Ya

Question

I just love this word, so short, yet conveying such diverse information.

Ya - already
Ya - now
Ya - right now
Ya - later
Ya - no longer.
ya que - now that
Ya que - since
Ya - used for emphasis - ya lo sé
No ya - not only
Ya....ya - first....then - ya le gusta, ya no (first you like it, then you don´t)

my first question
Can ya....ya be used in the following sentence - "whether you come or not, it´s not important" - ya vienes, ya no, no me importa.

My second question
Are there any other uses for this fabulous word.

Answer 1

"Ya" has 8 standard uses plus 5 other uses in phrases and expressions, according to the DRAE. Not every use has one exact equivalent in English, of course.
"Get" has 208 uses, according to the Oxford Dictionary, many of which can be used to replace several verbs.

I don't think we can make comparisons between these two words.

Answer 2

Ya - used for emphasis - ya lo sé

Along with Ya lo sé for emphasis, Ya can be used also to dismiss something.

Let's say that I don't want to listen to another persons point of view or argument, I could say "Ya sé" in a disinterested voice to denote that I was dismissing their point of view.

Answer 3

Can ya....ya be used in the following sentence - "whether you come or not, it´s not important" - ya vienes, ya no, no me importa.

It sounds strange.

My second question

Are there any other uses for this fabulous word.

Used elliptically:

Ya (lo sé) = I know
Ya (voy) = I'm coming
Ya (lo hago) = I'm doing it now
...
Often duplicating the word: Ya, ya... (I See, I see...)

Also:

Ya (está) = To soothe a baby when he/she is crying

Answer 4

I can say that tongue-twister in Chinese. There are a few others like that one.

Answer 5

Una nota interesante

Examples of homophones:

It is possible to write a text in Chinese using only one sound, pronounced with different tones, of course. This is exactly what Chinese linguist, Zhao Yuanren, did when he wrote the "Story of Shi Eating the Lions" using nothing but the sound 'shi'. The story makes sense in written form, but it is impossible to understand when read aloud.

You can see and hear the story on:
http://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/stonelion.html

you can also click on each Chinese character to display the meaning and hear the pronunciation.

Answer 6

I don't think we can make comparisons between these two words.

That is good news for the Spanish language! It is not bad that "get" has 208 uses, the bad part is that we (just about) never use the other "208". Using the proper verb would add color to the language, would not it'

Answer 7

Is this "Ya" as bad for the Spanish language as "Get" for English? Jokingly speaking, get replaces half of the English verbs or about kills them. When was the last time you or I said "fetch me a beer" or even bring me ...'