ja Dutch · revision 37083

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1220–1240, Middle Dutch (Aiol)|origins=gem-pro *ja}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /jaː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ja'''^(Wiktionary)

+ As a noun it is neuter or masculine, with the plural ''ja's'' and the diminutive ''jaatje''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|ja]], [[inh|odt|*jā]], [[inh|gem-pro|*ja]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) The same particle is [[osx|jā]], [[goh|jā]] (modern [[de|ja]]), [[ofs|jē]], [[ang|ġēa|alt=gēa]] (modern [[en|yea]]), [[non|já]] and [[got|𐌾𐌰|tr=ja]], beside the longer [[m|got|𐌾𐌰𐌹|tr=jai]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) Modern English [[m|en|yes]] comes from Old English [[m|ang|ġīse|alt=gīse]], probably “yes, be it so”.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

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+ Its further origin is unclear: there are no certain relatives outside Germanic.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997) The EWN mentions [[la|iam|t=already, now]] as a possibility, and both could come from the pronoun stem [[ine-pro|*h₁e]] of [[hij]].^(EWN) Words for “yes” differ greatly across the Indo-European languages ([[m|la|ita]], [[fr|oui]], [[grc|ναί|tr=naí]], [[ru|да|tr=da]]), which suggests that such words are unstable; the Germanic particle is then probably not very old, and may be a sound-word.^(EWN)^(Wiktionary) The affirmative [[cy|ie]] is often compared, but De Vries derives it from a phrase “this (is) it”.^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries 1971) Lithuanian [[m|lt|ja]] is probably a loan from German.^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first Middle Dutch record is in the Aiol (1220–1240): ''mer hine seide nien noch ia'', “but he said neither no nor yes”.^(EWN)^(VMNW) A Limburg glossary of about 1240 renders Latin ''ita'' with ''ia''.^(VMNW)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle Dutch often joined ''ja'' to a pronoun in answers, as in ''jaet'' “yes, it does” (1260), and dialects still have forms such as ''jaak'' “yes I” and ''jaai'' “yes he”.^(VMNW)^(WNT)^(MNW) The word also had the adverbial senses “even”, “at least” and “truly”, which survive in some eastern dialects and in German but are rare in standard Dutch.^(EWN)^(VMNW) It was used as a noun by 1339, in ''neen wert ja'', “no becomes yes”.^(MNW)

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+ Newer uses include ''ja'' as a curt way of saying thanks;^(Reinsma 1999) in Jewish Dutch it served for “indeed”, after Yiddish;^(Van de Kamp 2006) and in Surinamese Dutch a questioning ''ja?'' means “what did you say?”.^(Van Donselaar 1989)

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+ Dutch ''ja'' was taken into South African English and Scots, into Indonesian as ''ya'', into Sranan as ''ia'' or ''ya'', and into the Dutch creoles.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1220–1240 – Middle Dutch ''ia'' appears in the Aiol.^(EWN)^(VMNW)

+ * c. 1240 – A Limburg glossary has ''ia'' for Latin ''ita''.^(VMNW)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1285 – ''Ja sprac ioseph'' “Yes, said Joseph” appears in the Rijmbijbel.^(EWN)

+ * 1339 – ''Ja'' is used as a noun.^(MNW)

+ * 1656 – Bride and groom must ''Jae seggen'' in a marriage regulation.^(WNT)

+ * 1982 – ''Te ja of te nee'' is recorded, from a misreading of ''ja ofte nee''.^(Reinsma 1984)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Interjection===

+ # [[m|en|yes]]: expressing agreement, consent or confirmation: ''Kom je ook? Ja!''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Expressing resignation or a concession, especially in ''maar ja''.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Picking up an earlier remark or something suddenly remembered: ''o ja!''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Expressing surprise or astonishment.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # Expressing irritation or impatience.^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # ''(Suriname, informal)'' A greeting, or a request to repeat something not heard.^(Wiktionary)^(Van Donselaar 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A yes, an [[m|en|assent]]: ''Ze gaf haar ja.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[jabroer]]

+ * [[jawoord]]

+ * [[jaknikker]]

+ * [[ja-stemmer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nee]]

+ * [[de|ja]]

+ * [[en|yea]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases include ''nee heb je, ja kun je krijgen'', “it costs nothing to ask”, ''overal ja en amen op zeggen'', to agree to everything, and ''te ja of te nee'', “make up your mind”.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Reinsma 1984) ''Laat uw ja ja zijn, en uw nee nee'' goes back to Matthew 5:37.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}