AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question Hi Ted,
I just spent a delightful interlude reading questions and answers and enjoy your work so much I have bookmarked it to come back to later.
Alas, it appears that that is all I'm going to get to read. I know what you mean about not being appreciated--if there is one thing I've learned it's that when you make something look easy, many people think it actually WAS easy.
I have been wondering if the American/English word "yeah" as an affirmative could possibly have come into our language as an immigrant from the Korean War. Sounds silly, but I have started watching Korean language dramas and have noticed that the subtitle is always yes, or okay, when they say a word that sounds like yiiayh. Probably not related to yeah, but I'm going to keep poking around.
Sorry I missed you
Dvorah
Answer Dear Dvorah:
I checked several regional dictionaries for idioms in the United States, but I found nothing that was not recorded in the entry from "The Oxford English Dictionary," the "bible" of the etymological world. The regionalisms for the United States include "yeah," and several of its "cousins," depending on which part of the country you are in: "Yah," "Ya," and the most popular -- "YEP!" One of the dictionaries even lists the "emphatic slang version" as Yessiree!"
The first appearance of "yeah" in the English language -- the WRITTEN FORM, not the ORAL, was 1905, as you can see below. Usually, before a word appears in print, people have been speaking it aloud for years. [There is an exception to this "rule" -- when an author "coins" a word or phrase in his writing.]
By the way, "yeah" is definitely of American origin.
Have fun reading.
Ted Nesbitt
From "The Oxford English Dictionary" --
Repr. a casual pronunc. of YES adv. Cf. OH YEAH.
1905 Dialect Notes III. 67 Yeah, yep,..variants of yes. 1925 F. S. FITZGERALD Great Gatsby iv. 87 ‘That's a very interesting idea.’ ‘Yeah.’ He flipped his sleeves up under his coat. 1936 M. KENNEDY Together & Apart IV. 293 ‘You were in Sweden with him last year, weren't you?’ ‘Yeah.’ 1940 Music Makers May 37/3 Yeah, man, exclamation of assent. 1949 E. BIRNEY Turvey 153 ‘Yeah, yeah, Hayes was pretty hot but the ref ’. 1950 ‘D. DIVINE’ King of Fassarai xx. 166 ‘I take it the natives are friendly?’.. ‘Yeah... We had us a party last night.’ 1961 J. HELLER Catch-22 (1962) xix. 194 ‘Will that be all, sir?’ asked the chaplain. ‘Yeah,’ said Colonel Cathcart. ‘Unless you've got something else to suggest.’ 1977 B. LANGLEY Death Stalk ix. 104 ‘The shooting. That was Tony.’ ‘Tony?’ ‘Yeah, he done that.’
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A related phrase is OH YEAH? --
As an exclamation or interrogative: expressing incredulity, disbelief, scepticism, or interest; ‘really?’ Also as adj.
1927 P. DUNNING & G. ABBOTT Broadway i. 10 ‘Oh yeah?’ grinned Jack. ‘Billie's the jane you was speakin' about the other day, huh?’ 1930 Forum Dec. 376/2 Only recently, that cultural masterpiece O yeah! sounded its death rattle. 1931 M. LOEB & A. D. SCHENKER Please stand By xii. 138 ‘Oh, are you William Wishtell,’ the girl from the Globe asked... ‘I've been dying to meet you.’ ‘Oh, yeah? Well, here I am in the flesh.’ 1933 F. S. FITZGERALD Let. 19 Oct. (1964) 237 No exclamatory ‘At last, the long awaited, etc.’ This merely creates the ‘Oh yeah’ mood in people. 1934 Daily Mirror 28 June 13/1 (heading) ‘Oh Yeah!’.. Observe that when you say, ‘Oh, yes,’ it doesn't mean at all the same thing as ‘Oh, yeah,’... ‘Oh, yeah’ means, really, ‘Oh, no’; or ‘you think you know about that do you, you guy, but I don't think you do.’ 1943 Amer. Speech 18 256 A representative group of Americanisms which have wide currency in Australia:..oh yeah. 1966 D. FRANCIS Flying Finish vi. 74 ‘You look out, pal, you mustn't go around admitting that sort of thing.’.. ‘Oh yeah?’ I said, laughing. 1989 B. ROCHE Handful of Stars in Wexford Trilogy (1992) 58 Jimmy: This has nothin' to do with her. Tony: Oh yeah?.. Linda gave you the shove and you went berserk. 2001 Cult Times Feb. 11/2 Oh yeah! Well just you wait and see, Liam!
