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Archiver > DEVON > 2008-04 > 1207445330


From: "J.E.Harris" <>
Subject: Re: [DEV] Devonian Dialect and Newfoundland connections
Date: Sat, 5 Apr 2008 20:43:14 -0800
References: <mailman.711.1207379040.21485.devon@rootsweb.com><002201c89715$330dd0f0$4001a8c0@DellOne><5.2.0.9.0.20080405194425.00bc2810@mail.interlinks.net>


Thanks Sher.
Many years ago our national newspaper the Globe & Mail published an article
"Newfoundlanders have their own way of Talking". I kept a copy of this
article due to the Devon connection but silly me I did not record the date
of the newspaper.

With this article is a small map of Nfld where the writer has marked areas
from which the early immigrants (hence dialects) originated. The west coast
area were Acadian French, further south west were highland Scots, the
eastern areas south of St John's were English and Irish but the writer
specifically identifies the north eastern area as those from the County of
Devon. Now why do you think there is a place named Torbay there?

The writer quotes Prof Paddock, linguistics professor at Memorial University
:
"He said that the dialects arrived in three main immigrations from 1600 to
1800, with the major waves coming from south western England and Ireland
from 1780 to 1830. The dialects were preserved because the migration to
Newfoundland stopped in the mid 1800s as settlers went on to more fertile
lands farther west."

So our old Westcountrymen were first on the scene in Newfoundland - I rest
my case!!

Jean Harris in Toronto, Ontario




----- Original Message -----
From: "Sher Leetooze" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: [DEV] Devonian Dialect and Newfoundland connections


>
> No, no, Jo, you are right - Newfoundland was mostly Irish, on the west
> coast, that is - the French were along the south coast and the Cornish,
> Devon folk, and Dorset folk were along the east coast - of course the
Irish
> were along every coast too, but not as much - most of the old Newfoundland
> sayings are from old Irish, but many are pure Devon!!! And it depends on
> where your Newfoundland ancestors grew up as to the sayings they passed on
> to us. Mom grew up at Notre Dame Bay and that was all Dorset and Devon,
so
> when I go to Devon I hear my relatives everywhere!!!
> Back to Shipping News - yes, the producers chose to portray the Irish
> inhabitants in that particular film.
> Sher
> Ontario
>
>

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