yea/yeah/yay
“Yea” is a very old-fashioned, formal way of saying “yes,” used mainly in voting. It’s the opposite of—and rhymes with—“nay.” When you want to write the common casual version of “yes,” the correct spelling is “yeah” (sounds like “yeh”). When the third grade teacher announced a class trip to the zoo, we all yelled “yay!” (the opposite of “boo!”). That was back when I was only yay big.
I'd like to hear your ruling on "ya." I see people use it instead of "yeah" all the time. It seems to me that it's an abbreviated form of "you," though.
ReplyDelete(Although, I just saw your entry on y'all, so I'm unsure.)