Hazleton Slang ( Is henna or heyna a Slovak derivative?

[john...@mail.eclipse.net]

I grew up in Plymouth, PA, about 30 miles from Hazleton, and we used
"henna" or "hay-nut" all the time. It meant something like "isn't
that right?". I didn't realize it wasn't common usage until I moved
out of the area. I hadn't heard it in more than thirty years until
my recent high school reunion, when I went back home.

John Gbur

> Date: Sat, 8 Feb 1997 01:35:45 +0100 (MET)
> Reply-to: slovak...@fris.sk
> From: RonO...@aol.com
> To: Multiple recipients of list <slovak...@fris.sk>
> Subject: Re: Hazleton Slang ( Is henna or heyna a Slovak derivative?)

> A common expression of agreement in Hazleton was to say something like,
> "henna" or "heyna" when you agreed with someone. Could this possibly be
> derived from "hej'" and "nie"?
>
> My high school English teacher was infuriated one day when we had the real
> word, henna (a shade of reddish brown), as one of our weekly vocabulary words
> to learn. She asked, "Does anyone know what this word means?" Phyllis
> replied, "Yes, it is a term of agreement used when someone makes a statement
> and you now your head and say, Henna." This was too low life for the
> teacher. But it was commonly used.
>
> Does anyone else recognize this expression?
>
> Ron Orach
>
>