Where does “я” come from?

я (Bulgarian) comes from Old Church Slavonic ѭ, from Proto-Slavic jь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic iś, from Old Polish ić, from Proto-Slavic jьti, from Proto-Balto-Slavic eitei, from Proto-Indo-European h₁éyti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- — to go.

я (Bulgarian): either, or; oh

Definitions

  1. either, or; oh

Ancestry of “я”, step by step

я traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Church Slavonic ѭ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Church Slavonicѭher; accusative singular feminine of и
2Proto-Slavicjьthis; he
3Proto-Balto-Slaviciśthis
4Old Polishićto go
5Proto-Slavicjьtito go
6Proto-Balto-Slaviceiteito go
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁éytito go, to be going
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ey-to go

via Ottoman Turkish یا

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ottoman Turkishیا—
2PersianیاAPI •; or; either
3Arabicيَا{{m|en|O|id=vocative}}
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁éyti →Every word from Proto-Balto-Slavic eitei →