Sunday, February 17, 2008

What is this ya

When I left my India, we were saying stuff like "what's up yaar" and "I don't know yaar" and "Come on yaar" and etc statements such like. Yaar, of course, standing for "friend" in Hindi. Now when I turn on Indian MTV, I see Indians and especially women, saying the same sentences, except using the word "ya" instead. "Come on ya" and "I don't know ya" and so on and so forth. What is this "ya", my fellow Indians? Sometimes I even catch Indian men doing it, although not very often and only when they are in the company of women. It is as if Indian women need to be spoken to in their own special "ya" language. So again, I ask you, my fellow Indians on television, what the fuck is this "ya" business and when did it take over the Indian language? Much obliged. Thank you please.

14 comments:

zambezi said...

my friend, that came from bangalore. the ya business has been around for a long long time down there and men and women alike use it in gay abandon.

gawker said...

But what is ya?

ggop said...

Its a convent school affectation.
Maybe like the "la" suffix used a lot by kids in Singapore?

Anonymous said...

Of course ya, its a convent school 'affection' much like 'what,men' and girlie. don't tell me you didnt know this, ya.

ya is basically 'yeah'.

Unknown said...

what ya ggop. why is ya being explained using la? how are we supposed to understand singapur-speek i ask?

Jabberwock said...

Gawker: have felt exactly the same way about the "ya" thing - the abbreviated form is every bit as annoying as SMS jargon. It probably started with people pronouncing "yaar" hurriedly, without the "r" at the end. One also suspects that people who say "ya" think it's cool. This makes them evil.

Btw I thought the Bangalore thing was "da"?

gawker said...

You know, I have to agree with Jabberwock there. I think the ladies saw the men saying "yaar" but since "yaar" was not delicate enough to be used by a lady, they changed it to "ya". And then the men, who would willingly speak Egyptian if the ladies started doing it, began to say "ya" as well.

Jabberwock : The "da" is more of a Chennai thing. The Kannadigas use "ra" or so I am told. It's the equivalent of the "re" for a Maharashtrian or the "be" for the North Indian.

Cee Kay said...

Or maybe it is the language of the "Ya Ya Sisterhood"?

zambezi said...

ra is telugu doofus. original bangaloreans are kind of cool and unique.

gawker said...

gettingtherenow : Not one but two yas? That must be some sisterhood.

zambezi : You should be ashamed of not knowing squat about Bangaloreans. I have numerous Kannadiga friends and they all ra like there's no tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

ya = yes/yeah

ya = short form of yaar

ya = slang for you (as in miss ya, love ya etc)

and it certainly doesnt originate from bangalore da :)

So in sentences that you may hear, it could be any of the above forms. One needs to decipher in context.

Anonymous said...

da = chennai

maadi = kannadiga

la = singapore

san = japanese

not heard anything abt bambaiyaas or northies in that context.

Anonymous said...

well, i guess i u are frm BOMBAY, u have ALWAYS use the word "ya". We never ever associated the word YA with the word YAAR! Actually, i never knew of the association till well into college! I guess if u speak English as a first lang, u wld not know of the association. - Neil frm Bombay

Anonymous said...

Haha. Also, the hip South Bombay college chicks that have come up with 'Come na men', 'Let's go na men' etc. Can understand the desperation to find the perfect man, but adding it to every sentence isn't a proof solution.