yeah, no

[Dan Goncharoff]

I think the "yeah" is a form of saying "I understand".

"Yeah, no" just becomes a shorthand way of saying "I hear you, but I don't
agree with you."

DanG


On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 12:58 PM, Sam Raker <sam.raker at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Sam Raker <sam.raker at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Fwd: yeah, no
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I don't think the "yeah" is 'empty,' although whether its content is
> 'semant=
> ic' is really a question of, well, semantics. My gut instincts tell me the
> "=
> yeah" contributes something along the lines of, "I can see how you might
> thi=
> nk that, but..." or a sarcastic "I can see how YOU might think that,
> but..."=
>
>
> -Sam
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> > From: Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > Date: July 20, 2012 12:21:01 PM EDT
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: yeah, no
> > Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >=20
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> -----
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Charles C Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > Subject:      Re: yeah, no
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
> >=20
> > And, of course, there's the immortal "Yes, we have no bananas . . . ."
> >=20
> > --Charlie
> >=20
> > ________________________________________
> > From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of
> Joel S=
> . Berson [Berson at ATT.NET]
> > Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 12:12 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >=20
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
> >=20
> > At 7/20/2012 12:02 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >> Ben's links show just how complex "Yeah, no" really is.  There's more
> tha=
> n
> >> one kind.
> >=20
> > And he's not even including the Japanese response to a question posed
> > in the negative.  Which I as a non-native don't understand too.
> >=20
> > Joel
> >=20
> >=20
> >> JL
> >>=20
> >> On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 11:03 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu
> >w=
> rote:
> >>=20
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> >>> -----------------------
> >>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> >>> Subject:      Re: yeah, no
> >>>=20
> >>>=20
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >>>=20
> >>> On Jul 20, 2012, at 9:28 AM, Charles C Doyle wrote:
> >>>=20
> >>>> Isn't introductory "Yeah" sometimes semantically empty--just a filler
> >>> like "Hmm"?  Or perhaps signifying merely '+ politness'?
> >>>>=20
> >>>> --Charlie
> >>>=20
> >>> Maybe sometimes, but not obviously in Jon's example (which isn't
> unique)=
> ,
> >>> where a simple "No, you're right" would strike me as a bit odd.  I
> confe=
> ss
> >>> that as a non-native "Yeah, no" speaker, I'm not sure I have a handle
> on=
>
> >>> what it's doing.
> >>>=20
> >>> LH
> >>>> ________________________________________
> >>>> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of
> >>> Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
> >>>> Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 9:05 AM
> >>>>=20
> >>>=20
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> ------
> >>>>=20
> >>>> There it seems to mean, "Yes indeed, and no, I wouldn't think of
> >>>> contradicting you."
> >>>>=20
> >>>> JL
> >>>>=20
> >>>> On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 8:53 AM, Jonathan Lighter <
> >>> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:
> >>>>=20
> >>>>=20
> >>>>> Former NYPD detective on CNN today: "Yeah, no, you're right!"
> >>>>>=20
> >>>>> JL
> >>>>=20
> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>=20
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>=20
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >>=20
> >> --
> >> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth=
> ."
> >>=20
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >=20
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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