HARPIN' THE LING
or Befuddled in Boonville
AUDIO-MP3
Chipmunk
(left) went to the hob. "I shied the hob," harped Deacon,
"too codgy. " "There was a huge fister," harped
Chipmunk, "and the highman of the higheelers brought in thribs
deputies and shut 'er down." "Not bahl," harped Deacon.
"Gotta have a fister once in awhile to get it out of yer system."
(Translation:
Chipmunk went to the dance. Deacon didn't...getting too old for that
he "harped" or said. Chipmunk said there was a big fight and
the sheriff brought in three deputies to shut it down. Not "bahl"
or good, "harped" Deacon.)
Boontling
is an folk language spoken only in Boonville, in the Anderson Valley
of Northern California. It was invented in the late 1800s and had quite
a following at the turn of the century. Now it is only spoken by old-timers
and heritage buffs.
Boontling
has more than a thousand unique words and phrases.
A
Bucky Walter, for example, is a pay telephone. Bucky means nickel
and Walter was the name of the guy who owned Boonville's first telephone.
A horn of zeese is a cup of coffee.
Practical
Boontling for Travelers
ab
chaser- Someone who lives on the coast, an "abalone chaser."
Not to be outdone, ab chasers call Boonters squirrel bacon.
belhoon
- Dollar
blooch
- To chatter aimlessly. (also means to masturbate)
Boont
Dusties - The Boonville Cemetery
dinklehonk
- cow
gorm
- to eat
hyoottle
- hotel
kilockety
- to travel by train
kiloppety
-to travel by horse
trashmover
- heavy winter storm
weech
- a small child
zeese
- coffee. Named after a man named Zeese whose coffee, it is said,
"would float an egg."
