Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/jā

This Proto-West 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-West Germanic

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ja.

Particle

*jā^[1]

yes
thus, so

Descendants

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, (obsolete) jae
    - Afrikaans: ja
      - → English: ja
      - → Portuguese: iá, yá, ya
    - Berbice Creole Dutch: ja
    - Jersey Dutch: jâ
    - Negerhollands: ja, ju
    - Skepi Creole Dutch: ja
    - → Indonesian: ya (probably)
    - → Malay: ya (probably)
    - → Saramaccan: jahái, jaái
  - 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)

References

^ Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 216: “PWGmc *jā”

[1] Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 216: “PWGmc *jā”

[1]