Re: yeah (was Re: Moraic codas)

> BTW, isn't "yes!" used as an exclamation much like "yay!"? The Swedish
word
> for "yes", namely "ja", is frequently used as a such exclamation, so
you can
> see were I got the idea that "yay" and "yea" are the same - they sound
the
> same and they translate as the same word!
>
>                                                         Andreas
>
    I'm pretty sure that "Yay!" is etymologically the same word as
"yea." Yay is sometimes seen spelled <yeah> even, and occasionally you
see barbarisms like "yay verily!" Despite the confusions, I think most
english speakers perceive them as two different words.
    "Yes!" can indeed be used as an exclamation, but I don't know that
it has the same meaning. Exactly what the difference is is a little
difficult to finger, though. "Yay!" seems to be synonymous with
hurrah/hurray, and yes... is... um... not?

JDM

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