Everything about Newfoundland English totally explained
Newfoundland English is a name for several
dialects of
English found in the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador, often regarded as the most distinctive dialect of English in Canada. Some specific Newfoundland dialects are similar to the
accent heard in the southeast of
Ireland (See
Wexford and
Waterford), while others are similar to those of
West Country England, or a combination of both, mainly due to mass
immigration from a limited number of ports in those specific regions.
These separate dialects developed because of Newfoundland's history as well as its geography. Newfoundland was one of the first areas settled by England in North America, beginning in small numbers in the early 1600s before peaking in the early 1800s. Newfoundland was a
British colony until 1907 when it became an independent
Dominion within in the
British Empire and didn't become a part of
Canada until 1949.
Newfoundland is an island in the
Atlantic Ocean, separated by the
Strait of Belle Isle from
Labrador, the sparsely populated mainland part of the province. Most of the population remained rather isolated on the island, allowing the dialects time to develop independently of those on the North American continent.
Newfoundland English was recognized as a separate dialect by the late 1700s when George Cartwright published a glossary of Newfoundland words.
Phonological and grammatical features
Some Newfoundland English differs from General Canadian English in
vowel pronunciation (for example, in much of Newfoundland, the words
fear and fair are
homophones), in
morphology and
syntax (for example, in Newfoundland the word
bes [biz] is sometimes used in place of the normally conjugated forms of
to be to describe continual actions or states of being, as in
that rock usually bes under water instead of
that rock usually is under water, but normal conjugation of
to be is used in all other cases;
bes is likely a carryover of
Irish grammar into English), and in preservation of
archaic adverbial-intensifiers (for example, in Newfoundland
that play was right boring and
that play was some boring both mean "that play was very boring"). Dialect can vary markedly from community to community, as well as from region to region, reflecting ethnic origin as well as a past in which there were few roads and many communities, and fishing villages in particular remained very isolated.
Other marked characteristics of Newfoundland English include the
loss of dental fricatives (voiced and voiceless
th sounds) in many varieties of the dialect (as in many other nonstandard varieties of English); they're usually replaced with the closest
voiced or
voiceless alveolar stop (
t or
d). The dialect also includes nonstandard or innovative features in
verb conjugation. In many varieties, the third-person singular
inflection is generalized to a
present tense marker; for example, the verb "to like" is conjugated
I likes,
you likes,
he/she/it likes,
we likes,
you likes, and
they likes. (And in some communities on the island's northeast coast, you (singular), you (plural), and they become
dee,
ye, and
dey, respectively.)
In a move almost certainly taken from
Hiberno-English and influenced by the
Irish language, speakers avoid using the verb
to have in
past participles, preferring formulations including
after, such as
I'm after telling him to stop instead of
I have told him to stop.
The merger of diphthongs [ai] and [ɔi] to [ɑi] (an example of the
line-loin merger) is extensive throughout Newfoundland and is a significant feature of Newfoundland English.
In Newfoundland English the affirmative
yeah is made with an inhalation rather than an exhalation. This is an example of a rare
pulmonic ingressive phone.
To non-Newfoundlanders, speakers of Newfoundland English may seem to speak faster than speakers of General Canadian. This perceived tempo difference may be a coupling of subtle pronunciation differences and unusual sayings and can be a contributing factor to the difficulty non-Newfoundlanders sometimes experience with the dialect.
Other languages and dialects which have influenced Newfoundland English
There is also a dialect of
French centred mainly on the
Port au Port Peninsula on the west coast of the island which has had an impact on the syntax of English in the area. One example of these constructs unique to Newfoundland is
Throw grandpa down the stairs, his hat, in which the hat makes the trip, not the grandfather. Another is the use of French reflexive constructions in sentences such as the reply to a question like
Where are you going?, reply:
Me I'm goin' downtown (this reflexive form of grammar also exists in Irish Gaelic).
Newfoundland French was deliberately discouraged by the
Newfoundland government through the public schools during the mid-
20th-century, and only a small handful of mainly elderly people are still fluent in the French-Newfoundland dialect. In the last couple of decades, many parents in the region have demanded and obtained French education for their children, but this would be
Standard French education and doesn't represent a continuation of the old dialect per se. Some people living in the
Codroy Valley on the south-west tip of the island are also
ancestrally Francophone, but represent
Acadian settlers from the
Maritime Provinces of Canada who arrived during the 19th century. This population has also lost the French language.
The greatest distinction between Newfoundland English and General Canadian English is its
vocabulary. It includes some
Inuit and
First Nations words (for example
tabanask, a kind of sled), preserved archaic English words no longer found in other English dialects (for example
pook, a mound of hay),
compound words created from English words to describe things unique to Newfoundland (for example
stun breeze, a wind of at least 20 knots (37 km/h)), English words which have undergone a
semantic shift (for example
rind, the bark of a tree), and unique words whose origins are unknown (for example
diddies, a nightmare).
Deterioration of the dialectic distinctiveness
Newfoundland English dialects are steadily losing their distinctiveness through the action of the
mass media and an education system that has traditionally regarded the dialect as a backward corruption of "proper" English. This perception occurs in both the public and private sectors of the system. Institutional education steadily became more and more available and normative after
Confederation in 1949. This encouraged many Newfoundlanders, particularly in the urban centres, to take positive steps to ensure their children spoke in a fashion similar to their mainland counterparts lest they be perceived as inferior. This isn't to suggest the transformation was always viewed as a necessarily coerced response. Rather, many Newfoundlanders embraced the notion of the inferiority of the dialect in favour of "proper English" as they moved toward an economic system closer to those of the Canadian Mainland. It is tempting to speculate that these persons attached the dialect to a way of life that appeared to be economically untenable and fading fast. In other words, the dialect has fallen victim to notions of "progress". In general, each
generation speaks a dialect of English closer to General Canadian though it's significant to note that this trend is far more pronounced in the urban centres. The employment of strict General Canadian can actually hinder the speaker's ability to effectively socially mesh in rural areas as it signifies that the speaker is closely attached with the social structures of the non-rural world. The speaker runs the risk of being treated as a non-community member for an extended period. Pride in Newfoundland language and culture has also encouraged a conscious retention of some obvious Newfoundlandisms, however, and speakers can often be observed switching between standard Canadian English for formal settings and language closer to Newfoundland English for personal communication.
Indeed, the transformation of Newfoundland English offers a case study of the politics of language. On the one hand, Newfoundlanders have learned that to be taken seriously in institutional settings connected to off island structures standard Canadian English is necessary. This also occurred in the pre-confederation period though the adopted dialect was closer to British English reflecting the political circumstances of the day. On the other hand, use of Newfoundland English is used to establish common political identity with other Newfoundlanders in a fashion unavailable to non-Newfoundlanders who have yet to be accepted into the local cultural community. This manner of using language can be readily observed in other socially marginalized populations including persons of African descent in the United States, persons of aboriginal descent from rural areas and persons originating from lower strata in the social class structure in a general sense. Each group must learn to speak the language of the dominant group yet may also derive social benefits from retaining the original dialect when interacting with fellow group members. This perspective lends credence to the complex and contentious argument that Newfoundlanders resemble what conventional wisdom posits as a discrete and unique "ethnic group" quite separate from the ethnicity of the larger population.
Newfoundland English expressions
In recent years, the most commonly noted Newfoundland English expression might be
Whadd'ya at? (
What are you at?), loosely translated to "How's it going?" or "What are you doing?" Coming in a close second might be
How's she cuttin'? to which one often responds
Like a knife (the question/greeting is a phrase still current in the Irish midlands although it's often pronounced as cudding and rarely if ever responded to with such a literal answer).
Other colourful local expressions include:
- Where ya to?: Where are you?
- Stay where you're to 'til I comes where you're at.: Wait there for me.
- Flat on the back for that!: An expression of approval, female speaker
- Get on the go: Let's go (also, a common euphemism for partying)
- You knows yourself: Responding to statement in agreement.
(Some examples taken from A Biography of the English Language by C.M. Millward)
Also of note is the widespread use of the term
b'y as a common form of address. It is shorthand for "boy", but is used variably to address members of either sex. Another term of endearment, often spoken by older generations, is
me ducky, used when addressing a female in an informal manner, and usually placed at the end of a sentence which is often a question (Example:
How's she goin', me ducky?). Also pervasive as a sentence ending is
right used in the same manner as the Canadian
eh or the American
huh or
y'know. Even if the sentence would otherwise be a non-question, the pronunciation of
right can sometimes make it seem like affirmation is being requested.
Another major characteristic of Newfoundland english is adding or removing the letter "h" from certain words in conversation. The term house comonly is refered to as the "ouse" or the head of the pond or lake refered to as pond "ed". There are also many different variations of the newfoundland dialect depending on geographical location within the province. It is also important to note that Labrodor has a very distinct culture and dialect within its region.
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