A Bright-Lighter? Don't Be Charlied If You Can't Speak Boontling

BOONVILLE, Calif. - To the old-timers who gather for afternoon coffee at the Redwood Drive-In, there are few pastimes sweeter than sharkin' a bright-lighter with a slib of Boont.

Take the yuppie in his BMW, up from San Francisco for some wine-tasting. He approaches the men with a smile, asking directions to a local bed-and-breakfast. The response is quick - and earnestly polite:

"Take your wee moshe, pike toward the Deep End and you'll deek on the Big Crick chiggrul and sluggin' region. And jape easy!"

The hapless tourist might not appreciate it, but he has just been given directions in one of the most unusual homemade languages in the world - Boontling, hatched by settlers in this remote Mendocino County valley more than a century ago.

At its peak, the colorful lingo was used by virtually all of the 500 people who once made their living raising sheep and apples here. But now, only eight or 10 old-timers can speak Boontling with ease, and they are gradually passing on, taking the language with them to the grave.

"God has thinned us out, and we're getting thinner all the time," says Bob Glover, 74, one of those who occasionally "shark" (play games with) an unsuspecting "bright-lighter" (city slicker).

"A few of the words - especially the dirty ones - will probably be around forever," adds Donald Pardini, 65. "But I don't honestly see much of a future for Boont."

If the curious sounds of Boontling do indeed fade away, the

Anderson Valley will have lost a piece of heritage few other places can claim. There are many blended languages - such as the merging of French and Cree by trappers in 17th-century Canada - and numerous kinds of jargon. Island populations often have their own dialects.

But experts say Boontling's history, durability and extensive original vocabulary make it stand out: "I don't know of many examples like it - if any at all," says Leanne Hinton, a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.

On top of its anthropological value, Boontling is fun. Its words and phrases - an estimated 2,000 in all - are colorful and tend to have amusing origins, often relating to local characters out of the past and their occupations or habits.

For example:

-- A prostitute is a "madge," after a madam in nearby Ukiah.

-- A "tom bacon" is a handlebar mustache, in honor of a man who could twirl the ends of his whiskers around his ears.

-- A "buckey walter" is a pay phone - a combination of "buckey," meaning nickel, and "walter," for Walter Levi, who owned the valley's first telephone.

-- A cup of coffee is a "horn of zeese," a tribute to a hunter with the initials Z.C. whose coffee was so thick it could reputedly float an egg.

-- To be embarrassed is to be "charlied." A local Indian named Charlie Ball - an exceptionally bashful fellow - was said to inspire that term.

Just how Boontling got started is a matter of lingering dispute. The leading explanation suggests that adults invented it sometime around the 1880s so they could discuss delicate matters in front of children. Pardini and others subscribe to a more specific theory, involving women who were picking hops and wanted to gossip about a pregnant - and unmarried - girl in their midst.

Whatever the spark, Boontling quickly caught fire. During its heyday early this century, some locals became so comfortable with Boontling that they used it as their primary language.

Indeed, during World War I, several GIs from Boonville reportedly had to relearn English when they left the valley to fight. At one time, members of a local baseball team used Boontling to yell signals, which sounded like crazy babble to visiting players.

As with island dialects, the lingo thrived largely because of the region's isolation, 120 miles north of San Francisco. When cars and telephones linked the Anderson Valley more closely to the outside world, Boontling began to fade.

Hastening its decline was a minor community backlash. Some newcomers mocked the language as "backwoodsy," while other residents feared it might supplant standard English, putting local children at a disadvantage.

In 1971, Boontling got a lift when an English professor from California State, Chico shined an academic light on the language. After winning the confidence of Boonters (proficient Boontling users) over a period of years, Charles Adams wrote a book called, "Boontling: An American Lingo," which includes a comprehensive glossary.

After months of research, Adams concluded that Boontling is not, technically speaking, a language in itself. Its sounds, grammar and morphology - or word-building techniques - all fit the pattern of standard English. What distinguishes Boontling is its own peculiar vocabulary, which makes it indecipherable to outsiders.

Some terms are borrowed from Pomo Indian, Spanish and the Scotch-Irish dialects spoken by some early immigrants to the valley.

Sounds also were a common source for words:

-- The digger squirrel was called a "squeakyteek" in imitation of its distinctive bark.

-- A small-caliber rifle is a "spat," reflecting its short, cracking report.

Brevity is one of Boontling's most cherished features, leading to words formed from odd contractions and abbreviations:

-- Whiskey is "skee."

-- A grizzly bear is a "leeber."

-- A schoolteacher is simply a "skoolch."

-- Even Boontling, the name of the language, is a blend of "Boont" (for Boonville) and "lingo."

If you want to hear Boontling spoken, it is nearly too late. Each year, a couple of the old-timers perform a brief skit in Boontling at the valley's spring festival, but they may boycott the event this year.

"Last year," Glover explains with a scowl, "they wanted us to do it in rap. Can you believe that? I think this year we may have other plans."

----------------------- A glossary of Boontling -----------------------

-- Apple-head: A girl, especially one's girlfriend. From a reference to a Boonter's girlfriend whose head was noticeably small. -- Barney: To hug or kiss. After a Boonter named Barney known to greet women enthusiastically. -- Bluebird: To buck off a rider (said of a horse). Figurative allusion to flying through the air like a bluebird. -- Doll: To foul something up. After a Boonter nicknamed Doll who was personally unkempt and confused. -- Fence-jumpy: Prone to adultery. Alludes to straying from one's pasture. -- Keemwun keemle: A call to entertainment. From "come one, come all." -- Packem-out billies: Dirty socks. Origin unknown. -- Pusseek: Cat. Merging of "pussy" and "cat." -- Set 'n ear: To scold. Refers to punishing sheepdogs by twisting their ear. -- Shoveltooth: Doctor. After a physician who had protruding teeth. -- Skipe: Preacher. Merging of "sky" and "pilot." -- Toobs: Twenty-five cents. From "two bits." -- Trashmover: Heavy winter storm.

Source: "Boontling: An American Lingo," by Charles Adams.