nyaa nyaa/ naa naa

[Jonathan Lighter]

A while ago I indirectly called attention to the stereotyped childhood
taunt melody, "Nyaa nyaa nyah  NYAA nyaa!"

I suggested ironically that that's what "all the people were singin'"
on "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

Even though the lyrics there are clearly "Na na na na na na," etc.

OK. Twice in the past couple of weeks CNN news anchor Soledad O'Brien
(b. 1966) has had occasion to do the taunt. But what she said clearly
both times was "Naa naa naa NAA naa!" (No /j /).

To me (b. Neolithic) this variant is weird. (Really.)  Is Suffolk Co.,
L.I., that different from NYC? Or is English going to hell like they
say?

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org