Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: yeah (was Re: Moraic codas)

From:Muke Tever <alrivera@...>
Date:Thursday, July 19, 2001, 2:23
From: "Justin Mansfield" <jdm314@...>
> > 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! >
[snip]
> "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?
I think it has to do with symmetry: "yea" and "yes" and "yeah" have a broader meaning (affirmation, etc) than "yay" (jubilation). "yes" can be used instead of "yay" basically anywhere, but "yay" can't be used for "yes" the same way: "He's getting a raise." "Yes!" "He's getting a raise." "Yay!" "I heard John got hit by a Fun Truck." "Yes." * "I heard John got hit by a Fun Truck." "Yay!" ? "I heard John got hit by a Fun Truck." "Yay." Hmm, "yay!" without exclamatory tone has an entirely different meaning than "yes!" without exclamatory tone. *Muke!