Nonantum, Massachusetts


Nonantum is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The lake in question was filled with construction rubble and built over from the 1930s until its total demise in 1971. The neighborhood kids cleared the snow each winter and played hockey on it through the 1950s. The village is one of the centers of Italian population in Newton. The commercial area has numerous restaurants and food establishments featuring Italian cuisine.
Nonantum figures in early Massachusetts history as the home of Waban, one of the first Native Americans in Massachusetts to convert to Christianity. He had been taught by John Eliot.

Lake Talk

Lake Talk is a cryptolect spoken particularly among older Italian-American residents. The origins of Lake Talk are unclear. A 2001 article in the Boston Globe speculated that it is a blend of Italian and some World War II code, but others have seen similarities to Angloromani or Italian Romany slang. Originally, Nonantum was an Irish community, as many of the streets are Irish names. In the late 1800s early 1900s Natives of Castelvenere a town and comune in the Province of Benevento, Campania Region, Italy settled in Nonantum, the first Italian immigrants. Many people in the village now who claim are the first to discover the "Lake" are descendants of natives of San Donato Val di Comino, Italy.
According to the article, examples of words and phrases in Lake Talk include:
Former Massachusetts State Auditor Joe DeNucci, a Nonantum native, told the Globe:
Lake talk is not confined to the neighborhood. Nonantum students have spread it to Newton North High School, which serves the area.

Notable residents

In 2020, the etymology of the Lake Talk word "inga" came into question, given the political climate surrounding race issues.