Nonantum is one of the thirteen villages of Newton, Massachusetts

Newton, Massachusetts

Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

, also known as Silver Lake or The Lake. The lake in question was filled with construction rubble and built over from the 1930s into the late 1950s. The neighborhood kids cleared the snow each winter and played hockey on it through the 1950s. At that point Silver Lake was more of a pond. The village is one of the centers of Italian population in Newton. Our Lady's High School later called Newton Catholic High School and now known as Trinity Catholic High School http://www.trinitycatholic.com) is located in the village. The commercial area has numerous restaurants and food establishments featuring Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

. A historical report can be found at http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/Planning/hist/Nonantum.pdf.

Nonantum figures in early Massachusetts history as the home of Waban

Waban

Waban was a Native American of the Nipmuc group and was the first Native American to be converted to Christianity in Massachusetts.-Life:Waban was born about 1604 at Musketaquid, near the present town of Concord...

, one of the first Native Americans in Massachusetts to convert to Christianity. He had been taught by John Eliot

John Eliot

John Eliot may refer to:*Sir John Eliot , English politician*John Eliot , English Puritan minister and missionary*John Eliot, 1st Earl of St Germans , British politician...

.

Lake Talk

A notable element in Nonantum is the Lake dialect. Lake Talk, as it is called, is an idiosyncratic language spoken in the village, particularly among Italian-American locals. The dialect's origins are unclear. It has been speculated that it is a blend of Italian and some World War II code, but others have seen similarities to Angloromani or Italian Romany ("gypsy") slang. Many people in the village are descendants from natives of San Donato Val di Comino

San Donato Val di Comino

San Donato Val di Comino is a comune in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located in the Comino Valley about 110 km east of Rome and about 40 km east of Frosinone...

, Italy.

According to a 2001 article in the Boston Globe some examples of words and phrases in Lake Talk include:

• mush -- "guy", can be positive or negative depending on context
• wicked pissa, mush!--"extremely awesome, guy"
• chabby -- "boy child", possibly related to the Romany
  Romani language
  Romani or Romany, Gypsy or Gipsy is any of several languages of the Romani people. They are Indic, sometimes classified in the "Central" or "Northwestern" zone, and sometimes treated as a branch of their own....
  
   word chavvie = "boy"
• chor'd -- "stolen", possibly related to the Romany word choro = "thief"
• chuccuo -- (chu-co) -- "donkey", "horse's ass"
• cuya moi -- "shut up" or "go to hell"
• divia (div-ya) -- "crazy", "jerk, screw-up, or harmless screwball"
• inga -- "unattractive" or "bad-tempered person" or "junk" or "crap"
• jival -- "girl"
• mush has a cormunga in his cover -- "guy is hiding a gun"
• mush is the earie -- "the guy is listening"
• over-chay or overchay (ova-chay) -- "it's a lie" or "he's an actor"
• oy -- "eat"
• pissa -- "awesome"
• pukka to the mush -- "tell the guy"
• quister jival (quest-ah dival) -- "pretty girl"
• quister mush (quest-ah mush) -- "good, standup guy"
• shapdude (shup-dude) -- "how's it going?"
• wonga -- "money"
• geech -- "go away"
• gash -- "girly man"
• jawl -- "steal" or "look at"

Massachusetts State Auditor Joe DeNucci, a Nonantum native, told the Globe:

You talk the Lake language and only people from there can understand you. An awful lot of what it means is how you say it and how you use it. You improvise a lot, mixing it with carnival talk and bebop.

"Mush is the earie." That means "The guy is listening."

Lake talk is not confined to the neighborhood. Nonantum students have spread it to Newton North High School

Newton North High School

Newton North High School, formerly Newton High School, is the larger and longer-established of two public high schools in Newton, Massachusetts, with about 2,000 students, the other being Newton South High School. It is located in the village of Newtonville...

, which serves the area.

Notable residents

Some famous former residents of Nonantum are actress Marianne Leone

Marianne Leone Cooper

Marianne Leone is an American film and television actress, screenwriter, and essayist. She is likely best-known for her recurring role as Christopher Moltisanti's mother on The Sopranos....

 and actor Matt LeBlanc

Matt LeBlanc

Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc is an American actor, best known for his role as Joey Tribbiani on the NBC sitcoms Friends and its spin-off Joey....

.

External links

• Nonantum Community Forums