Ever get confused on which of these to use for what? Me too. A friend recently challenged me to write a quick post clarifying the three but first I needed to find out for myself. Here's what I found:
Yea! In its adverb form simply means "Yes (used in the affirmative)". It is an extension of middle English (c. 900) "ye" commonly found in the King James Version of the Bible which means "you" not "yes" but I guess that's how language evolves. It is also used in voting i.e. How many Yeas do we have?
Yeah! Is simply an informal use of the word "yes". According to sources, it is more commonly used in the south but I think they should add New Jersey and Long Island ie. Yeah? You talkin' about me?
Yay! This is the interjection most of us mean when we type any of the above. Yay is "an exclamation indicating approval, congratulation, or triumph".
On an aside, while living in Germany I also learned the "Degrees of Ya" (at least in Bavaria).
- "Ya" means "Yes, I understand you, or I heard you"
- "Ya, Ya" means "Okay, but lets move on to another subject"
- "Ya, Ya, Ya" means "enough already be quiet"
So there you have it, the story of Y----! Maybe I'll just stick with "woohoo" in the future.
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