I know, I know. English is crazy. There are three words that no adult should ever be getting confused, and yet I keep seeing conflation here, so apparently some people need a lesson. The words I'm talking about are "yea," "yay," and "yeah."
Let's start with "yea." This is a word that is used to signal affirmation. It is similar to the more common "yes." However, and this is important, "yea" is rather archaic. It's almost never used in everyday speech other than when someone is being deliberately archaic or as part of the fixed expression "yea or nay." People don't usually get this one wrong, as it's not used that often anyway. I have seen people read Shakespeare aloud and pronounce the word "yea" as though it was "yeah."
"And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Even though it's pronounced in exactly the same way as "yea," the word "yay" is a much newer interjection, probably derived from "yea." Instead of being used to signify affirmation, "yay" signals exultation or triumph. It would often have an exclamation point after it, although probably not in the case when it's being used sarcastically, I guess.
The word "yeah" is another word used for affirmation, also similar to "yes." It is pronounced differently from the other words. The most common error I see with these words is for people to spell "yeah" as "yea." Denotatively, the two words are virtually identical. However, they are still different words. Also, their pronunciations are totally different.
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