Crimanetly...It's an Idiolect

A common expression of irritation heard in my family has always been the word crimanetly. It is a word that I can remember my grandfather using way back when and a word that I continue to use on a regular basis today. I like it because it does not sound a crass as some of the more commonly used expressions of irritation. I also like it because it is not a widely known word...I have always considered it to be part of my family's idiolect.

According to worldwidewords.org, crimanetly is an elaborated version of criminy (both of which are mild exclamations or cries of astonishment or annoyance) that The Dictionary of American Regional English lists as being found in regional dialects in the northern states of the central and western US, together with California.

Dictionary.com lists the etymology of the word criminy as, "Italian crimine 'crime'; euphemism for 'Christ.'"

Celery and Lettuce Idiolects

Following is an example from a dear friend's family's idiolect


Family Idiolect

Person looking at a boat: "Celery?"

Person next to the person looking at the boat: "Lettuce."

Translation

Person looking at a boat: "Shall we go for a boat ride?"
Person next to the person looking at the boat "Let's."


This is what I call having fun with language.

Dialects, Idiolects and Clanolects

While most people are familiar with the word dialect and have a general understanding of what constitutes a dialect, not everyone is familiar with the word idiolect. An idiolect is a variety of language distinctive to an individual person and may include word choice or vocabulary, pronunciations, grammatical patterns, use of phrases or idioms and more. What is not included specifically in the semantic parameters of either the word dialect or idiolect is a variety of language specific to an individual family and close friends. The more people I talk to and the more words and phrases I encounter, I believe there is definitely a need for a word to cover this variety of language. I propose the word clanolect.

Clanolect: A a variety of language specific to an individual family and immediate close friends. Includes distinctive vocabulary, pronunciations, grammatical patterns and phrases or idioms.

Examples from clanolects I have encoutered:

Words:
ascared - a blend of afraid and scared
klim - milk

Pronunciations:
purple pronounced as pur - pile
garage pronounced as though it rhymes with carraige

A phrase from a friend's father:
"Go take an obscornicle survey." - When the kids would ask if they could do something he would tell them to take an obcornicle survey first. (Obscornicle being an invented word)

A favorite idiom from my childhood:
"Poo on rye bread does not taste good." - Response to a person who said something with which you didn't agree or didn't like.

I'm sure there are many more examples out there and I would love to hear them. Please click on comments below to send me words or phrases from your clanolect.