Survey says: Gibbled bunnyhug

Students always have one word at the ready when University of Saskatchewan linguistics professor Veronika Makarova asks a class for examples of regional slang.

“Everybody knows the word ‘bunnyhug.’ Students always give it as an example for slang they know,” Makarova said.

Other made-in-Saskatchewan words exist. Some are familiar and well used, while others may be disappearing with a new generation of residents.

On Tuesday, polling firm Insightrix released the results of a survey asking people about their familiarity with Saskatchewan slang, such as “bunnyhug” (96 per cent were familiar with the word), “gotch” (86 per cent), “Vi-Co” (77 per cent), “matrimonial cake” (76 per cent), “gibbled” (73 per cent) and “twofour” (71 per cent).

‘Bunnyhug’ — a hooded sweatshirt — is the most commonly used slang in Saskatchewan. According to the survey, 85 per cent of respondents said they sometimes use the word. Slightly more than 50 per cent said they sometimes use “gibbled” — meaning broken or dysfunctional — in conversation.

The survey ties into the slang-themed viral video the firm released last month.

“Saskatche WHAT?” has since drawn more than 250,000 views on YouTube.

Makarova said slang is an important part of the social mimicry of community building, a way for people to identify with each other.

“Slang adds colour to our lives. It adds expressive power to our language,” she said. “Slang vocabulary and expressions are no better or worse than other language. Everything in language is appropriate for certain circumstances.” Youth especially are known for creating slang as social markers, and use of particular words can help identify a person with a certain generation, given that most slang has a lifespan of 25 to 30 years, Makarova added.

“Vi-Co” turned into slang for chocolate milk as a generation of Saskatchewan residents chugged Vi-Co brand chocolate milk from the now-defunct Dairy Producers company. The Insightrix survey found this particular slang is most recognized among residents age 35 and older.

“Most slang is short lived,” Makarova said. “We wouldn’t recognize slang from the 19th century.”

“Gotch” — not gitch or gonch — is slang for underwear; Makarova said its origins are in Saskatchewan’s Ukrainian heritage. “Matrimonial cake” is a dessert made with dates, and a “twofour” is a case of 24 beers.

The word “gibbled” is slang that was apparently coined in the mid-20th century in rural Saskatchewan. In 2007, a U of S student pushed to get “gibbled” into the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, researching its origin back to a mangling of the word “giblets” by employees of a chicken processing plant near Wynyard nearly 50 years ago.

Makarova said she hopes more thorough research of Saskatchewan slang can be conducted to trace more origins of prairie patois.

Insightrix surveyed 804 people randomly selected from its panel members, with quotas set for age, gender and region to reflect the provincial population. Margins of error are not applicable to the online survey.