We had spent the day at the park, looking at the sqwacks and sqwans when he went boom, got an owie, resulting in a trip to the hoppitable for snitches. To make everything better, the day concluded with a great asghetti dinner and two scoops. Thank heaven, we didn’t lose his su-su-gah in the process.
Translation: We had spent the day at the park, looking at the ducks and swans, when he fell, hurt himself, resulting in a trip to the hospital for stitches. To make everything better, the day concluded with a great spaghetti dinner with ice cream for dessert. Thank heaven, we didn’t lose his pacifier in the process.
Familect is what you get when you smush the words
for “family” and “dialect” into one word.
That’s an example of what’s known as a familect. Familect is what you get when you smush the words “family” and “dialect” into one word. Although families are well recognized for inventing their own private vernaculars, until 2009, there was no academic term that defined the idea.
That’s when a young Georgetown University prof coined the term for the ways that families create language unique to their own subset. Familect encompasses the inside jokes, the zany evolutions of words, the pet names and the intentionally mispronounced words that seem automatically generated within a group.
Perhaps familects are an odd thing to study. I mean, who really cares if your family calls cucumbers, cumbercues? But it does provide an interesting way at looking at how language evolves, and how language is a reflection of just about everything. Take for example the word apron. An apron serves an obvious purpose, but at some point in human history, someone had to say let’s take a length of fabric and fashion it as protection. Now, the idea of a tablecloth has existed for millenia; laying down a fabric cover for a surface elevated the act of eating. That fabric would have been called, in Latin, a mappa, or in Old French, a nappe, or nape. The thinking is that, long ago, someone took a tablecloth and wrapped it around themselves as they tended the fire, resulting in the Middle English term, napron. Over time, the preceding ‘n’ was discarded and now you’ll find an apron hanging from a peg in most kitchens.
… napron, naddre, and noumpere …
This discarding of preceding ‘n’s happened a lot over time. A word for a type of snake – an adder – used to have an ‘n’ before it – naddre – and the word for umpire, also started out with a ‘n’ at its beginning. Umpire derives from late Middle English, noumpere, which meant arbitrator. By the time baseball had caught on in North America, the word was morphing to what we know today – umpire.
How does this happen? Why does it happen? What does it tell us about ourselves? Well, it can tell us a lot.
Baseball teams are referred to as clubs. That’s because long before they became professional, baseball teams were fraternal organizations for people of leisure. The players wore straw boaters and the social gathering was considered more important than the score. As competition heated up, the clubs started bringing in ringers and it wasn’t long before the game was launched on the path to where we are today with Shohei Ohtaini’s ten year, $700 million dollar contract.
Baseball would go on to add dozens of terms – curveball and strikeout among them – to the North American dialect, many of which have never strayed from this continent. Take the case of British football versus the North American version of the same, which we call soccer. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, British fans chose to call the sport “football” in the 1980s as a backlash to American fans choosing the word, “soccer”. In some ways, this is the equivalent of one family’s cumbercue being another family’s cuke-a-dukes. It’s all about identity.
This week’s question for readers:
WHAT ARE SOME GEMS FROM YOUR OWN FAMILECTS?
Leave your Comments below!
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Submissions to last week’s question:
WOULD YOU HAVE PAID THIS TICKET?
NO damn way!
Trudy Halliday
One rainy Sunday morning while driving along Granville St., I couldn’t stop my car when the light turned yellow because I would have skidded. Next thing I heard was the cop, who I didn’t see behind me, turning on his siren. I didn’t complain but I contested the ticket. On the court date, I had difficulty finding parking but saw an empty spot behind a building on a side street. I was doubly jubilant when the cop didn’t show up, but my joy was dampened when I returned to my car and saw a parking ticket on my windshield.
John Marasigan
What a frustrating experience!
I wouldn’t pay the ticket. Here’s why, and I believe this information is correct.
Parking tickets from EasyPark do not attach to your driver’s licence, unlike those from the city, but rather to your car’s licence plate number. EasyPark tracks your car by its licence plate number, so it will tow cars, identified by its licence plate number. New licence plates are free from your insurance broker. I would – and have – just gotten new licence plates.
Joe Bell
I am surprised that your friend with a history in customer service would pay a ticket to a company that had treated her so poorly. Especially when Austin hung up on her. I would have sent a letter addressed to the manager with a copy sent to the mayor, the parks board and the city manager. I would have included a copy of the proof of payment extending the time. The letter would politely ask them to rescind the ticket. I would not pay the ticket. Life is short but if people do not speak up to unfair charges companies will take advantage.
Karen Kilbride
For $117, I would not pay the parking ticket and use that money to change the licence plate. Any car with outstanding tickets will be impounded the next time you park at their lot. They track you with the licence plate.
Loo Soon Hung
I was disheartened to read that your friend Dana gave in so easily. I would have fought that ticket for months on principle alone. I recently had a ticket on my windshield even though I had paid for an hour and was back in 30 minutes. Alas, I had made a small typo while recording the five digit code so although I had paid, it wasn’t for that particular spot. A quick call to EasyPark cleared things up when he searched the record on his computer. Next time, take a screenshot on your phone showing that you’re all paid up.
David Lindsay
Dana should never have paid the ticket. She did absolutely nothing wrong. I would have sent a letter to EasyPark threatening small claims action. These parking companies are horrible. When we were visiting Harrison Hot Springs, my husband entered our licence plate number and off we went for lunch. We paid for two hours but only used one. When we got back we had a ticket. It turns out my husband made an error by one number on the plate. We refused to pay. These people are ruthless! It took me six months to make these guys take a hike. I threatened to sue as I am a retired paralegal and I knew a judge would laugh at the parking company and would award me nuisance money. It saddens me that Dana paid the ticket.
Laura Eburne
Years ago, I had a dispute like that with Impark. I had paid for parking in a lot next to the old BC Place pavilion but the ticket machine did not dispense a ticket because it was out of paper. I left a note on my dash, but found a ticket when I returned. I disputed the charge and faxed a copy of my charge card statement, to no avail. My solution? I changed my licence plates at insurance renewal time so that I would not get towed from Impark lots.
Glen Taylor
My daughter and I, who would never think of not paying for parking when required, were receiving parking violations and tickets, even though we had paid for parking each time and were within our indicated time allotment. After puzzling for a long time we figured it out! One of the letters we would put into the parking machine was O as in Owl but on a quick google search we found out that the letters I,Q, O, U, Y, Z are not used in BC licence plates. Putting in the letter O and not a zero was creating a situation where some parking enforcement devices picked up the discrepancy while others did not. Now we know, so no more random parking tickets!.
Debra Creighton
I would not have paid the ticket. I would have obtained EasyPark’s address (email or postal) from their website and written a letter explaining the circumstances. I would provide both my contact information and that of my witness. I would request a prompt response acknowledging reversal of the charge.
Fred Newton
Parking enforcement companies like EasyPark and Imperial Parking deliberately make it hard to dispute their tickets. There isn’t an office you can visit or anyone with authority you can speak to. I also wonder how they get your address to send you a bill; isn’t that personal information the government and the Department of Motor Vehicles should protect? I wouldn’t pay the fine!
Phil Campeau
I don’t understand why someone would pay $117 when Easy Park doesn’t have any ability to collect the money. It seems like one giant scam.
Matthew Ewanchuk
Oh no, a thousand times NO! Your friend should not have paid the ticket! She actually paid twice! These companies that issue tickets have no real legal standing. They will hassle you with phone calls for quite a while and gently threaten you, but stay strong. Do not pay and they will give up. I promise you! I’ve been through it a couple of times, so I know firsthand. It will not cause one to accumulate demerit points, it won’t affect your car insurance or your city taxes, so do not pay!
We paid for street parking and got a ticket a few years back and though we had lost the ticket from our dash, showing we had paid, we found the charge on our Visa bill and offered it as proof, and that still did not resolve it. So in the end, we just hung up when they called and they eventually gave up!
Jo-Ann Hillis
Absolutely not and Dana should not have. She should have continued to contact Easypark or escalated things to the Vancouver Aquarium. These parking companies often do not communicate well. However they are contracted by the City and she will eventually get success if she works on it.
Craig Hewson
I read with interest your latest regarding your group’s outing to the Vancouver Aquarium. I wholeheartedly agree with your positive assessment of the Aquarium, which continues to uphold the world-class legacy of Dr. Murray Newman, who, along with others, founded it in 1950. Your column may have inadvertently left the impression that EasyPark, the parking contractor, is somehow connected to the Aquarium, when, in fact, it is contracted to the Vancouver Park Board. I am not aware that the Aquarium receives any revenues from parking tolls in its surrounding area, those charges going solely to the Park Board. I venture that your group’s unfortunate parking dispute mirrors what many of your readers have experienced, which makes this story all the more compelling.
Scott McCloy
No, I would not have paid that ticket – and I didn’t. EasyPark issued me a fine which resulted from the ticket purchase system malfunctioning. It took numerous phone calls and emails to resolve, but I was able to demonstrate that the problem was theirs through my records. The process is onerous, I expect intentionally so as people tire of the effort and find it easier to pay, which is a boon for EasyPark. But principle demands perseverance.
Rudy Ydenberg
The answer to paying a fraudulent parking ticket is: No!
We parked at Jim Pattison Outpatient Care in Surrey on 23/11/01 and paid for two hour parking. One hour and twenty minutes later, we had an $80 fine (reduced to $48 if paid in seven days).
We phoned Impark and were told to go to the website with a photo of the ticket and receipt and follow instructions. Did that. Weeks later got an $80 bill from a collection agency. After much phoning and emailing and sending copies of proof, we finally talked to a real person and he obviously had our information in the computer because he immediately voided the ticket. We have kept the ticket and receipt in case we need it.
Roger Sovde
Absolutely not! Dana did everything right. The parking company is mistaken.
Currently I have a dispute with Air Canada. I tried (unsuccessfully) to book a flight but my payment wouldn’t go through – you know the spinning wheel of death? I tried again the next day with the same result so I booked with a different carrier. Turns out that Air Canada billed my credit card for a flight for which I received no confirmation, no itinerary, and no receipt of payment. Air Canada has offered me a $500 coupon toward another flight but I want my over $1,000 reimbursed. If I was going to donate $500, it wouldn’t be to Air Canada. I don’t think Dana should have donated $117 to EasyPark either!
Debora Soutar
I would ABSOLUTELY NOT have paid this ticket. I can understand not wanting to waste precious time to deal with the hassle of this issue but, I feel we must all fight for fairness and justice, even in the small issues. How many others will also have to deal with EasyPark’s ‘glitch’, not to speak of, with the rudeness of its employee. I say fight to the finish!
Julie Stone
We went to the opera in Victoria yesterday. We were early, and pleased to get on street parking. When we returned to the car we found a ticket on it. We understood from the opera website that parking was free on Sundays. We were wrong: parking is free in the parkade but not on the street. Sigh…. That seems illogical to me but I’ve paid the ticket. Lesson learned.
Madeleine Lefebvre
Boy, can I empathize with you on this one. A few months ago, I drove my sister to Peace Arch Hospital for some tests. I keyed in the wrong licence number so cancelled that try and input the right number and received a ticket for the right number. When we got out, there was a ticket on our windshield saying we had keyed in the wrong number. My sister took all the information and started an inquiry with Impark. In the meantime, they sent a request for payment to our house and my husband, not aware of the circumstances, paid the $70. Boy, was I steamed. My sister is still trying to get the money back, but I haven’t much hope.
Cheryl Wanless
The City needs to pay attention to how their subcontractors deal with complaints. There are just too many examples of these sorts of problems. I believe if parking meters aren’t in working order, that is NOT the problem of the person parking the car but the City will ticket you if you park at an out-of-order meter. Are you supposed to drive around and check each one? Sometimes there are connectivity issues when using a parking app and they are NOT the parkers fault, but beyond their control. They ought not to be penalized for problems beyond their control.
S. Wong
Please tell Dana to go to the Better Business Bureau website and file a complaint and ask for her money back. It may take a while but what has she got to lose? They solved an issue for me with a different company.
Carrie Beavington
No, I would not have paid. I would have disputed the ticket via email. Since early 2023, I have twice received notices via postal mail about parking violations that occurred almost a month earlier. As there was no ticket under the windshield wiper either time, I was not aware of the violations until receiving the mailed notices, by which time the cost of the tickets had escalated to over $100.00. If the company is in the wrong, dispute the ticket. Be polite, but persistent.
Sherry Loof
There’s a reason that most parking facility companies have an ‘F’ rating with the Better Business Bureau, including EasyPark. These shameful companies rely on the fact that many people get so frustrated with the inability to resolve an issue and with the threats to send your bill to collections that the customer gives in and pays the ticket. If you are in the right, as clearly this family was, I would never pay the fine. It’s a matter of principle!
Darlene Howat