My husband frequently uses "alls" in his speech. "Alls you need to do is turn right at the next corner." or, "Alls I know is I read it in that magazine." Is this a contraction? A corruption? Is it regional? I do hear it often in the Midwest.
I'm originally from the Midwest, and I heard that often. Pretty sure it's a regional thing. It's certainly not correct, but it's probably a subconscious thing where they want to "pluralize" the word "all" to convey that it's "all the alls" for emphasis.
Also in the Midwest, for "water fountain" they often use the word "bubbler." When I moved to AZ and used that word I got a lot of puzzled stares, and "Oh, you mean water fountain." I quickly revised my vocabulary.
I wonder if this is similar to the expressions of the South:
I'm told that "y'all" can be used as a singular;
the plural would be "all y'all."
(This probably could be the subject for another thread.)
I think "alls" as a plural form, used for emphasis, makes sense. My husband (the chronic user of "alls") agrees.
BTW, bubbler is correct...it's the rest of the nation that hasn't caught on yet! 😎
There is an entire set of words that sometimes (sometime?) get an -s thrown in. It seems unlikely to me that they are unrelated. I am curious about how that dialectical ending came about.
For example:
alls
anyways
everywheres, anywheres, somewheres, nowheres
Cletti, does your husband also use some of these? I have recently heard accomplished national newscasters and interviewers use alls and anyways. I'm on the listen for the -wheres versions.