Re: yeah (was Re: Moraic codas)
| From: | David Peterson <digitalscream@...> |
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| Date: | Thursday, July 19, 2001, 6:09 |
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In a message dated 7/18/01 1:11:12 PM, and_yo@HOTMAIL.COM writes:
<< Nothing you'll ever say 'll make me watch the Simpsons, but if you as a
native speaker insists that "yay" and "yea" are different words, I guess I
have to accept that.
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! >>
Ignoring the Simpsons barb, "yes" has a more restricted environment than
"yay". To use "yes" or "yeah", something positive has to happen that the
reactor wants to have happen (like watching a baseball game where your team
scores on a double steal to take the lead, or something). Also, "yes!" is
usually only said by one or two people. I don't think I've ever heard of a
group of people all saying "yes!" at the same time, mainly because you can't
hold it. Once you get to the <s>, you've got to stop or you're just hissing.
For some reason "yes" seems a lot more personal, and therefore less socially
acceptable. Huh. How do I explain this... Say there's a group of people
all watching a baseball game, and everybody wants the same team to win, and
said double-steal allows said team to take the lead. Most likely, everyone
will say "yeah" (definitely not "yay". In order for it to be "yay", there
has to be fun involved, or the promise of fun). If someone says "yes",
they'll probably look at that person as if s/he has some personal, vested
interest in the outcome of the game that has nothing to do with the group.
Or maybe this distinction exists solely in my mind...
Anyway, I've looked in both of my dictionaries, one unabridged, and
neither has the word "yay" anywhere in it (not even as a variant spelling of
"yea"), which suggests to me that the usage is so colloquial that it hasn't
been entered yet. Of course, it just might be in there in the latest
unabridged dictionary...
-David