We don't have words for yes or no because we don't need them. In Irish, 'yes' is approximated with the positive form of a verb and 'no' is approximated with the negative.
"An bhfuil tú ann?" (Are you there?)
"Táim" or "táim ann" (I am, or I am there = yes)
or
"Nílim/ nílim ann" (I am not, or I am not there = no)
So it's almost exactly the opposite of an 'inability to make a decision' and implies that a little more thought has to go into giving a definitive answer to a question.
People use "tá" or "níl" as substitutes but they're incomplete and inelegant, meaning just "is" or "isn't" respectively. Likewise, "is ea" or "'sea" just means "it is thus" or "it it not" - we have a few different ways of asking "is it?" and sometimes one form of answering is less appropriate than another.
I've always liked the fact that the equivalent of "I don't care" is, in Irish, a positive verb: is cuma liom. This implies that not caring is a state all its own, and an active pursuit as opposed to the absence of giving a shit.
"An bhfuil tú ann?" (Are you there?)
"Táim" or "táim ann" (I am, or I am there = yes)
or
"Nílim/ nílim ann" (I am not, or I am not there = no)
So it's almost exactly the opposite of an 'inability to make a decision' and implies that a little more thought has to go into giving a definitive answer to a question.
People use "tá" or "níl" as substitutes but they're incomplete and inelegant, meaning just "is" or "isn't" respectively. Likewise, "is ea" or "'sea" just means "it is thus" or "it it not" - we have a few different ways of asking "is it?" and sometimes one form of answering is less appropriate than another.
I've always liked the fact that the equivalent of "I don't care" is, in Irish, a positive verb: is cuma liom. This implies that not caring is a state all its own, and an active pursuit as opposed to the absence of giving a shit.