Nellish

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nellish is a fictional idiosyncratic language developed by Nell and her twin sister, May, that is discussed by psychiatric doctors in the film Nell.

The language is similar to strained English in some aspects, representative of the fact that the only English Nell ever heard was from her mother who suffered from partial facial paralysis as a result of a stroke. Examples of Nellish phrases that resemble English include the often muttered "Taye n na winn", meaning "tree in the wind". [1] This phrase, used by Nell in times of excitement, is also a reflection of Nell's strong connection with nature, a result of her growing up in the deep woods. Other examples of Nellish resembling English include the names she gave to Jerome, including "J", short for Jerome, and "guy ange", short for Guardian Angel.

At times, it is apparent that some of Nellish does not resemble English and is rather derived from twin speech, or twin language, between Nell and her identical twin. Examples would be "missa" for little, "arna" for big, or "tata" for fear [2]

"'Lees', Nell,' Ma say, 'afa I done go, guy ange com." "Listen, Nell," my mother said, "after I have gone, a guardian angel will come."

"Ma spea' Nell Wor' o'the Lo fo' she com feely. Guy ange spea' Nell?" My mother read me the Bible before she took ill. Will my guardian angel read to me?