"teabonics"

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Apr 19, 2010, at 5:19 AM, David Barnhart wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       David Barnhart <dbarnhart at HIGHLANDS.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "teabonics"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> When I mentioned _teabonics_ to the conferees at the ADS-Northeast
> Region
> meeting at SUNY-New Paltz this past weekend, someone in the audience
> (perhaps Dennis Preston) mentioned having heard or seen
> _Hillbonics_.  Any
> other _-bonics_ would be much appreciated.

others have been there.  under the heading of "jocular folk-dialectal
labels via blending" (resulting in creations in -(b)onics), a Language
Log piece on the speech of northeastern Pennsylvania --

BZ, 11/17/07: Heynabonics:
  http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005129.html

offers Heynabonics, and cites some other types of hick speech,
Redneckonics and Y'allbonics.  and now from Joe Salmons, we have
Hickonics and Wisconics.

the champion in the field, however, is Rickford & Rickford, _Spoken
Soul_ (2007) on "Ebonics Humor".  page 204 has a list of "Languages
Being Taught in Oakland, California", widely distributed in
photocopied form after the Ebonics controversy began:

Afro-American Speak - Ebonics
Irish-American Speech - Leprechaunics
Native-American Speak - Kemosabics
Italo-American Speak - Spumonics, Rigatonics
Chinese-American Speak - Won-tonics
Japanese-American Speak - Mama-san-ics
Jewish-American Speak - Zionics
Russian-American Speak - Rasputonics
Spanish-American Speak - Burritonics
Eskimo-American Speak - Harpoonics
German-American Speak - Autobahnics, Teutonics
French-American Speak - Cornichonics, Escargonics
Oakland-School-Board Speak - Moronics
.....
on p. 205, R&R add Waveonics (surfers), Ivoronics (white people).

at some point, we move from the merely jocular into something more
pointed; the line is not always clear, and some of the occurrences are
clealy self-mocking.  here are some more you can google up:

Jewbonics, Hebronics, Hebonics, Yiddonics
Frogonics (French)
Spanbonics, Chiconics ("Mexican Ebonics"), Mexonics
Wetbackonics
Spiconics
Poleonics
Crackonics (crackers)
Blanconics (white people)

doubtless there are many more, some of them listed in the dozen or so
postings that have appeared since i started assembling this one.

arnold


these

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