The American language spoken by so few people you’ve likely never heard of it: Boontling, used by men in a remote California logging town, is being kept alive by just 12 speakers – 140 years after it was first devised
Boontling is a language specific to Boonville, California and was first said to have been spoken in the 1870s
It is a combination of English, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic and Pomoan Indian
Rumored to have originated from efforts to keep adult business out of children’s earshot – as well as the town’s attempt to hide their disdain for a visiting pregnant woman
The language supported the agrarian lifestyle of Anderson Valley
Only 12 people speak the language today including Wes ‘Deacon’ Smoot and Rod ‘Tubbs’ Dewitt, aged 84 and 59
There are roughly 1600 words spoken in Boontling but anyone in the town can come up with a new word as long as it is vetted by other speakers.
Comment: You see, anyone can come up with a conlang, “even” redneck crackers. Note the vetting process.
Good find, O. I hadn’t heard of this one.