"yeah"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Exx. of {yea}  used conversationally by Englishmen of the 17th & 18th C.:

  1605 Jonas Poole, in Samuel Purchas _Hakluytus Posthumus_ (rpt. Glasgow: J. MacLehose & Sons, 1905) XIII 271: They demanded, as I tooke it, if all our men were wel: I told them yea, as loud as I could.

  a1625 in Samuel Purchas _Purchas his Pilgrimes in Five Books_ (London: Henrie Fetherstone, 1625) II 1067: Then they asked me whether in _Portugall, the Priests were marryed?_ I told them, no. They demanded, _whether we held the Councell of Pope_ Leo _which was made at_ Nice? I  told them, _yea,  and that I had alreadie declared, that the great Creed was made there_.

  1704 William Chillingworth _Additional Discourses of Mr. Chillingworth_  1: Probably I should answer no....but...I answer, yea.

  1708 Francis Bugg  _Goliah's Head Cut Off with His Own Sword_  (London: the author) 287: I ask'd her if she had a Book intitled, _Ishmael and his Mother cast out_, &c.?  She told me Yea; saying, Wilt thou buy it? Yes [sic], said I, What wilt thou have for it?  _Ibid_. 295: A Clergy Man...ask'd me if I would print it. I told him Yea.

  ca1720 Joseph Pitts  in Michael Wolfe _One Thousand Roads to Mecca_ (N.Y.: Grove Press, 1997)  109 [ref. to 1685]: He looked earnestly upon me and asked me whether I was not an Englishman?  I answered, "Yea." "How came you hither?" said he...."What, are you a slave?" said he. I replied, Yes [sic].

  1726 George Roberts _The Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts_ (London: A. Bettesworth and J. Osborn) 200: They...ask'd me, Whether I took as far as I could see to be the Top. I told them, Yea. _Ibid._ 204: They said, Yea, that they could.

  1794 Thomas Holcroft _The Adventures of Hugh Trevor_ I  56: I called, with a trembling voice, "Mary! Are you alive?" And my heart bounded with joy to hear her, though dolefully, answer, "yea."

  And regarding "Yay!":
  1798 William Seward _Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons_ (London: T. Cadell jun. & W. Davies) I 120: The people answer Yea, yea, yea; King Edward, King Edward!

  It would be disingenuous not to observe that examples in colloquial contexts are rare.  It may be, however, that spoken / jE: / was generally edited into "yes" on the erroneous assumption that it was merely a "slovenly" pronunciation of the latter.  But why respelling didn't happen also to the formal "Yea" (antonym of "Nay" - early form of / nae:: /?) is
  hard to explain.

  JL




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