What is the deal with folks?

[ToesAndFingersCrossed]

I’m sure my first post on this board could/should have been something a lot more intelligent and thought provoking, but I’m desperate to know. It grinds my gears something rotten seeing “folk” written everywhere. Is “people” offensive now too?

Our language is a bit lacking in non-gendered language for groups of people... I guess a rather wordy/old fashioned “ladies and gentlemen” is routinely replaced with guys/folks for wont of anything better?

A Yorkshire relative tends to call people “team” as in, “right team, time to leave”

What about peeps?

Once again US culture has invaded my consciousness and peeps to me are now those chick or bunny shaped marshmallows they have at Easter so I'm not able to go with peeps

This thread is crazed.

The first time I remember 'folks' going mainstream (I'm Scottish so singular and plural to some extent are just part of my vocabulary) was Obama. He used it a lot, I presumed at the time to appeal to people from the southern states.

It's not as bad as "folx"
Folks is already gender neutral!

I used to live in Scotland (and my parents still do) so it doesn't much bother me, but I have noticed the increase in its usage.

I really dont think the vocal SJW type are appropriating from Scotland. It's more a mental c n p from American Twitter.

I quite often address mixed audiences. I use (hello, good morning, etc.) 'folk', 'folks', 'people', 'peoples', 'peeps', 'all' and everyone - all informal. I have no intention to change this just because someone else is currently using 'folk'.

supergoggles, god forbid, oh how horrible. But folk ain't woke in my opinion and I want to keep it in use. 'A fair field full of folk'. How lovely is that as a phrase?

it’s a lovely phrase, but does put me slightly in mind of basket weaving and ‘crusty jugglers’

I have no strong feelings either way about "folk".

Standard English really needs a proper second-person plural. In the meantime, dialectical forms like "y'all", "you guys", "youse" and "yee" will fill the gap.

Yes supergoggles, spot on, but crusty jugglers? It is a bit Glastonbury isnt it? We too have our place.

I can't see it being worth a coronary over.

I love the smell of hyperbole in the morning.

Sorry it was a line from hot fuzz ‘crusty jugglers’

I agree 7Days. I suspect that the term has been appropriated from poor communities in the US, particularly the South, and the appropriation was done to provide authenticity to the words of urban and affluent progressive people.

Look how Dolly Parton was using the term 40 years ago:

genius.com/Dolly-parton-poor-folks-town-lyrics

I don't like folk (or folks and fold is below mention,) but this is an entirely unreasonable prejudice based on how an aunt used it when we were children, and it would be unreasonable to insist on banning it as a result. Though I do judge people using it in work mails anyway.

I only use folk to describe a kind of music. I do say "guys" though even though I hate it. I don't say peeps I hate that. I am trying to in-gender my words a bit because a lot is to do with men. I don't just mean changing "man up" to "woman up" but all the other little things like saying "guys" and "dude" and "man" like I'm some kind of 20 year old surfer not a grown ass woman

@BaronessBrighterThanYou

I can't see it being worth a coronary over.

I love the smell of hyperbole in the morning.

Literal violence!!! You're killing me!!!!

Or there's 'you lot'. I think we're struggling to find a word that's acceptable to most of us here

What's wrong with "people"?

I agree that "folk" and "folks" should be left to users in Scotland (although even then I can't think of a situation where I would use "folk" except before "music) and the Appalachian mountains.

"Guys" is awful.

DidoLamenting.

E.g. "I wis at the supermarket yesterday and some folk wereny following the arrows at all the arseholes"

(No idea how one would actually spell weren'y. wereny? )

When I was growing up in Scotland, folks was commonly used to refer to your family, specifically your parents.

I understand what people are saying about the Scottish use, but I think "folk", as used by TRAs and other activists on Twitter, is largely an American import, like using "y'all" and referring to the police as "feds" and so on. There seems to be an ongoing desire, either deliberate or simply out of ignorance, to impose an American cultural context on a British one. I saw an article yesterday that mentioned BLM protesters in Bristol pleading with the police not to shoot them, apparently unaware that British police are not routinely armed.

Has anyone said there's nowt so queer as folk yet?

@JaneJeffer

Has anyone said there's nowt so queer as folk yet?

I use folks all the time! I think it is pretty normal round here (Liverpool). I went to uni in Scotland tho, so it is entirely possible it is some cultural appropriation on my part. A million times better than my local dialect "youse".