"Yinz"

Nurses General Nursing

Published

My nephew's wife is a high school English teacher. She posted this on Facebook, "I feel very strongly that a medical professional (or any other kind of professional) should never say "Yinz". I cringed when I read it because as a old South Sider from Pittsburgh I must have let the word "Yinz" slip from my lips a few hundred thousand over my 62 years. Is it really all that bad? Up until that minute the word "Yinz" has been a subject of much good natured ribbing and fun amoung my family and friends. We actually calll ourselves "Yinzers" and have t-shirts that say "yes, I am a Yinzer".

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

Must be a regional dialect thing - i have no idea what that means and certainly would not be offended if someone said that in front of me.

Specializes in LTC.

What on God's green earth is a Yinz?

A friend of mine lived up in PA for a while and she told me about the expression.

In the South (yes, that is a proper noun) we often say "y'all" and "y'uns" which is the same part of speach as "yinz" with the same implication.

Colloquialisms are part of the color of the English language. She needs to get over herself and go read some 13th century poets and tell me THEN if those classical and highly praised scribes of verse were completely devoid of colloquial expressions.

Forget'a 'bout it! Professionals shouldn't use misplaced modifiers either, if we're to be grammatically correct in every conversation BUT we have regions and regional dialects and "Yinz" is classically western PA. I grew up with it (and pop, not soda) and I am quite affectionate of the usage. I suppose to some, using it makes the user look uneducated, but not anymore than Southerners saying "Y'all" in the same context.

Personally, I wouldn't use it consistently. No more than I would use "hon" or "sweetie" when referring to clients. How many times have you heard that? However, sometimes those terms actually help to gain trust and build relationship, make you feel like one of them. There is a time and a place for lots of things.

It's Pittsburgh's equivalent of "y'all".

I'm from Pittsburgh but, since I wasn't raised here, I don't use the word. If I did say it though, I wouldn't say it in my professional practice, but that's just my personal preference. I wouldn't think less of another nurse because she spoke like that and I think it might even help you connect with some patients.

Now that I think about it I got to laugh. I mean she teaches English to HIGH SCHOOL students. If the worst thing you here in those halls is an occasional "Yinz" you are doing OK.

Specializes in home health, dialysis, others.

Haha! I'm originally from Philly, where the same word is 'youse' as in 'youse guys'. It was not a word that I used, as it's heard mainly in South Philly, but was made famous by the Rocky movies.

I think that there are many other things, and words, that are far more important than the local dialect of the plural word 'you'.

Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I'm from the South and we say 'y'all' all the time, patients and nurses alike. Not one person has ever questioned our professionalism for that reason.

Specializes in ICU/CCU.

I'm about to make myself very unpopular.

I spent the first eighteen years of my life in Pittsburgh and then moved to California. My parents never used "yinz;" nor did any of my other family members that I know of. I used to shudder inwardly every time I heard the word, but now that I'm so geographically and culturally removed from Pittsburgh I feel a certain fondness when I hear it used in a social setting.

That given, a few years ago while visiting my parents in Pittsburgh, I went to a very nice (very expensive, at least) restaurant with some family members. The meal was decent enough, and the ambiance was lovely, but at the end of dinner the waiter asked, "Would yinz like to see the dessert menu?" I watched my father wince, and I must confess that I felt a little startled myself. My opinion of the waiter's professionalism dropped just a notch as did my opinion of the restaurant. YES, it does sound snobby, but the fact is that if the word sounds unprofessional coming from a waiter, it must sound even more so coming from a nurse. I would honestly have doubts about the education of any caregiver who used that word in a professional context.

I certainly don't speak the same way at work as I do at home or among close friends. I clean up my grammar (and other colorful expressions) quite a bit. Likewise if I were someone who used the word "yinz" I would simply refrain from using it at work.

Specializes in Peds Critical Care, Dialysis, General.

I think the more relevant issue is relating to the patient/family on their level. I can speak very proper English with long, fancy and obscure terms or I can speak on their level.

I think the thick southern accent corks it,though.

One of the most intelligent nurses I know is from PA and we love hearing her colloquialisms. In no way does any one think any less of her.

Oramar - the high school teacher thing was toooo funny. Had to clean the computer screen.

Thanks for posting this, I learned something new today! I have been all over the Eastern US and have never heard the expression. Would you address a bunch of friends like "Hey yinz guys" ?

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