Did you know that English used to have 4 words for yes and no? (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

In Middle English, English had 4 words for yes and no: yea, nay, yes, and no. I’m guessing many of you have heard of these, and taken yea and yes to be synonyms, and nay and no also. But these words weren’t interchangeable. The difference was what question they would answer. Yea and nay would be used to say yes and no if a question was not negated, such as “Will you go to the store?”, while yes and no answered questions that were negated, such as “Will you not go to the store?”. I put an example of each below to make it clearer.

“Will you go to the store?”. “Yea”. This means the person will go to the store.
“Will you go to the store?”. “Nay”. This person will not go to the store.
“Will you not go to the store?”. “Yes.” This person will go to the store, and even though the question is negative, the fact that they use yes clarifies that they are going to the store.
“Will you not go to the store?”. “No”. This person will not go to the store, and even though the question is negative, the fact that they use no clarifies that they are not going to the store.

This is a 4 form system. It’s very rare in the modern day. One of the few examples of a language that uses this is Romanian.

There are languages with 3 form systems. These are also very rare, and have 3 forms of agreement/disagreement. Generally, the third form is a contradictory yes. For example, in German, you have words for yes (ja), no (nein), and yes (doch) as a form of negation (similar to yes in Middle English, if you ask a negative question and they say this yes, it’s saying your premise is wrong and that they are in fact doing what you thought they won’t do).

2 form systems are very common. They have a word for agreement and a word for disagreement. Modern English is an example, with yes and no.

Echo forms are also very common. In an echo system, you repeat the verb back to the listener. This can be found in English, often paired with a yes/no, but it doesn’t have to be. An example would be if someone asks “are you at the store?” And you reply “I am.” This is an echo response. These are very prevalent in languages worldwide, but are used to varying degrees. In English, certain types of verbs are used for echo responses more often. Using the verb to be in English as only an echo is super normal and natural sounding even if yes/no is excluded. Think “I am” or “we are” as a standalone. Modal verbs, like can, should, will, ect, are also natural as an echo response, though a lot of times a yes/no is also included. But action verbs usually sound formal and unnatural on their own. Think if someone asks “Did you swim?” And you replied “I swam”. That often sounds unnatural on its own in English.

Finally, many languages use a hybrid. They may incorporate yes no words (however many forms you want, 2,3, and 4 all work), along with an echo system. English is one example, as you can see above, but many other languages fall in this category. Some may have a default system or a preferred system (in English 2 form yes no is the default in many cases), but they still use the other system. This particularly happens in situations that are more ambiguous.

Language tag:
@athenarose @Lexie @Nyaz @Dreamer_of_Songs @Nina @velvet @BaeChohee @MyLovelyLove

 

[Exi]

In Middle English, English had 4 words for yes and no: yea, nay, yes, and no. I’m guessing many of you have heard of these, and taken yea and yes to be synonyms, and nay and no also. But these words weren’t interchangeable. The difference was what question they would answer. Yea and nay would be used to say yes and no if a question was not negated, such as “Will you go to the store?”, while yes and no answered questions that were negated, such as “Will you not go to the store?”. I put an example of each below to make it clearer.

“Will you go to the store?”. “Yea”. This means the person will go to the store.
“Will you go to the store?”. “Nay”. This person will not go to the store.
“Will you not go to the store?”. “Yes.” This person will go to the store, and even though the question is negative, the fact that they use yes clarifies that they are going to the store.
“Will you not go to the store?”. “No”. This person will not go to the store, and even though the question is negative, the fact that they use no clarifies that they are not going to the store.

This is a 4 form system. It’s very rare in the modern day. One of the few examples of a language that uses this is Romanian.

There are languages with 3 form systems. These are also very rare, and have 3 forms of agreement/disagreement. Generally, the third form is a contradictory yes. For example, in German, you have words for yes (ja), no (nein), and yes (doch) as a form of negation (similar to yes in Middle English, if you ask a negative question and they say this yes, it’s saying your premise is wrong and that they are in fact doing what you thought they won’t do).

2 form systems are very common. They have a word for agreement and a word for disagreement. Modern English is an example, with yes and no.

Echo forms are also very common. In an echo system, you repeat the verb back to the listener. This can be found in English, often paired with a yes/no, but it doesn’t have to be. An example would be if someone asks “are you at the store?” And you reply “I am.” This is an echo response. These are very prevalent in languages worldwide, but are used to varying degrees. In English, certain types of verbs are used for echo responses more often. Using the verb to be in English as only an echo is super normal and natural sounding even if yes/no is excluded. Think “I am” or “we are” as a standalone. Modal verbs, like can, should, will, ect, are also natural as an echo response, though a lot of times a yes/no is also included. But action verbs usually sound formal and unnatural on their own. Think if someone asks “Did you swim?” And you replied “I swam”. That often sounds unnatural on its own in English.

Finally, many languages use a hybrid. They may incorporate yes no words (however many forms you want, 2,3, and 4 all work), along with an echo system. English is one example, as you can see above, but many other languages fall in this category. Some may have a default system or a preferred system (in English 2 form yes no is the default in many cases), but they still use the other system. This particularly happens in situations that are more ambiguous.

Language tag:
@athenarose @Lexie @Nyaz @Dreamer_of_Songs @Nina @velvet @BaeChohee @MyLovelyLove

why did the title of this thread remind me of this meme:

 

[velvet]

God that's so cool, complicated but cool. I miss middle english.

 

[alo]

In Middle English, English had 4 words for yes and no: yea, nay, yes, and no. I’m guessing many of you have heard of these, and taken yea and yes to be synonyms, and nay and no also. But these words weren’t interchangeable. The difference was what question they would answer. Yea and nay would be used to say yes and no if a question was not negated, such as “Will you go to the store?”, while yes and no answered questions that were negated, such as “Will you not go to the store?”. I put an example of each below to make it clearer.

“Will you go to the store?”. “Yea”. This means the person will go to the store.
“Will you go to the store?”. “Nay”. This person will not go to the store.
“Will you not go to the store?”. “Yes.” This person will go to the store, and even though the question is negative, the fact that they use yes clarifies that they are going to the store.
“Will you not go to the store?”. “No”. This person will not go to the store, and even though the question is negative, the fact that they use no clarifies that they are not going to the store.

This is a 4 form system. It’s very rare in the modern day. One of the few examples of a language that uses this is Romanian.

There are languages with 3 form systems. These are also very rare, and have 3 forms of agreement/disagreement. Generally, the third form is a contradictory yes. For example, in German, you have words for yes (ja), no (nein), and yes (doch) as a form of negation (similar to yes in Middle English, if you ask a negative question and they say this yes, it’s saying your premise is wrong and that they are in fact doing what you thought they won’t do).

2 form systems are very common. They have a word for agreement and a word for disagreement. Modern English is an example, with yes and no.

Echo forms are also very common. In an echo system, you repeat the verb back to the listener. This can be found in English, often paired with a yes/no, but it doesn’t have to be. An example would be if someone asks “are you at the store?” And you reply “I am.” This is an echo response. These are very prevalent in languages worldwide, but are used to varying degrees. In English, certain types of verbs are used for echo responses more often. Using the verb to be in English as only an echo is super normal and natural sounding even if yes/no is excluded. Think “I am” or “we are” as a standalone. Modal verbs, like can, should, will, ect, are also natural as an echo response, though a lot of times a yes/no is also included. But action verbs usually sound formal and unnatural on their own. Think if someone asks “Did you swim?” And you replied “I swam”. That often sounds unnatural on its own in English.

Finally, many languages use a hybrid. They may incorporate yes no words (however many forms you want, 2,3, and 4 all work), along with an echo system. English is one example, as you can see above, but many other languages fall in this category. Some may have a default system or a preferred system (in English 2 form yes no is the default in many cases), but they still use the other system. This particularly happens in situations that are more ambiguous.

Language tag:
@athenarose @Lexie @Nyaz @Dreamer_of_Songs @Nina @velvet @BaeChohee @MyLovelyLove

yes I knew this, from etymologynerd's ig reel on the topic!

it's very interesting. ever since i learnt about the 3 form system used in French, i always found it to be more efficient in getting one's point across. 4 form sounds glorious

 

[Ahsoka]

yes I knew this, from etymologynerd's ig reel on the topic!

it's very interesting. ever since i learnt about the 3 form system used in French, i always found it to be more efficient in getting one's point across. 4 form sounds glorious

I quite like echo back, I’ve noticed myself before that certain languages repeat the word back more than in English, but never knew more details about it. But 4 form is definitely great as well, and it can be more concise than echo back. I wouldn’t mind if English kept the 4 form system

 

[Chohee_nyang]

That's why english is hard....