Newfie (also Newf or sometimes Newfy) is a colloquial term used by Canadians and others for someone who is from Newfoundland. Many Newfoundlanders consider "Newfie" a slur first used by American and Canadian military forces stationed on the island. The term is also associated with jokes from the mid-to-late 20th century that depicted "Newfies" as foolish, in particular when told in Canadian French, leading to a belief in the derogatory nature of the term. [1] [2]
During the Second World War, sailors on convoy duty nicknamed St. John's Newfiejohn. [3]
The first edition of the Gage Canadian Dictionary, published in 1983, and the second edition of the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, published in 1987, both include usage notes describing the term 'Newfie' as offensive. However, neither the second edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary , published in 2004, nor the current edition of the Dictionary of Newfoundland English , published in 1998, make such a mention. [4]
In March 2006, an Edmonton police officer was disciplined for using the word Newphie[ sic ] to describe the apprehension of an individual under the Mental Health Act. [5]
Canadian English encompasses the varieties of English used in Canada. According to the 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1% of the total population; the remainder spoke French (20.8%) or other languages (21.1%). In the Canadian province of Quebec, only 7.5% of the population are mother tongue anglophone, as most of Quebec's residents are native speakers of Quebec French.
Newfoundland English is any of several accents and dialects of Atlantic Canadian English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ substantially from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in Canada and North America.
The term Yankee and its contracted form Yank have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United States, the Northern United States, or to people from the US in general.
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces, is the region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landmass of the four Atlantic provinces was approximately 488,000 km2 (188,000 sq mi), and had a population of over 2.4 million people. The term Atlantic Canada was popularized following the admission of Newfoundland as a Canadian province in 1949. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is not included in the Maritimes, another significant regional term, but is included in Atlantic Canada.
Canuck is a slang term for a Canadian, though its semantic nuances are manifold. A variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of the term. The term Kanuck is first recorded in 1835 as an Americanism, originally referring to Dutch Canadians or French Canadians. By the 1850s, the spelling with a "C" became predominant. Today, many Canadians and others use Canuck as a mostly affectionate term for any Canadian.
This glossary of names for the British include nicknames and terms, including affectionate ones, neutral ones, and derogatory ones to describe British people, Irish People and more specifically English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish people. Many of these terms may vary between offensive, derogatory, neutral and affectionate depending on a complex combination of tone, facial expression, context, usage, speaker and shared past history.
Gook is a derogatory term for people of East and Southeast Asian descent. Its origin is unclear, but it may have originated among U.S. Marines during the Philippine–American War (1899–1913). Historically, U.S. military personnel used the word “to refer to any dark-skinned foreigner, especially a non-European or non-American.” The earliest published example is dated 1920 and notes that U.S. Marines then in Haiti used the term to refer to Haitians. It was widely used in Asia in both the Korean and Vietnamese Wars.
Sir David Kirke was an English privateer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Newfoundland from 1638 to 1651. He is best known for capturing Québec from the French in 1629 during the Anglo-French War. A favourite of Charles I of England, Kirke's downfall came in 1651 when he was arrested after being accused of witholding taxes collected on behalf of the English government. Kirk was sent back to England, where he reportedly died in prison.
Edwin John Dove Pratt, who published as E. J. Pratt, was a Canadian poet. Originally from Newfoundland, Pratt lived most of his life in Toronto, Ontario. A three-time winner of the country's Governor General's Award for poetry, he has been called "the foremost Canadian poet of the first half of the century."
Shiksa is an often disparaging term for a gentile woman or girl. The word, which is of Yiddish origin, has moved into English usage and some Hebrew usage, mostly in North American Jewish culture.
Michael Crummey is a Canadian poet and a writer of historical fiction. His writing often draws on the history and landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The province of Newfoundland and Labrador covers the period from habitation by Archaic peoples thousands of years ago to the present day.
Canadian French is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois. Formerly Canadian French referred solely to Quebec French and the closely related varieties of Ontario (Franco-Ontarian) and Western Canada—in contrast with Acadian French, which is spoken by Acadians in New Brunswick and some areas of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador.
Newfoundland is a large island within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated off the eastern coast of the North American mainland and the geographical region of Labrador.
Québécois are people associated with Quebec. The term is most often used in reference to either descendants of the French settlers in Quebec or people of any ethnicity who live and trace their origins in the province of Quebec.
Thomas Trio and the Red Albino were a Canadian funk rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland, who were active from 1988 to 1993. They are best known for their singles "142 Thru" and "Sun Risin'".