50:
178:
While the word "nyah" is now defined as being in and of itself an expression of contemptuous superiority over another, this is by derivation from the "nyah-nyah..." chant rather than vice versa so the "nyah-nyah..." vocalization version of the chant is, at least in origin, an example of communication
166:
The tune is also heard in Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, United Kingdom, and Iceland. Children in Korea use a different figure for teasing, la-so-la-so mi-re-mi-re with the vocalization ìŒë 늏 ꌎë 늏 (eol-re-ri kkol-re-ri) while a Japanese variant is
175:". French children might follow "Na na na na nĂšre" with "Pouette pouette camembert". In Croatia, children sing "Ulovi me, ulovi me, kupit Äu ti novine. Novine su skupe, poljubi me u dupe" (which means: "Catch me, catch me, I'll buy you a newspaper. Newspapers are pricey, kiss my tushie").
372:
Research seems to indicate that this exact constellation of two notes , and its three-note variant, is the same all over the world, wherever children tease each other, on every continent and in every culture. In short, we may have here a clear case of a musical-linguistic
76:" is the lexigraphic representation of a common children's chant. It is a rendering of one common vocalization for a six-note musical figure that is usually associated with children and found in many European-derived cultures, and which is often used in
321:
Sometimes five-note, with the first two notes combined as one long note ("Nyaaahh nyah nyah nyah nyah") or other variations, such as the third note shortened or the fifth note stressed in volume, intonation, or duration, and so
170:
The initial taunt is sometimes followed by further verses using the same tune, for instance in
America "Nanny nanny nanny goat, cannot catch a billy goat" or following "Nanny nanny boo boo" with "Stick your head in
715:
Hon skriver bolet, 'bordet', fÀlas, 'fÀrdas' och gÄlen, 'gÄrden'. Den sistnÀmnda formen Àr odödliggjord i den hÀr ramsan: "Skvallerbytta Bing-bong/gÄr i alla gÄlar/slickar alla skÄlar"; det Àr alltsÄ inget
595:
61:
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Non-taunting uses are also seen, also associated with children. Several playground songs use the "Nyah nyah..." musical figure, including
162:"Zakochana para, Jacek i Barbara" in Polish (meaning "A couple in love, Jack and Barb", used by children to make fun of people in love)
420:
226:
88:
The tune has many variations on how "nyah-nyah" is vocalized (e.g., "Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh"), some examples of which include:
453:
119:"Skvallerbytta bing bÄng" (meaning "Tattletale ding dong") or "Du kan inte ta mig" in Sweden (meaning "You can't catch me")
478:
647:
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The tune (in both the "nah" and "nyah" forms) features as the chorus of the theme song 'It's Not Fair' from the '
448:. Sound & Meaning: The Roman Jakobson Series in Linguistics and Poetics. Duke University Press. p. 48.
479:"A Feeling for Harmony: The 3-Semester Music Theory Course for Earlham College â Chapter 1E - Pentatonic Scale"
276:
230:
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667:"Combien de clichés mélodiques? révision de l'inventaire des contours intonatifs stylisés en français"
258:
302:
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116:"LÀl-lÀl-lÀl-lÀl lie-ru" (a taunt) or "Et saa mua kiinni" in Finland (meaning "You can't catch me")
798:
628:
360:
222:
292:
189:, however, such as "Johnny is a sis-sy", "I got the blue one", or "I can see your underwear!".
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380:"The Millennial Whoop: The Simple Melodic Sequence That's Showing Up All Over Contemporary Pop"
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so-so-mi-mi so-mi-mi and in Mexico a so-la-so-mi, so-la-so-mi figure is found.
92:"Nanny nanny boo boo", "Na-na na-na boo-boo", or "Neener neener neener" in the
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350:
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What Makes Sound
Patterns Expressive?: The Poetic Mode of Speech Perception
262:(1946) for a scene where the Roman and Etruscan generals mock each other.
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Untwisting the
Serpent: Modernism in Music, Literature, and Other Arts
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centered the song "I Don't Want To Grow Up" around the figure in
107:"Ăa ña ña ña ña ña", "Chincha rabiña" or "A que no me pillas" in
98:"Du kan ikke fange mig" in Denmark (meaning "You can't catch me")
280:
113:"Naa na banana" in Israel (meaning "mint (and) banana")
830:(Dissertation). Indiana University Linguistics Club.
363:, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Event occurs at 27:00
183:. Context-meaningful words are sometimes applied
155:(meaning "You didn't hurt me, you snake face" in
151:"Non mi hai fatto niente, faccia di serpente" in
101:"Na na na na nĂšre" (also "nanananĂšre") in France
596:"Children's Voices on Bullying in Kindergarten"
8:
341:
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415:. University Of Chicago Press. p. 94.
241:. The tune has been used as an advertising
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53:The nyah-nyah tune features a descending
773:"HARIBO GOLDBĂREN Klassiker: BĂ€renschau"
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594:Helgeland, Anne; Lund, Ingrid (2016).
104:"Naa na na naa na" in the Netherlands
7:
702:Lindström, Fredrik (November 2007).
648:"Is storage archiving child's play?"
144:(meaning "(You) can't catch me" in
828:The Intonational System of English
352:"Musical Phonology", lecture 1 of
14:
603:Early Childhood Education Journal
270:their 1985 album of the same name
665:Fagyal, Zsuzsanna (March 1999).
137:"WĂȘla kapela" in Southern Africa
729:"Definition of nyah in English"
384:Browbeat (Slate's Culture Blog)
378:Metzger, Patrick (2016-08-29).
1:
826:Liberman, Mark Yoffe (1978).
245:by the confectionery company
74:Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah
706:(in Swedish). SprÄktidningen
799:"Horrid Henry Theme Lyrics"
122:"Ădda bĂŠdda buse" in Norway
874:
575:John Wells's Phonetic Blog
544:John Wells's Phonetic Blog
511:John Wells's Phonetic Blog
252:The figure is used in the
227:It's Raining, It's Pouring
37:
18:
757:Jackson, Shirley (1963).
646:Karp, Mike (2005-08-02).
615:10.1007/s10643-016-0784-z
409:Albright, Daniel (1999).
279:' animated TV series on
19:Not to be confused with
761:. Farrar Straus Giroux.
683:10.3406/flang.1999.1234
354:The Unanswered Question
229:; and some variants of
193:referred to it as the "
131:"La la la la la la" in
38:For the song featuring
16:Common children's chant
759:Life Among the Savages
211:Life Among the Savages
69:
442:Tsur, Reuven (1992).
52:
259:The Rape of Lucretia
231:Ring a Ring o' Roses
44:Nyan cat § Song
733:Oxford Dictionaries
704:"Gammalt adelsprat"
303:Blowing a raspberry
239:Olly olly oxen free
361:Harvard University
223:A Tisket, A Tasket
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481:. Earlham College
347:Leonard Bernstein
235:Bye, baby Bunting
140:"NĂŁo me pega" in
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125:"Lero lero" in
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27:, the Japanese
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609:(1): 133â141.
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741:. Retrieved
737:the original
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181:paralanguage
179:entirely by
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40:Hatsune Miku
29:onomatopoeia
24:
20:
567:Wells, John
536:Wells, John
503:Wells, John
376:, cited at
359:(Lecture).
266:Descendents
55:minor third
808:2024-03-22
784:2021-11-23
743:2016-08-30
710:2018-05-06
688:2017-06-10
580:2016-08-29
549:2016-08-29
516:2016-08-29
485:2016-08-29
461:2016-08-30
455:0822311704
428:2016-08-29
390:2016-08-29
373:universal.
367:2016-08-29
330:References
217:Other uses
146:Portuguese
84:Variations
836:910372009
571:"Nuh-nuh"
852:Category
633:73584991
349:(1983).
287:See also
201:da" or "
78:taunting
778:YouTube
716:nödrim!
386:. Slate
205:know a
197:da, da-
173:doo-doo
157:Italian
133:Turkish
33:meowing
834:
631:
452:
419:
322:forth.
256:opera
247:Haribo
243:jingle
186:ad hoc
142:Brazil
127:Mexico
42:, see
629:S2CID
599:(PDF)
309:Notes
153:Italy
109:Spain
832:OCLC
450:ISBN
417:ISBN
281:CITV
237:and
63:Play
31:for
25:nyan
679:doi
619:hdl
611:doi
23:or
21:nyÄ
854::
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607:45
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225:;
213:.
207:se
199:da
195:da
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203:I
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35:.
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