Visitors to Newfoundland and Labrador on occasion find themselves at a linguistic disadvantage.
“The arse fell right out of ‘er, bye,” usually elicits a blank stare from the folks from out of town.
Newfoundland dialect is not homogenous and can vary from community to community as well as from region to region. Its a watered down mixture of Irish and West Country influences, which makes sense since many came from these ports of call to fish and later settle the island. But we were also settled by the French (mostly on the Port o Port Peninsula). The Basque, the Spanish and the Scottish also threw their nets into the water and contributed to the various accents.
Run on words, abbreviations, slang and misplaced H's are prevelent, not to mention speed.
Got loads 'a time on yer hands? Check out da Dictionary of Newfoundland or da Whaddaya App just for shits and giggles, it 'ill help ya's understand what I's pretting on 'bout.
