Hella

This article is about the word. For other uses, see Hella (disambiguation).

Hella is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area, before becoming widespread, used to describe things as hella bad or good, and eventually added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2012. It is a contraction of the phrase "hell of a" or "hell of a lot [of]," in turn reduced to "hell of." It often appears in place of the words "really," "a lot," "totally," "very" and in some cases "yes". Whereas hell of a is generally used with a noun, according to linguist Pamela Munro, hella is primarily used to modify an adjective such as "good."

According to lexicographer Allan A. Metcalf, the word is a marker of Northern California dialect. According to Colleen Cotter, "Southern Californians know the term ... but rarely use it." Sometimes the term grippa is used to mock "NorCal" dialect, with the actual meaning being the opposite of hella.

History

Earliest studies of the term

Hella has likely existed in California English since at least the mid-1970s. By 1993, Mary Bucholtz, a linguist at the University of California, Santa Barbara collated materials from an urban high school (Mount Eden High School) in the Bay Area, and found that hella was "used among Bay Area youth of all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds and both genders." Hella remains part of the dialect of Northern California, where it has grown in popularity. It is believed by most that the word originated in the eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area (Hayward). James Hetfield and the members of Metallica were among the first celebrities to use the word in both music and interviews. Having come from the Bay Area around the time the word's popularity spread, it could be said that Hetfield was one of the first people to bring hella to the mainstream. Other celebrities, mainly hip-hop artists, have also brought the term to the masses. Bay Area legends E-40 and Mac Dre have been heard using the phrase since 1986. Some believe the term originated with Beatniks, known for their mumbling style of speaking, "hell of a" easily could have become "hella".

Nationwide spread

By 1997 the word had spread to hip hop culture, though it remained a primarily West Coast term. With the release of the 2001 No Doubt song "Hella Good," one Virginian transplant in California "fear[ed] the worst: nationwide acceptance of this wretched term." Since the early '90s 'hella' has been used regularly in the Pacific Northwest as a common slang term, particularly in Seattle and Portland, Oregon. Popular area rappers Blue Scholars and Macklemore regularly use the term in their lyrics; Macklemore uses the word several times in his worldwide hit song "Thrift Shop".

In the South Park episode "Spookyfish," which was the 1998 Halloween special, the character Cartman repeatedly used the term hella to the annoyance of the other characters, which contributed to its currency spreading nationally. "You guys are hella stupid" is one of the phrases spoken by a talking Cartman doll released in 2006. The Sacramento-based band Hella chose its name for the regional association; Zach Hill says "It's everywhere up here.... We thought it was funny, and everyone says it all the time."

Worldwide spread

Hella was included on the BBC's list of 20 words that sum up the 2000-2009 decade. Defining it as "An intensive in Youthspeak, generally substituting for the word very", inclusion on the list marks its ascension into the international slang lexicon.

Hecka Variant

Paralleling the use of the minced oath heck, some younger school children use hecka in place of hella, moving on to hella in adolescence.

The Prince song U Got The Look, released in 1987 on the album Sign o' the Times, features the lyric "your body's hecka slammin'...", which would appear to be an early adoption of the term hecka in its accepted vernacular usage.

Usage

Intensifier

While intensifiers similar to hella exist in many colloquial varieties, hella is unique in its flexibility. It can be used to modify almost any part of speech, as shown below .

That pizza was hella good: hella modifies the adjective good, where Standard American English would use very.

Chris's pizza is hella better than anyone else's: hella modifies the adjective better, replacing much.

I ate hella pizza: hella modifies the noun pizza, replacing a lot of.

I hella bought four pizzas: hella modifies the verb to buy, replacing really or totally.

I ran hella quickly to the pizza joint: hella modifies the adverb quickly, replacing very.

Enthusiastic "Yes" Response

"Hella" can be used as a response to a question or statement in place of "yes" with some enthusiasm. The "yes" usage of the word is appropriate where the speaker may otherwise say "hell yeah" and is typically spoken as a single word response.

SI prefix

As of 2010, an online petition, created by Yreka's Austin Sendek, seeks to establish "hella-" as the SI prefix for 10²⁷. The prefix, which has since appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Daily Telegraph, and Wired, was implemented by Google in May 2010. On May 31, 2011, Wolfram Alpha also implemented "hella-" as a supported prefix.

See also

• Skookum, a similar word used in the Pacific Northwest, from the Chinook Jargon

External links

• hecka at the Double-Tongued Dictionary
• Hella Facts About the Word Hella by George McIntire