Enit?

[David Gene Lewis]

I disagree that the word enit is non-native, I would think the social
context would truly determine the meaning of the word. The native use of
the word would be different from the non-native use and would have
phenomenological connections which do not exist in the non-native world. I
have heard this word used extensively on the reservations in Oregon and I
do not always understand what is meant. What ever the origin of the word,
that would not necessarily determine the word ownership. Besides it is
hard for me to make a firm determination of origination over e-mail.
In Spirit
David

On Tue, 22 Jun 1999, Jeffrey Kopp wrote:

> Well, thanks for the informative replies; the consensus (well, it's
> unanimous) seems to be that "enit" is non-native and simply a
> contraction for "ain't it (the truth)."  But at least it gave me an
> excuse to mention the remarkable local-interest story which appeared
> in TNY.
>
> It appears that Don Boucher gets the prize for the most distant
> sighting, as reported below:
>
> On Tue, 22 Jun 1999 18:01:01 -0700, you wrote:
>
> >Klahowya,
> >
> >Where I grew up in NE Pennsylvania, the word "eh-nah" was used as "ain't
> >it" or a general ending to a question, much like Canadians use "eh". I
> >had to break myself of this embarrassing habit when I moved out west.
> >
> >I'm sure glad I don't say dat no more, eh-nah?
> >
> >Don Boucher
> >Corvallis, OR
> >bouchdon at juno.com
> >http://greenfield.fortunecity.com/dwellers/161/
>
> I kinda wonder what "embarrassing habits" we Westerners might need to
> break when going back East.  I don't recall any offhand, but when I
> was in SE Mass 20 years ago, I did get odd looks when I ordered a
> milkshake (called a "frappe" there), or drive around in the daytime
> with my headlights on.
>