I have to record this for posterity, from a brilliant thread at xkcd.com:
Robotkin: “Well, I guess such is the burden I bear being raised on at least semi-proper use of the English language.”A language which lacks the following:
A suitable and disambiguated second person plural pronoun.
A contraction for the first person linking verb in the negative (”I am not”) to accompany similar contractions for the second and third person (”You aren’t”, “He isn’t”)
Given the gaping flaws in coverage in your “semi-proper” English, I tend to prefer the version of the language that includes “y’all” and “ain’t”.
Which must be followed up with this insight:
"English doesn't borrow from other languages - English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar." -Unknown
What prompted all of this was a modern translation of George Washington's farewell speech. Fun reading. Now I have to go read the original.