Tee-nine-see

[Wilson Gray]

Jim Stalker writes:

"First syllable stress for normal use; second syllable stress for
emphasis. 'I tell you.  It was a TEE nine see (little) thing.  I mean
tee NINE see.'"

It's the opposite for me. Different strokes, I guess.

-Wilson

On 4/15/07, Tom Zurinskas <truespel at hotmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Tee-nine-see
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> How would one pronounce "sey".  Normally, it would be long a (~ae) as in
> "they" (~thae).  So for Tennessee it would be tee-NINE-say?  (I've never
> heard anything but TENN-ih-see.)
>
>
> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
> See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.
>
>
>
>
>
> >From: James C Stalker <stalker at MSU.EDU>
> >Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >Subject: Re: Tee-nine-see
> >Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 23:01:51 -0400
> >
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       James C Stalker <stalker at MSU.EDU>
> >Subject:      Re: Tee-nine-see
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Louisville, same maturational period.  First syllable stress for normal
> >use;
> >second syllable stress for emphasis.  "I tell you.  It was a TEE nine sey
> >(little) thing.  I mean tee NINE sey."
> >
> >JCS
> >
> >Doug Harris writes:
> >
> > > Like you, dInIs, I grew up in the Louisville area in the same period --
> >with
> > > a couple of years in the middle up Morehead and Mt Sterling way -- and I
> > > seem to think we emphasized the NINE sylabobbel.
> > > Something else I remember from the time I was maybe ten or eleven was a
> > > saying a Lexington-resident aunt of mine said was an "old" one, or maybe
> >she
> > > said it was a "common" one. Either way, I never to this day have heard
> > > anyone but her say "spit is a horrible word, but it's worse on the end
> >of
> > > your cigar." I neither smoked nor spat much in those days (nor do I do
> > > either today!), and I couldn't quite fathom what the saying was meant to
> > > mean. I'm still not quite sure, and I'm still wondering why the memory
> >of
> > > her reciting that to a cousin of mine while we were on a (local) bus has
> > > always been such a vivid memory.
> > > (the other) doug
> > > ================
> > >>I grew up in the Louisville area, 1940's and 50's and used TEE-nine-see
> > > (stress on first not second syllable, and 'see' not 'shee' in the last).
> > > Wilson, you just got to stop thinking that everything you said when you
> >was
> > > little is Black. Lots of us white guys out here say the same stuff. If
> >you
> > > want to be shocked by white guys, save it for Imus.
> > >>
> > >>The palatalization is interesting in your form. (I take the 'see' form
> >to
> > > be more widely distributed.) Is it the influence of the following high
> >front
> > > vowel? I'm having trouble thinking of comparatively weakly stressed
> > > /-Vnsi##/ strings. (I can think of /-VnsiC/ forms like "linseed".)
> >"Unseat,
> > > "unseemly," etc... are all in stressed syllables and seem to me very
> > > unlikely to go to /sh/ so perhaps it's the sequence plus the lenition of
> >the
> > > weaker stress that promotes the palatalization in your form.
> > >>
> > >>Finally, if this is formed from "teensy," as it almost certainly is
> >(itself
> > > already surely a development tiny -> teeny -> teensy), are there other
> > > examples of a "diminutivizing infix" of this sort? (Of course, it could
> >be
> > > an augmentative augmenting the notion "small.")
> > >>
> > >>This will teach me to get up early on Saturday.
> > >>
> > >>dInIs
> > >
> > >>>Subject:      Re: Query for Charlie-nim
> > >>>-----------------------------------------------------------
> > >>>
> > >>>>Are y'all familiar with the term that's pronounced something like
> > > "tee-NINE-shee"? It means "very small" and is used instead of
> >"itty-bitty"
> > > or "teeny-tiny." When I was in the Army, I heard this used by Texans of
> >all
> > > races, creeds, and colors from all over the state. I learned it from my
> > > mother and my grandmother - I hated any story that  began, "Whin yew wuh
> > > jes' a tee-nine-shee baby ..." Until my Army days, I was under the
> > > impression that this word was peculiar to the women in my family. You
> >can
> > > imagine my shock when I first heard it fall tripppingly from the tongue
> >of a
> > > white farm boy from Mundy, Texas. Later, I heard it used by GI's from
> > > Weslaco, Dallas, Odessa, Midland, Tyler, Galveston, etc., etc. But that
> >was
> > > fifty years ago.
> > >>>>
> > >>>>So, I was wondering whether any y'all were familiar with this term? Is
> >it
> > > peculiar to Texas or is it also used elsewhere?
> > >>>>
> > >>>>-Wilson
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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> >
> >
> >
> >James C. Stalker
> >Department of English
> >Michigan State University
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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-----
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