The Idea...

The idea of this blog is that it will be a community project looking at language. The specific type of language I am interested in is a type I have yet to find an appropriate name for, the best I can do is "Family Slang" or "Familese" - meaning those words, phrases and expressions which are only used within your family.

I have noticed several times over the last few years that I might be talking to a friend and suddenly they'll have this blank look on their face, and I'll realise I've used some of my own "Familese" which they have not understood. Some examples would be:

'Stepmother's blessing' - a phrase used to describe those annoying, painful bits of peely skin you get right at the side of your fingernail, I believe these are called 'hangnails' by Americans, I'm not sure of the correct British term. I first heard this phrase used by my grandmother.

'Cronky' - something broken or not working properly

What I want to do, is collect these little, eccentric, language gems and publish them here so that they are not forgotten. And I want you to comment, or email me with your personal examples of "Familese", including as much detail as possible, where did the word come from? Is it for example taken from a word you miss-pronounced as a child? Something a much older relative uses? Something that comes from a fusion of two or more languages, for example if you live in a bilingual household and have developed your own fusion English...

Things I do not want are common slang - i.e things used by all your friends at school / university or things which are regional dialect which are not heard outside your particular town. These are undoubtedly interesting, but have been the focus of many linguistic studies and projects so are fairly well documented and unlikely to be forgotten. What I want is those little gems which are only used within your family, and of course I want any stories, history and facts which go with them.

Here are a few situations where families are likely to have their own expressions, just to get you thinking:
Expressions of frustration / anger especially if used as an alternative to swearing
Terms of endearment
Names for household objects and names for food stuffs
Descriptions of say, a person you don't like, a difficult situation, a particularly nice thing, the weather

Happy hunting! Please comment with your suggestions, or email me at u0674502@hud.ac.uk
When I have enough, I'll publish a new entry listing your words and the stories that go with them.

Just to add, this project is at the moment just for my own personal interest, though there is potential for me to develop this into some kind of published paper/essay/book etc. I'd be very grateful if you would include with your comments whether or not you would give your permission to have your words/stories used in my university work or published. Thank you.