nyaa nyaa/ naa naa (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

The number of nyaas cited is correct for my idiolect.

JL

On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 10:06 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
<Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
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> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: nyaa nyaa/ naa naa (UNCLASSIFIED)
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> To me, the taunt has 6 naa/nyah's, not five (Naa-na naa naa NAA naa).
> And either Naa or Nyah would have been acceptable when I was in school.
> A good friend of my wife, who grew up on the Florida panhandle, doesn't
> say that, but rather "neener neener neener" with the same sing-song
> cadence.
>
> Besides the "The Band" song, another cultural referent may be the tail
> end of the Journey song "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" (see 3:40 at
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRt0d1O4tiE ).
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of
>> Jonathan Lighter
>> Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 6:55 AM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: nyaa nyaa/ naa naa
>>
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      nyaa nyaa/ naa naa
>>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------
>> -
>>
>> 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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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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