Howdy Ya'll! Vagaries of the Language

So I have a friend who was an acquaintance for some time and only recently have we begun to hang out more.

This evening as we were all having a good time, it occurred to me that while I have adopted the word "ya'll" as an affectation, she hasn't known me when I didn't use it. Further, I don't think I've ever mentioned that I use language like that intentionally rather than naturally.

My real accent is fairly mundane American, the type you find in places all across the country . . . you might call it the generic American dialect. More than that, I have traditionally had a tendency to be very loquacious (hah, I finally had a use for loquacious!), maybe even to the point of sounding pretentious. My use of colloquialisms and simplistic phraseology is part of an active effort I made to be better at relating to people and communicating on a more personal level. I've been working on that so long that my natural inclinations have been suppressed and rarely do I speak as I was originally wont to do. Even my writing has tended toward a more informal tone.
Regardless, the informality is not my first inclination.

But if my friend has never seen that side of me in full expression, nor have I told her of it, how then does my language represent me to her? Does my use of "ya'll" make me appear a Utah bumpkin? If I adopt a slight drawl on occasion for fun (and I do), does that color the perception others have of my intelligence or attitudes?

In my desire to be more personal with people, have I perhaps begun to present an image of myself that conceals an important part of who I am? Is there a balance I can strike, where I can show both sides of my character without appearing inconsistent?

Language is a strange and wonderful thing.