nyaa nyaa/ naa naa

[Charles C Doyle]

In my childhood in Texas, 1950s, the most prevealent form of the taunt was "NAE nae nae NAE nae."

A variant of my son's from Georgia, 1980s, was this prosodically symmetrical rhyme:  "NAE nae nae nae BOO boo; Stick your foot in doo doo."

--Charlie

________________________________________
From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Laurence Horn [laurence.horn at YALE.EDU]
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 9:39 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

My own memory (NYC, 1950s) requires that extra syllable, and a fronted vowel:
/nae nae nae nae NAE nae/.  No palatalization, although I've also heard that variant.

LH

On Feb 13, 2012, at 8:00 AM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:

> I count one too few iterations. Either /nae/ or /naa/ is fine. Palatize if you want, too.
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA
>
> On Feb 13, 2012, at 4:54 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
>> 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?

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