Valleyisms

I remember when we first moved to Halifax in 1986 that we were very struck by the various uses of language that were particular to the region. Prior to our eastern move, I had never heard that supper was "some good" or that a test was "right hard". After a while, these colloquialisms ceased to grate on my ears and became standard fare in daily conversation. However, I could never use them as I always felt like people would know that I was somehow "faking it". I felt the same whenever I had to speak Spanish (learned in university) with a native speaker. I would attempt a dialogue while constantly wondering at what point my interlocutor might just crack up in laughter and pat me on the head. Dave still encourages my Spanish whenever we meet anyone remotely Latin and I mumble, "No hablo mucho." Strangely enough, the two people who insist on me speaking Spanish with them both reside here in the depths of the Valley. The first is a wonderful deacon whose son-in-law (a Spaniard) and daughter live in Spain. The problem is that the dear deacon's language skills are constantly improving while mine are, well, "No hablo mucho." The other Spanish speaker is a local and colourful musician (he wears many other hats but I will stick with musician) who found himself in the back hills as a draft-dodger in the late '60s. He never fails to remember that Dave's wife speaks Spanish and that he, once having lived in Peru, enjoys speaking it with her. All of this is actually a lead up to the fact that I have once again found myself in a land that, in many ways, speaks a different language. I haven't attempted to speak this language but I have found myself slipping into the new dialect because, well, I kind of like it. Here are a few examples of Valleyisms:

1. My mother-in-law is from Alumette Island (an Irish enclave on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River). She has a very strong accent and when I first spent a summer with my future in-laws I experienced a few misunderstandings. One of those was when she spoke about carrots (which were a significant part of our conversation due to the flourishing garden). Her pronunciation of carrots always sounded like cards to me and I spent many suppers (no joke) confused as to why card games were associated with the vegetable garden. A neighbour later told us that he once asked for a carrot muffin at MacDonald's only to be met by a blank stare. His accent caused so much confusion that the MacD's staffer actually had to retrieve a picture menu so that he could point to the appropriate icon!
2. Another Valley phenomenon is that of working out. Those who choose to farm for a living often have to resort to holding another job outside of the farm to make ends meet. This is called working out. Of course, I didn't know this at first and thought that there were a lot of farmers who felt strongly about going to the gym.
3. One use of the language that I just love is the way in which people refer to their children. Jacob and Hannah are not my boy and girl: they are my lad and little lady. I confess that this phrase has slipped out of my mouth quite naturally lately. It accords a certain dignity to my children that I just really like.
4. Another Valleyism that I have come to love is that no one has friends around here: they have chums. This lends itself to the following phrases: They chum around together. Who does he chum with? They're chumming around together more these days. How are you, chum? In fact, one of Dave's elementary schoolmates is still known as Chummy instead of Chris.
5. The fifth and final (for now) Valleyism that I have come to love is the place names and last names around here. For example, Stamplecoskie is a genuine last name and I LOVE it. I told Dave the other day that if I had my choice I would be called Elena Stamplecoskie and live on Smaglinski-Stoppa Parkway. Also, I could listen to my kids pronounce Killaloe (Kill-a-loo) a million times over.
The language is rich and I imagine that this is where my kids will always say they came from. Perhaps by the time they head out to make their way in the world I will, without a second thought, also speak the language.