what is the difference between yeah, yea and yay
The correct spelling of the word depends on which way you want to use it. In an informal setting, where it is being used to agree, affirm, or in the place of the word yes, yeah is the more modern, preferred, and commonly used version. That may seem a little confusing, but here’s a helpful hint: in most instances it is yeah that you want. It is when you are looking to amplify a descriptive word or vote that yea really comes into play. Non-standard spelling of yes, representing a pronunciation ‘So yeah, I don't have a problem with Sean and he has no reason to have a problem with me.’ non-standard spelling of yes, representing a pronunciation.
Yea can be used as an informal adverb meaning yes or to affirm, or as a noun to indicate an affirmative vote. When used in a vote, yea can be pronounced like yay. Yea can also be used as an adverb to amplify an adjective or to say not only but also although, this usage of the word appears to be dated, and rarely used in modern English or literature. For example: a good, yea, a delicious cake. Sometime around the early 1900s, yea and yes became yeah. While yea and yes have been around far longer than the word yeah it looks like yea and yes can be traced back to the 900s the sentiment has been around forever.While the three words once meant the same thing, it appears that the H was added on to distinguish the two meanings above and to move the word forward into
the new century. There does not seem to be any clear reason for the addition of the H other than maybe to modernize the spelling of yea. Speakers may have just decided that the word,which is close to 1,300 years old now, needed a makeover. All three words are a derivative of Middle English, and have roots in Old Norse and Gothic. While you probably do not hear a lot of the old Middle English or Old Norse for that matter, both versions of the informal word for yes are still commonly used today.
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