced "ooout - long oo's". Midwest for you all is instead, "youin's", or "Yens" for short. Uh...oh yeah, "youts", and You'se'. I could go on. At least ya'll has two real words that are put together as a real part of speech by an apostrophe. Southern ladies have been charming folks with this darling little word for years. Otherwise, anyone that would complain about it, in the immortal words of one of the south's best southern gentlemen, Lewis Grizzard, "Delta is ready when you (ya'll) are!"