Newfie

Scene from an outport (small fishing village) in Newfoundland

"Newfie" is a colloquial term used in Canada for one who is from Newfoundland. It was recorded as early as the eighteenth century, for instance in the following verse:

OUT O' DORSET

'Tis out o' Poole we been set forth; The wind it came from East by North With main long way to roam.

The Channel seas be steep and green And cold the billows in between When we sets out from whoam.

For some do go to smuggling tea, Or gets cut out to piracy When they goes out to sea;

But Newfie Land's our distant bourne For good salt cod this honest morn. Pray whoam again we see!

O may God's hand a-succour we; Our safeness and good haven be, So we from sea return.

It was more recently recorded in a 1942 dictionary of slang; at the time, "Newfie" was used to refer either to Newfoundland itself, or to the Newfoundlanders (who were also "Newfiers").

The term Newfie has been applied to the Newfoundland people (properly addressed as Newfoundlanders). It also can refer to items of Newfoundland origin such as the "Newfie Bullet" (a nickname created by American military personnel serving at bases in Newfoundland during the Second World War for a former, notoriously slow passenger train named the Caribou which ran from Port-aux-Basques to St John's), "Newfie screech" (a slang term for a brand of Newfoundland rum) or even a large furry affectionate Newfoundland dog (Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province to have provided the names of two dogs).

Ethnic jokes

The "Newf" or "Newfie" terms are considered derogatory by many Newfoundlanders owing to their use in "Newfie jokes", typical Canadian ethnic jokes told and retold since the days of the bankruptcy of the Dominion of Newfoundland government during the Great Depression. The jokes almost always insult the Newfoundlander's intelligence, but many Newfoundlanders tell these jokes to each other - Newfoundland humour is renowned for it's self-effacing qualities.

Most jokes were originally created (in nearly identical form) to insult the intelligence of other groups such as the Irish, Polish or Belgians.

Occasionally, Canadian place names are substituted into these old jokes.

"Newfie", however, is sometimes considered far less derogatory than "Newf", which is more associated with the insult "Dumb Newf" and, thus, is very rarely used by Newfoundlanders themselves. Many Newfoundlanders, and even others with some strong "Newfie" connection, proudly refer to themselves as "Newfies".

The use of the term has also become a means of racially offensive description of individuals, not normally a resident of Newfoundland, in a derogatory context. The March 2006 disciplining of an Edmonton police officer that had used the word Newphie to describe the apprehension of an individual under the Canada Mental Health Act highlights the extent of racial discrimination associated with the word Newfie, and not the term it is generally understood to portray.[Edmonton Sun article reference] This explicitly derogatory usage is particularly prevalent in locations (such as northern Alberta) where large numbers of Newfoundlanders have migrated for economic opportunities.

References

External links

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