Comedy of errors

OMG! I can’t believe it. I’ve been wrong this whole time. Seriously, I’m mortified. I mean, this is me we’re talking about here. Jan – The Language Snob.

I’ve been saying “yea” this whole time. I always thought “yay” was some retarded spelling that people who didn’t know how to spell “yea” used. Turns out, it’s CORRECT. I’m just beside myself. If anyone should know this, it’s me. I’m not sure I can ever show my face in public again.

So you’ll know what I’m talking about here’s an excerpt from Common Errors in English Usage by Paul Brians:
“Yea” is a very old-fashioned formal way of saying “yes,” used mainly in voting. It’s the opposite of—and rhymes with—“nay.” When you want to write the common casual version of “yes,” the correct spelling is “yeah” (sounds like “yeh” ). When the third grade teacher announced a class trip to the zoo, we all yelled “yay” (the opposite of “boo”). That was back when I was only yay big.

Although, I don’t feel so bad since I’m typing this in MS Word before I post it and Word has it underlined in red like it’s a misspelled word. So if the geniuses at Microsoft don’t know about the correct spelling of “yay,” then I guess I shouldn’t feel so stupid.

Occasionally, we may have English Language lessons, but for those of you who are curious, here’s the list of errors.