Newfoundland

Simon201

Ok so I met this person the other night and they said they were from Newfoundland. All well and good, but I wakes up in the middle of the night with this word 'Newfoundland' whirring around me head. These people that found 'Newfoundland' weren't all that imaginative when it came to giving places names that they came across were they. I suppose there's a river there somewhere called 'firstriverwecameto' or a hill called 'bigmountaininfrontofus'

ah just early morning ramblings

Irish Wolf

Good work Simon..

galactus

I think its a Viking name, like Greenland.

What with the raping, looting and the pillaging those lads mustn't have had much time for place-naming.

Crazy Christ

Apparently it's pronounced like newfin-LAND so at least that doesn't sound so bad.. I think Ballsbridge was so called because some guy was cruising on a bridge and got his liathroidi cut off by a guy that looked like Rutger Hauer

j22

Im just back from Toronto and the general concensus from people there is that people from Newfoundland arent the brightest. This may or may not explain.

Also there was a street in Canada called upper middle street. Another fairly unoriginal name that didint involve much thought.

Orange69

anyone know the story behind hackballscross?

Gorilla

Who can tell me the name of Mexico's capital city?

Answer: Mexico City.

Prizes to anyone who guessed it right(not really).

MooseJam

they have Irish accents in Newfoundland, I don't know why

Terry

MooseJam wrote:

the have Irish accents in Newfoundland, I don't know why

They also speak Irish. (Guees why)
Well the did until president Priest nuked the place.

MooseJam

Terry wrote:

They also speak Irish. (Guees why)
Well the did until president Priest nuked the place.

they do ?, I guess there must have been a lot of emigration to it, maybe to fish, it's the main employment over there I believe

Pherekydes

MooseJam wrote:

the have Irish accents in Newfoundland, I don't know why

Newfoundland is quite isolated from the rest of North America, so the accents that emigrants took with them didn't change much.

And it really is an Irish accent, by the way. I got mistaken for a local when I was there in 2001.

The Viking name for Newfoundland is, or was, Vinland. It was a con along the lines of Greenland.

"Come to Greenland. It's green and pleasant. Or if you prefer, come to Vinland, the land of Vines. You'll love it there; it's so warm and sunny, and you can make your own wine."

To the OP, what do you expect people to call places where they live?

Terry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Irish

Newfoundland Irish (Irish: Gaeilge Talamh an Éisc) is a dialect of the Irish language specific to the island of Newfoundland and widely spoken until the mid-20th century. It is very similar to the language heard in the southeast of Ireland centuries ago, due to mass immigration from the counties Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Cork.

Seven English colonies were established by royal charter in Newfoundland between 1610 until 1628, and London-based mercantile companies used Celtic-speaking peasants to settle each one. The colonists were primarily Welsh peasants but there were also many Irish peasants who usually only spoke Irish. The language was commonly spoken in rural areas until the mid-20th century. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that as many as 90% of the Irish immigrants to Newfoundland in the 17th and 18th centuries only spoke Irish.[citation needed]

Court records show that defendants often required Irish-speaking interpreters, which indicates that the dominant language in many areas of the Avalon Peninsula was Irish rather than English. Ecclesiastical documents bolster this case; for example, in the mid-1760's a Methodist missionary named Reverend Laurence Coughlan converted virtually the whole North Shore to Methodism. Observers credited the success of his evangelical revival at Carbonear and Harbour Grace to the fact that he was fluently bilingual in both English and Irish. Meanwhile the Roman Catholic bishops also realized the importance of Irish-speaking priests. In letters to Dublin Bishop James Louis O'Donel requested a Franciscan missionary for the parishes of St. Mary's and Trepassey, indicating that it was absolutely necessary that he should speak Irish.

A 2001 census report indicates that there are 10 men in Newfoundland whose mother tongue is a Gaelic language [1]PDF (8.25 KiB). However, the report does not specify which Gaelic languages are included in this figure. In principle, it is possible that these 10 people speak Newfoundland Irish; however, it is also possible that they are immigrants from Ireland who speak "Irish" Irish. Scholars at Memorial University of Newfoundland have concluded that Newfoundland Irish became extinct during the 20th century [2].

Both the Irish language and Hiberno-English have had a clear and noticeable impact on the dialect of English spoken in Newfoundland, known as Newfoundland English.

Newfoundland is the only place outside Europe with its own distinctive name in the Irish language, Talamh an Éisc, literally "Land of the Fish [singular]" but meaning "the Fishing Ground".[citation needed]

darkskol

Terry wrote:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Irish

Beat me to it!

Lirange

The actual predominant accent (as opposed to linguistic heritage) of Newfies is more derived from Cornish fisherman and Welsh settlers.

FlutterinBantam

C''mon get a life .. Newfoundland is a dank grey miserable kip.

Now let's saddle up and get the fcuk out of here ok????

JC 2K3

There's a Gaeltacht there....

jimmycrackcorm

I'd love to know how termonfeckin came up with its name or has it only been named since Fr. Ted was on-screen.

Black Swan

"New" York... "New" Jersey... the list goes on and on. Now the one I like is: Chicken-and-a-cow-won't-go.

Mrs. MacGyver

It means St Fechins refuge or sanctuary! Fechin is an Irish Saint and i know of someone with that middle name (seriously). There , mystery solved! Also wondering about Greystones, was there just loads of rocks there and someone had the divine inspiration to name the place after them or even worse still, Newtwopothouse in Mallow (a blink and you'll miss villafe, i see on my way home most weekends) Was it because the first house built there had 2 chimney pots? The mind boggles!

Terry

JC 2K3 wrote:

There's a Gaeltacht there....

Not any more.

wikipedia wrote:

Despite these numbers, the flow of Irish speakers from Newfoundland to Ontario, along with the speakers from the Ottawa Valley have prompted the declaration of an officially sanctioned Gaeltacht, or designated Irish speaking community, in the area surrounding Kingston, Ontario, opening June 16th, 2007. This Gaeltacht is to be named Gaeltacht Bhuan Mheiriceá Thuaidh, and is the only Gaeltacht to be recognized outside of Ireland.

Mizu_Ger

MooseJam wrote:

they have Irish accents in Newfoundland, I don't know why

What type of Irish accent? D4, Tallaght, Cork, Donegal, Cavan? There's so many possibilities. Which one stuck?

jjbrien

Mizu_Ger wrote:

What type of Irish accent? D4, Tallaght, Cork, Donegal, Cavan? There's so many possibilities. Which one stuck?

Its like a cork one. I was working in Toronto and a guy from Newfoundland came in I asked him what part of Munster was he from. I was shocked when he said Newfoundland.

Pherekydes

Mizu_Ger wrote:

What type of Irish accent? D4, Tallaght, Cork, Donegal, Cavan? There's so many possibilities. Which one stuck?

I found them very like the Wexford accent.

Slow Motion

Mizu_Ger wrote:

What type of Irish accent? D4, Tallaght, Cork, Donegal, Cavan? There's so many possibilities. Which one stuck?

What a great image that cooked up...... Guy in aron jumper and big tam o shanter (sp) hat walks in looking like an extra from far and away.....

"So what part of Ireland are you from ?"

"Dude ! Oim from Newfoindlind Loike ! Yeah ?"

Tar.Aldarion

I always found 'upsidedown' a rather amusing and imaginative thing.
The up side is down eh, clever.

Mizu_Ger

Slow Motion wrote:

What a great image that cooked up...... Guy in aron jumper and big tam o shanter (sp) hat walks in looking like an extra from far and away.....

"So what part of Ireland are you from ?"

"Dude ! Oim from Newfoindlind Loike ! Yeah ?"

I was hoping for the Cavan accent. Would make a great sitcom!

Slow Motion

Mizu_Ger wrote:

I was hoping for the Cavan accent. Would make a great sitcom!

"Hiya Kid ! It's me ! The guy from the bar !.......beeep !"

Louth4sam

Orange69 wrote:

anyone know the story behind hackballscross?

Or Nobber or Muff

Slow Motion

Louth4sam wrote:

Or Nobber or Muff

Was waiting for someone to come up with these ! Nobber is full of DickHead$ and Muff is full of pussies !

*Am just having a laugh and no offence is intended against nobbers or muffies ! I fully endorse your product and / or service !

muckwarrior

Slow Motion wrote:

"Hiya Kid ! It's me ! The guy from the bar !.......beeep !"

You thought that was a Cavan accent

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

Simon201 wrote:

Ok so I met this person the other night and they said they were from Newfoundland. All well and good, but I wakes up in the middle of the night with this word 'Newfoundland' whirring around me head. These people that found 'Newfoundland' weren't all that imaginative when it came to giving places names that they came across were they. I suppose there's a river there somewhere called 'firstriverwecameto' or a hill called 'bigmountaininfrontofus'

ah just early morning ramblings

http://www.petsplace.co.za/Newfoundland%20Dog%20Lapham.jpg
they were original when it came to naming their dogs as well

Slow Motion

muckwarrior wrote:

You thought that was a Cavan accent

Not really just a visual aid to the image in my head

DublinDilbert

Slow coach wrote:

I found them very like the Wexford accent.

Yea the newfoundland accent is a mixture of irish accents, elements of cork, kerry, wexford ect.... I was asked quite a few times in Ontario was i from newfoundland and I'm from Dublin!

The people from newfoundland ( "newfees" as the Canadians call them ) are often the but of many jokes, kinda like kerry people are the but of many jokes here...

Lirange

The accent is actually derivative of the old Cornwall accent which to some might soundsimilar to Irish. There was a documentary about the dying fishing industry in Newfoundland because of depleted stocks. They talked about the history and settlement of the province. A linguist from Cardiff Univ spoke of Newfoundland as a preserved time capsule because of it's isolation.

It's funny that we often think of Newfoundland first when Irish settlement in Canada is brought up because in absolute numbers it was quite small. But I guess it's because the isolation allowed a few villages to retain the language. The larger proportion of Irish that went to Canada and settled ... often did so in the Montreal area ... obviously the first big port and it was catholic.

Mrs. MacGyver

What dialect of Irish is spoken there (thinking of heading there on my hols in October) is it Munster Irish?

Auldloon

Mrs. MacGyver wrote:

What dialect of Irish is spoken there (thinking of heading there on my hols in October) is it Munster Irish?

Not been myself but a friend was over there playing trad few years ago. He is from Cork and lives in Clare and reckoned he could yarn away with them as gaeilge no bother. Great crack he had there too by all accounts.

Exit

Most unusual named town in Newfoundland? Dildo.

jjbrien

Mrs. MacGyver wrote:

What dialect of Irish is spoken there (thinking of heading there on my hols in October) is it Munster Irish?

Its old lenister Iirsh that died out here it possibly the purest form of Irish you can get.

mloc

what confused me is the way a lot of people from Nova Scotia pronounced it "New Found Land", all three words pronounced seperately as opposed "newfounland" as most people pronounce it.

It's hardly newly found any more.

Pherekydes

mloc wrote:

what confused me is the way a lot of people from Nova Scotia pronounced it "New Found Land", all three words pronounced seperately as opposed "newfounland" as most people pronounce it.

It's hardly newly found any more.

Dublin is hardly a Black Pool any more, either.

Terry

And the salmon no longer jump up the waterfall in Leixlip*.
The dam put paid to that.


*From the Danish Lax hLaup meaning leap of the salmon or salmon leap.

galactus

Terry wrote:

And the salmon no longer jump up the waterfall in Leixlip*.
The dam put paid to that.


*From the Danish Lax hLaup meaning leap of the salmon or salmon leap.

On that note can someone explain Borris-in-Ossiry and Carrick-on-Fergus!