Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ja

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology

Ideophonic for paralingual expression of agreement, compare typologically Arabic يَه (yah) developed with the exact same meaning at the Yemenite Red Sea coast.

Alternative forms

• *jai

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɑ/

Particle

*ja

1. yes (confirmation particle)
2. thus, so

Derived terms

• *jai
• *jabai
• *jahw, *jah

Descendants

• Proto-West Germanic: *jā
  • Old English: ġēa, iā; ġē
    • Middle English: ȝea, ye, ya
      • Scots: ya, yea, ay, aye, yo
      • English: ya, yea, yo
  • Old Frisian: jē, gē; jā, jē, jō
    • Saterland Frisian: ja, jee
    • West Frisian: ja
  • Old Saxon: jā, giā; ge, gi, gie, gia
    • Middle Low German: ja, jâ
      • German Low German: ja
  • Old Dutch: jā
    • Middle Dutch: jâ
      • Dutch: ja
        • Afrikaans: ja
      • Limburgish: jao
  • Old High German: jā
    • Middle High German: ja, jā
      • Alemannic German: ja, jaa, jòò, jä
      • Bavarian:

        Cimbrian: ja

        Viennese: jå

      • German: ja (standard); jo, joa (informal)
        • → English: ya
        • → Polish: jo
      • Luxembourgish: jo
      • Yiddish: יאָ (yo)
• Old Norse: já
  • Icelandic: já
  • Faroese: ja
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ja
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ja
  • Old Swedish: iā
    • Swedish: ja
    • → Finnish: jaa
  • Danish: ja, jo
• Gothic: 𐌾𐌰 (ja), 𐌾𐌰𐌹 (jai)