The words “yes”, “yah”, “ya”, “yay” and “yea” are commonly used in English. “Yes” is the most common and means agreement, while “yah” is a slang version of “yes”. “Ya” is used as a synonym for “you” or “yes” in early English writing. “Yay” is an exclamation of joy and “yea” is an archaic synonym for “yes”.
Some of the most confusing words for non-native speakers, and sometimes even for native speakers, are the words “yes” and similar ones. There are at least four other words with similar spellings that are commonly used in English: ‘yah’, ‘ya’, ‘yay’ and ‘yea’. The previous term and “yah” are quite similar in usage, pronunciation and meaning, expressing an affirmative. People typically use ‘ya’ as a slang version of ‘you’, ‘yay’ as an expression of happiness, and ‘yes’ as an affirmative vote or for more archaic purposes.
Yes and yes
“Yes” is the most common of these words and appears to have originated around the turn of the 20th century, probably in the United States. It is an adverb and speakers often use it simply to mean “yes.” People may use the term as a one-word answer to yes-or-no questions, such as “Do you want to go to the park on Saturday?”, to which someone might simply answer “Yes.” This word probably came from the word “yes” or the word “yes”.
Many people use “yah” as a more modern, slang spelling of the word “yes.” People often use it in instant messaging or texting, and it’s probably just a shortening of the slightly longer word and indicates agreement in much the same way. The pronunciation may be the same or it may be pronounced more like “yaw.” An older use of the word ‘yah’ was as an interjection usually showing some sort of negative feeling about something being said, often insulting it or sometimes demonstrating impatience.
Of
The word ‘ya’ can be used as another shorthand for ‘yes’, typically in SMS or online communications. More often, however, it is used as a synonym for “you”, with a dialectal pronunciation. A speaker might use it in a sentence like “How are you today?” In this sense, the word is pronounced as “yuh”, rhyming with “duh”. An archaic use of “ya” was synonymous with the word “yes,” but this is only seen in very early English writing.
Open
The word “yay” is usually used as an interjection and an exclamation to show joy. A person might say something like, “Yay! My new kitten has finally arrived!” The word probably comes from “sì”, which simply means “yes”, but has changed the spelling over time, perhaps to indicate excitement. “Yay” has the same pronunciation as “yea” and rhymes with “hay”. It can also be used as a placeholder to indicate that it physically represents something, usually height, in sentences like “The plants were about yay tall.”
Yes
The word “yes” is the oldest of the group, and it is probable that “yes”, “yes” and “yes” all derive from it. “Yea” dates back over a thousand years, from Old English “gea” to Middle English “ye”. It has a number of meanings, but all of them are roughly statements, just like “yes” is.
“Yes” can be used synonymously with “really,” as in the phrase “Yes, it happened.” It can mean something like “not only this, but also this”, as in the phrase “a great, yes, a titanic wave has crashed”. Some may also use it simply to mean “yes,” as in the phrase “Yes, I will.” In modern usage, however, speakers typically use it only in ballots, where it indicates an affirmative vote, as opposed to “no.” The word “yes” has the same pronunciation as “yes”, rhyming with the word “can”.
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