My own use of NLE

I thought it would be fun to do some sort of self evaluation and figure out how much NLE I use on a day to day basis.

Usually when I talk I'm told you can't always tell where I'm from, but I am guilty of having some fun with NLE.

First off, when I likes something, I don't say "I loves it" like many Newfoundlanders. I instead say "I dies for it". This is a prase a lot of my friends use and only those from NL.

Another thing I find myself doing often is instead of saying very or really, I say right. If I'm really upset I'm "right sad" or if I'm very cold, I'm "right chilly

Finally (I'm fairly certain I've only done this once), I was very angry once (or right pissed) and when somebody asked me about it I reponded with "I'm after  doing this, this and this. And I still ain't got nothing done!' This was very strange for me as I didn't know I was capable of sounding so much like my mother.
I find that when I'm angry about something my use of NLE is a lot more prominant.

Family Reunion

I have a large family. My dad is one of ten children and my mom is one of seven. My family is the only one to live in St. John's so my dialect is different from the rest of my family. Whenever we would go to family reunions or even just spend a weekend with my grandparents I always noticed how they all spoke differently  than me. My father would often correct my grammar so I was in shock when he got home and it seemed like he lost his own sense of proper grammar. When talking to my family, there were a lot of changes in English.

"House" became "Ouse"

/t; d/ deletion was insane. I'm pretty sure I didn't hear a [θ] or a [ð] the entire duration.


Another thing I noticed was how my family makes two words become one.
"What odds" is a saying used to tell someone not to worry about something. Coming from my family it was [wədɑdz]
"at all" would become [ətɑl]

Finally, everything was referred to by gender. People, animals and inanimate objects.
"Look at she" my aunt would say pointing to my baby cousin
"He's a beauty" my uncle would say referring to the fish he just caught
"She ain't got much time left, she don't" a cousin would say about his old bike.

To this day I still think about the things my family says. Usually when I use NLE it's because I'm joking. Hearing people talk like that everyday is very interesting.

You will wear your squid hat

I was at a friends house a while ago when suddenly she starting quoting one of her favourite videos from youtube. It's called Squid Hat and it's essentially an argument between a mother and her son about wearing a hat in the winter. A squid hat is a winter hat with long tassels coming out of the top that look like
squid tentacles. Growing up I can't remember many winter's that I would leave my house without my squid hat. The video is meant to be silly and they do exaggerate the use of NLE but they certainly have the right idea.

The video is filled with /t, d/ deletion; Mom insists son "puts on a nudder sweater" and son doest want to "wear me sqiud hat d'day". I also showcases how fast
Newfies talk, which is somthing I find very funny.

Here it is if you want to take a look!

I'm gonna go get me some Roast Chicken chips for supper!

Lord Thundering

I can't help it, but sometimes a member of my family will say something so ridiculous I will laugh, even if it's meant to be serious. Every time I talk to an aunt or an uncle I hear something new. I was recently at my aunts house and something upset her. There is any number of cuss words or phrases to describe her anger. Her choice? "Lord Thundering", pronounced [lɑɹd tʌndɹən].

 It's a phrase used exactly how Aunt Judy used it. I questioned her because this phrase was new. Apparently she only uses "Lord Thundering" when she is upset with one of her children or grandchildren. The reason? Hearing somebody yell this phrase is very scary. I guess I should have thought twice before laughing at her!

Staff Party

Over Christmas a coworker of mine, who is from Manitoba, hosted a staff party. It was potluck so there was food and alcohol in abundance. As the night went on people started to get a little silly (from all the delicious mulled wine!). My coworker decided it would be fun to go around the room and everybody do a Newfoundland accent. Hearing people from the ages 18 to 50+ speaking like a "true bayman" was absolutely hilarious. Some highlights of the night:

"I was poisoned [paɪzn]" meaning upset or angry

"Ain't got needer bitta fish I don't" meaning I have no fish

And many different sayings from the "Newfoundlander vs" youtube series.

Who would have thought talking like people from your own province would be so fun!

Poker night

Last Sauturday night I stayed at home and played poker with my dad and his two friends, which they've been doing since before I was born. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to have them do the survey for this course. While they were completing the survey they were joking around with the different words and phrases."Hates dis mauzy weather I does", "It's right fausty", etc. Finally, my dad then jumps in with a joke (hopefully it's still funny through text)

"What do you call a moose?" (pointing) luh.
"What do you call a baby moose?" (pointing) aww, luh.
"What do you call a rabbit?" (pointing to something moving) luh, luh, luh, luh

The room broke out into laughter and "luh" became the word of the night.

Chummy

    Growing up in St. John's away from all immediate family was always a little sad. I didn't see my grandparents very often. When I did, however, I would always learn (and hear) something new. I was ten when I first took the "taxi" out to Little Catalina by myself to visit my nana. We were making supper on evening when she says to me "hand me dat chummy dere, wudja?". I knew she was asking me to hand her the "chummy" but I had absolutely no idea.
"What did you say you wanted nana?" I asked?
"The chummy, maid, luh." She said pointing to a ladle
     I handed her the label and assumed chummy was another word for ladle. I was very confused when later the trip she asked me for several more chummys. "Chummy" is a word you would use in place of an object. So "hand me that chummy" could mean " hand me that ladle" or glass, or any number of things.

Stay Put?

       Every year for as long as I can remember, the first Wednesday in August I would go to Quidi Vidi Lake for the Royal St. John's Regatta. Since about half the population of Newfoundland has the same plan you will always overhear something new and foolish. This past year, to my surprise, that something was said to me. Myself and a friend decided to take some of our younger cousins and because of our large group and the amount of people at the lake, we lost a kid (oops!).

       We called the boy and were trying to figure out where to meet him. Getting a little frustrated with this, my friend took my phone. She wanted her cousin to wait where he was until we managed to find him, but she had the strangest way of saying it. "Stay where you're to til we gets where you're at" she roared. Needless to say we found him, but with a fair bit of confusion!