The Rock was the Rock before the Rock, b’y Transcript

Carrie Gillon
Hi and welcome to the Vocal Fries Podcast, the podcast about linguistic discrimination.

Megan Figueroa
I’m Megan Figueroa.

Carrie Gillon
And I’m Carrie Gillon.

Megan Figueroa
And we have a corrections corner. [both laugh]

Carrie Gillon
Yes, we do. So first actually one of them I think is kind of old. I probably should have talked about it last time, but I- it completely slipped my mind.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
So Dr. Sarah Chu has actually messaged us and said, “You know, I have bougie. I’m a Canadian. I don’t know if that- your French explanation makes sense.” So then another Canadian checked in and said, “I have it know too, but I think it’s new,” and I strongly suspect that it’s come in the last decade since I left. So I still maintain that my argument is the right rea- was the right reason originally, but I could- I could be wrong.

Megan Figueroa
I totally forgot that was even something we talked about

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, that was a while ago now.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, yeah.

Carrie Gillon
And it was kind of like an off the cuff remark. It wasn’t like this thing but I could be wrong obviously. But I still think I’m right.

Megan Figueroa
And I definitely have bougie but I feel like I got it in the last decade. But I think that’s just like a college university thing. Like I didn’t really–

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Have a vocabulary that that would have been entailed bougie before college so…

Carrie Gillon
That’s a- that’s a good point. Now we need– Now, we need people who are older than you.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Or who got it younger.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Who are Americans?

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. I’m sure someone will hear this and tweet at us. But yes, yeah. I mean, that’s just some things would have been said in a dinnertime conversation and my parents, so.

Carrie Gillon
Right. No, mine either. I mean, I guess the word bourgeoisie did come up. But you know.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, yeah. Yes. We would have never been talking about the bourgeoisie. We wouldn’t have known what that was. So that is a very, that’s an innocent correction.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, that’s very minor. It doesn’t actually matter. And I could be totally wrong and it doesn’t- it really doesn’t matter. The other one.

Megan Figueroa
Yes. And I would just like to say that how am I to, in my brain, have more than one Jeff to account for?

Carrie Gillon
Spelled the same way too.

Megan Figueroa
Exactly.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, I don’t know how this happened either. I mean, you wanted to talk about ABA Jeff and I wanted to talk about a Jeff and somehow we got them conflated.

Megan Figueroa
We put them together. We put two white man Jeffs together into one, uber, Jeff.

Carrie Gillon
Right. One Uber bad Jeff.

Megan Figueroa
Uber bad Jeff.

Carrie Gillon
I feel bad because neither of them are as bad as the combination that we created.

Megan Figueroa
We’re like Frankenstein.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. So especially Nunberg. I- I’m really sorry. He actually does support singular they. He’s- he’s never been the one to say,

Megan Figueroa
Yes.

Carrie Gillon
I can’t say it. It’s the other Jeff… Pullan who wrote that.

Megan Figueroa
Yes. He was the one that can’t seem to wrap his mind around a singular they and who dead named a former student.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. And for those of you who are listening to– who didn’t get the original version from us, like couple weeks ago.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
I did take it- I take that part out because I was like, this is just wrong. And I don’t want to like…

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
So we– I edited it out, because I don’t want to blame him for something that he didn’t do.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, but he did do something.

Carrie Gillon
Yes, he did. Continue– I guess that’s the wrong word– he used the N word multiple times in a language blog. Blog Post, and…

Megan Figueroa
This is Nunberg.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, no, yes. And he number I just don’t. I think that’s also bad.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, it’s very bad. I am and you know, both of those things now have receipts. We’re saying it correctly this time.

Carrie Gillon
Yes. I was like, I have recepts for all of this.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
You know, I double checked everything that we said, took out anything I couldn’t prove. It was like, How did I miss that?

Megan Figueroa
No, it’s just one of those instances where you’re like, wow, it’s all these white guys kind of coalesce in my brain.

Carrie Gillon
Even though they’re very different, guys. They’re very–

Megan Figueroa
Yes, yes. Yes. So…

Carrie Gillon
Pullan has always been grumpier.

Megan Figueroa
So definitely a hashtag oops.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
But other than that, we’re perfect. And I never made a mistake. So moving forward.

Carrie Gillon
We also really want to thank Brenna Darcy, who is our newest patron.

Megan Figueroa
I appreciate it so much.

Carrie Gillon
Yes, we do. She at the five dollar level gets access to all our bonus episodes. So–

Megan Figueroa
Yes.

Carrie Gillon
If you want to listen to our bonus episodes, that’s how you can do it.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, they are the two s’s salty and sassy.

Carrie Gillon
That is true. And also, you may have noticed that we are now on radio public, so you can listen to the Vocal Fries on radio public. It’s free. Easy to use. And it helps listeners like you find shows like ours and also support them. It’s free for you but you’re listening to them through that app supports us financially. So if you, especially if you’re someone who can’t afford to be a patron…

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
This is a way to support us directly.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, so radio public, it’s very cool. I had never heard of it until you told me about it. So hopefully, it’s helpful to some people.

Carrie Gillon
So anyway, that’s just one way you can support us obviously, obviously, if you have a way to listen to us and you really like it, that’s also okay too. Listening to us is also awesome.

Megan Figueroa
It is. That’s very supportive.

Carrie Gillon
Yes. So we have a very long episode this time. We’re gonna cut our intro short.

Megan Figueroa
Yes.

Carrie Gillon
We talk–

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, you say it ’cause I still can’t say the place name. Go ahead.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, so we interview my friend Tracy O’Brien, who’s a PhD student at University of Toronto and literature. But I knew her when she was an MA student in linguistics. And she’s from Newfoundland. So we’re going to be talking about Newfoundland English.

Megan Figueroa
Yep. And you’re gonna hear me mispronounce it. And try not to say that place the whole episode. And as usual, my ignorance drives the conversation.

Carrie Gillon
So just for listeners, I was taught by a Newfoundlander. The way to remember how to stress it properly: understand New Finland.

Megan Figueroa
Understand New Finland. Okay, okay. New Finland. No, see, I do it wrong when I don’t say understand, but I can’t always say understand.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, and also it kind of helps if you know, the- so that- so Newfoundland is one half of a province in Canada. It’s called Newfoundland and Labrador and they both get final stress. And I think that helps a little to remember how to say it.

Megan Figueroa
Ok. Ok. That might help me. I’m very resistant to it. I don’t know why I’m so resistant to it. It’s not like we don’t have that in English.

Carrie Gillon
I know. But we have a pretty strong tendency to stress the second syllable in a three syllable word.

Megan Figueroa
And also in Spanish, that’s not going to happen if it’s a three syllable word. So maybe there’s something– I don’t know.

Carrie Gillon
Could be. Maybe that’s why it’s easier as a Canadian because French has final stress.

Megan Figueroa
Ah, okay. Yeah, yeah. I’m just very resistant. I do not want to. So, anyway.

Carrie Gillon
You’re not the only one. But anyway, yes, so I- It’s a fun one. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Megan Figueroa
And yes, enjoy. [music]

Carrie Gillon
Today we have Tracy O’Brien, who is doing a PhD at University of Toronto, in literature, but I knew her way back when she was doing linguistics.

Tracy O’Brien
It wasn’t that- it wasn’t that way back. Seems like a long time ago. When I first met you, it seemed like ages ago.

Carrie Gillon
We’re gonna talk to Tracy about all things Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
Okay.

Megan Figueroa
And Carrie tried to teach me the stress, like how to say this with the stress on the proper syllable, and I’m not very good at it. So I’m probably going to try to avoid saying it all.

Tracy O’Brien
Say it. I want to see what you do. I can teach you. Carrie’s not even from Newfoundland for gods sake. Try it Megan. Say it.

Megan Figueroa
Newfoundland, Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
No, Newfoundland.

Megan Figueroa
Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
There! Perfect.

Carrie Gillon
Alright.

Tracy O’Brien
That was it! Don’t ever say it again. You just did it.

Megan Figueroa
I won’t.

Tracy O’Brien
Just record it again.

Megan Figueroa
Okay, I am recording it again.

Carrie Gillon
Awesome.

Tracy O’Brien
Ok.

Megan Figueroa
And also Are you freezing up there right now? Is it cold?

Tracy O’Brien
No. Well, you’re in Arizona, right?

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
So I think isn’t it- isn’t everything cold compared to you? I think it’s eight or nine degrees.

Megan Figueroa
And that’s Celsius.

Tracy O’Brien
It feels colder because it’s windy. But it’s always windy.

Carrie Gillon
It’s the windiest place I’ve ever been to. By far.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s ridiculous. Yeah, yeah, I go to other places in Canada, and especially Alberta. Oh, the weather changes here four times by lunch. I’m like, What do you mean? No it doesn’t. It doesn’t. It goes up a degree. I don’t know what you mean. Newfoundland yeah is ridiculous for weather. But that’s it. We’re in an island

Megan Figueroa
And you’re very far North.

Carrie Gillon
It’s not that it’s so far North, it’s more that it’s just in the middle of the Atlantic.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s the Atlantic. Yeah, cuz I think we’re- we’re probably parallel, is that right? Parallel? To Toronto. I don’t think we’re that much farther north and yeah, but it gets colder there. So it’s been half way home to Toronto now. So obsessed with the weather, and it’s often colder there, temperature-wise, then here.

Carrie Gillon
Yes, definitely.

Tracy O’Brien
But, here we get the wind chill.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Okay. I just want to situate our listeners because I am terrible geography as an American.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh okay.

Megan Figueroa
So many American listeners, this is where.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. They’re like Oh, Newfoundland! Come from away! Oh, gander. No, I’m not at Gander.

Carrie Gillon
No, you’re in St. John’s right now, right?

Tracy O’Brien
Well, actually, I’m an hour, but 45 minutes outside Conception Bay north in North River where I grew up. It’s close to St. John’s but really way prettier.

Carrie Gillon
Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
And I’m saying that to, so I can like insight the townies. If they heard this.

Carrie Gillon
I mean, I think I think St. John’s is very beautiful, but it’s true.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s stunning.

Carrie Gillon
If you go outside the city, it’s even more beautiful.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, it’s ridiculous. Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
So it’s a rural place where you are right now?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah. So it’s along the coast. Because if you look at a Newfoundland map, you’ll see that all the communities are, there’s just these little dots on the map all around the whole coastline of the entire province. And the same then you look at Newton Labrador, and it’s, you know, along the coastline as well, with a couple of big centers, larger centers like Gander Grand Falls in the center of the island. So there are communities gone- right across the middle as well. And, anyway, yeah, yeah. But it’s the fishery right. So…

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
So what do we want to talk about?

Carrie Gillon
Let’s talk about some language stuff.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, okay. Okay.

Carrie Gillon
I mean, there’s so many things we could talk about. We could talk about, like, different- the different dialects of English. Different settlement patterns, but it’s basically up to you what you’re most comfortable with talking about.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, I guess we just go and see where things take us.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
You I think one of the questions you asked was about the term Newfie.

Carrie Gillon
Yes. If you want to talk about Newfie, let’s let’s start with that.

Tracy O’Brien
So, that’s a personal thing. I think. It’s very– it’s funny. It’s probably generational. I hate it. I hate the term Newfound Newfie unless you’re referring to a Newfoundland dog.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
So if somebody says Newf for Newfie. I’m like, the dog, right? And it’s because of the derogatory jokes that were made about Newfoundlanders by mainlanders that I grew up hearing, and my parents generation would have grown up hearing even more so. So I don’t, so that’s what I- I don’t like it. Like if you’re gonna use that term, you better have earned it. So.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
But I know a lot of people, it’s a point of pride, and it doesn’t bother them at all. And I think kids now, it doesn’t bother them either because the economy has changed, and we have oil and people come here all the time, tons and tons of tourists from all over the world. And Fogo Island is a big deal and a lot of restaurants in St. John’s Raymond’s, the whales, and the icebergs and all of that, right. So it’s changed the connotations of the term.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
For a lot of people, but I guess I’m just stubborn.

Megan Figueroa
Did it start out negative then?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, very much so. So I grew up hearing those jokes as well, but I come from–

Megan Figueroa
‘Cause you’re a mainlander.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, I’m a Mainlander. Yeah. But I come from nearly opposite side of the country.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
And, yeah. They they’re very derogatory. They’re incredibly derogatory.

Megan Figueroa
And you say the economy change. So was it associated with poverty or gas?

Tracy O’Brien
It was. It was. Oh, yeah. Poverty, huge. Yeah, and dumb. Actually, yeah, so Newfoundlanders would have been poor and uneducated.

Megan Figueroa
Okay, and those two usually go together when people are being, an ism is coming out, right.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah.

Megan Figueroa
I feel Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, definitely. So yeah. So when I hear that term, I’m not impressed. My back immediately goes up. Right. ‘Cause I’m like, what are you going to say next? And once you’re finished, probably saying something really wonderful about Newfoundlanders, I’m probably going to correct you.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
On the use of that word, at least in my presence. But other people like I say are fine with it. And, yeah, whatever floats your boat. That’s a little saying for you. Newfie saying. Yeah, yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Ok, so that was the impression I had that things were shifting with that term because I definitely know that, when I lived there, it was still not- that was still not okay. That was- so that was like.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Over 10 years ago. Yeah, but it did feel like, in the meantime, that things had shifted a little bit and you’re right, like the economy has changed so much. So it used to be based mostly around fishing. In fact, when I lived there, and I don’t know if it’s still true, but CBC the radio station there used to have a fishing forecast.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh no, the fishing, yeah, yeah. The broa– the fisheries broadcast, the fisheries broadcast. Oh, yeah. You listen to that. I don’t have a clue, right, about the fishery how all the terms and the seasons and the quotas? I don’t quite get it, but I love listening to the fisheries broadcast. The music that opens it, and it just feels like ok, this is Newfoundland. But yeah, I don’t know.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
But that is still- it’s still every day.

Megan Figueroa
Does that mean that there’s a lot of a lot of lexical items that you’ll have better very fishery based, even if you’re not with- in that community or within the occupation? Or no.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, nice segue, Megan. So. Saw what you did there.

Megan Figueroa
We’ve been doing this for 30 episodes.

Tracy O’Brien
Idle chatter, let’s get on with it. Yeah, there are of course, right, like so any dialect- regional dialects, I guess. And because we’re on an island, things are very, very, very, very, very, very slow to change. Which is good and bad. Yeah, so there are but I always find it hard when someone says Oh, give me a Newfoundland saying or Newfoundland words because I don’t know what they are. I just think this is how people talk. Until someone says to me, what? What’s that supposed to mean? I’m like, oh, you know, and then I’ll use another Newfoundland. I don’t I don’t know where the line is between what is and what is not all the time. Let me look, but I do have this book. The Newfoundland Tongue. I also have, of course, the dictionary of Newfoundland. The DNE, which is like the OED, only better. But in this other little one, the Newfoundland Tongue has an interesting organization to it. So, for example, there’s a category- category here an entire section called fish in Newfoundland waters. Right, got me fish by. So fish have a number of names. Names for cod fish. There’s a whole section on cod fish.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. That was the major fishery.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, that’s why the Europeans all went mad. Trying to get here. Look at that: a codfish too small to sell. It’s a bastard. I think that’s funny. Because I’m like, is it a bastard. Just anything that’s a nuisance and no good to you? Yeah, I don’t know any of these words, really. Tomcod. Yes. Okay, so, okay, I was gonna say everybody knows Tomcod, but it’s a young codfish, you guys were shaking your head like No, why would we ever know that? You know, a Tomcod. Let’s see what else is here. They’re Banny’s, which are little fish.

Carrie Gillon
Oh. Don’t know that one.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, that’s a good example because we call them Banny’s here. And a friend of mine out in, where’s she from, Badger? Bergio I think they call them I feel like someone from Badger Bergio is going to hear this and go that’s not what we call them, and they’d be right. They have the right to do that. But there’s like pricklies and stickles and sticklebacks.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, all constantly–

Megan Figueroa
For, any small of- any small.

Tracy O’Brien
No, no, it’s just these little fish.

Megan Figueroa
Oh, ok.

Tracy O’Brien
And yeah, because you go catching Danny’s when you’re growing up in Newfoundland. But yeah, depending on where you are in the province, there’s different names for them. It’s like a– same thing with dragonflies. I always call them dragonflies. But they’re also horseflies. You can do a map dial, this has been done. I know– you can do it because it has been done. Harold Paddock, a linguist at Memorial University. So brilliant with Newfoundland Dialectology. And there are maps that- of particular words or particular items or creatures that have different words to designate them depending on where you are in the province. And you can just look at the map, and it changes depending on the community.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
And what’s interesting is that for some of those terms, they can be traced to Europe.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
And if you go to those particular communities where a lot of the settlers came from, they use the same word there now.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
Or. Yeah, and I can’t give you a specific example because it was never my area of study, but I have always found that really, really fascinating. And I’m still looking at words here for fish, but I’m like, I don’t know I never used these words. I don’t know.

Carrie Gillon
Well, how about- how about other words for food like scrunchions?

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, yeah. Gross.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, they are gross.

Megan Figueroa
It kind of sounds gross. I don’t even know what it is.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s fast. It’s little cubes of fat and you fry it up with your whatever you’re cooking. So you might have fish and brews and and scrunchions, although I do remember eating it as a kid. And I liked it fried really hard. I like all my food really cooked overnight. I think I might even plan things like that’s what you’re having. Yeah, so yeah, it’s fried cubes of fat and pork fat, I guess.

Carrie Gillon
Uh, yeah, it’s pork fat. That’s what I was told.

Tracy O’Brien
You- You had it right? Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
I had it once, and I was like…

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, you didn’t like it?

Carrie Gillon
What did I just eat? I didn’t mean to.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh my god, my dad would be like, I’m going to go for scrunchions. Like, he would get into the mood for it, and I’m like I don’t know, dad, I’m good. Thanks!

Carrie Gillon
And then you said brewis as well. What’s brewis?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, so fish and brewis– often I hated to see Good Friday coming because it meant fishing brewis. So brewis is hard bread or hard tech. I don’t even know how to tell you about this thing because I don’t know who in the world knows about it. So it comes in a red and white purity bag at the store, and it’s about the size of, we’re on the radio, so it’s the size of a computer mouse?

Carrie Gillon
Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
And it’s very, very dry, dehydrated, hard as a rock bread. And you have to soak it in order to soften it up and then you would fry it up with, or boil it, sorry, you’d boil it, and you’d have it with your fish and I’d smother mine in molasses because I don’t like salt fish either. But I had to eat it. So let’s round it in molasses. So Crosby’s molasses. Yeah, and so yeah, it was basically boiled bread and salt fish.

Megan Figueroa
I totally thought you said fish and brewis I was like oh yeah, fish and some beers or.

Carrie Gillon
I knew that’s how this was going to be interpreted, so I was like nope.

Tracy O’Brien
I believe it’s spelled BREW though BREWIS?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Because I was like brewis. We say bruise, right, like BRUISE.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
So it’s fish and bruise, and I thought it was bruised because it’s brown and white. Like it looks like it’s been bruised? I don’t know. In my head, right. I had this all ration- rationalized. But I used to eat it. I really like bread. So I would just eat it out of the bag. I would just break it into pieces and eat it.

Carrie Gillon
Oh.

Tracy O’Brien
Or I’d gnaw on it all day and yeah, anyway. This is my childhood. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. salt fish. Need it. But yeah.

Carrie Gillon
And the other the other thing I really remember is the cod tongues.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, that’s the thing people eat and seal flippers, and I think the idea and the cod cheeks.

Carrie Gillon
Oh right.

Tracy O’Brien
The idea being I think, to not let any food go to waste.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Right? Plus, they’re kind of meaty. I’ve never had cod tongue, cod cheeks, but they’re meaty. I tried, so my father at Christmas, Christmas Eve, would cook heart, pate which is brains, and pixies.

Megan Figueroa
Oh, yeah. Mexicans do that too.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, right. And I just look at it as using all the parts of the animal and oh, blood pudding. The blood pudding was really wicked good. Like it was deadly good.

Megan Figueroa
That’s something that’s in England, right?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Okay. Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. So it all comes over. Right?

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
You know, when they came over here, they brought all that with them. That- all those meals, and some of it is still cooked by people who know how to cook it. So now it’s like a novelty to have that like oh my god, blood pudding.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Well, yeah, you have it every Christmas. But I don’t know how to make it. I’m vegetarian. So I’m like, Oh, yeah. Should probably should, I guess- but I guess I’m not supposed to make blood pudding. Right?

Carrie Gillon
I wonder if there’s a vegetarian version you could make.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, it would be good. But yeah, but our dad was there was white putting and black pudding, and we had some blood pudding to me with black pudding. I don’t even know how they make white pudding.

Carrie Gillon
I don’t know either.

Tracy O’Brien
The black pudding was red blood. And when it’s cooked, it turns black. Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. Yeah, Interesting. I mean, I knew these things existed, but I never had them growing up. So.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, because why would you?

Carrie Gillon
Well, my family is pretty British- ish, but there’s different things– only certain things survived like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

Megan Figueroa
You mentioned, let me just segue again. You mentioned that you thought that it’s about using all parts of the animal or fish or whatever. Again, does this go back to just like the struggle or poverty in on the island?

Tracy O’Brien
I think so. But I think these are things that you know, a couple 100 years ago, when, if you were here, you had what you grew. So there was- there’s lots of, so root cellars are a thing that are- that are studied, because we don’t have them anymore. We don’t use– have -people don’t build them unless they’re being nostalgic and want to do that kind of revive being self sufficient. Because we have refrigeration and all that kind of stuff. Right? So but you would have had your own little farm area where you’d grow your vegetables and then you’d have to store them in the cellar to get through the winter. Right? And you’d sell the fish because then it would last. And if you had an animal that you killed, you just of course you tried to eat as much of it as you can, but I don’t think that’s- that’s not necessarily a Newfoundland thing.

Carrie Gillon
No that- that’s everywhere. Everybody.

Tracy O’Brien
Right?

Carrie Gillon
used to be, well not that long ago.

Tracy O’Brien
Everybody used to be. Yeah, right. So.

Megan Figueroa
So self sufficiency, that makes a lot of sense. Are there other natives on the island?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, so Mi’kmaq were often- were all killed off. I hesitate to say they died of disease. It’s like that- the diseases were brought here by the Europeans. So yeah, there are Mi’kmaq communities. I know on the South- Central South coast of the island, I believe, and also on the Southwest coast of the island, and then Inuin- Inuit in Labrador.

Megan Figueroa
So as someone from like the South of the United States being very far away from Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
No.

Megan Figueroa
Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
No.

Carrie Gillon
It’s Newfoundland.

Megan Figueroa
Newfoundland. I have no, like preconceived notions about people from the island

Carrie Gillon
Or the rock. If you want to be safe, you can call it the rock.

Megan Figueroa
Oh okay. I’m gonna call it the rock. Is that the nickname?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Oh yeah yeah yeah. Long before that Dwayne Johnson guy, you might say. We were here first.

Megan Figueroa
You might say. The original.

Carrie Gillon
We were the original though.

Megan Figueroa
The OG. What preconceived notions do Canadians have, Carrie, about? What was your idea?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah Carrie?

Carrie Gillon
Oh, yeah. Thanks for putting me on the spot. I mean, I grew up with people making yeah these really terrible jokes, but it was basically like, basically, the joke was how stupid they are. Which is really dumb. Like really mean and not at all interesting? Or true? Or any of it right? Like, so anyway. I- my dad, one of his co workers, who was actually my roommate when I lived in- in St. John, but she was in BC for a while and she’s, I think she’s back at BC now, but anyway, she was probably the first Newfoundlander that I ever met. And so like any preconceived notions were like blown into the water when I was a kid. Right? So I heard the jokes but I didn’t absorb them.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Right. And so that’s what you’re familiar with Tracy? Is these?

Tracy O’Brien
Well, I remember them. I couldn’t even tell you one.

Carrie Gillon
No, me either!

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, I just remember them and like, Oh, so you’re making fun of me, but you’re the idiot.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah exactly.

Tracy O’Brien
So yeah, it was just, and it was just another example of us versus them. Right? And plus, we’re on an island and then, which makes me think okay, well, what about Labrador? So there’s this whole other thing, there’s a lot of, in terms of identity, it gets quite confusing.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
And contentious.

Carrie Gillon
Also Newfoundland joined Canada really late.

Tracy O’Brien
1949 Yeah. And I believe the vote. The votes were 51 for 49 against?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
And I remember my grandfather hated Canada, and wasn’t- didn’t like Smallwood and a lot of people felt like that. It was just, no, this is not it’s not actually what we wanted.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
I don’t know how well, that would have gone if we were on our own at that time, but anyway, or stayed on our own, I should say. But yeah, it’s just because it’s so- it’s different now because with communication and internet and the economy, there’s a lot more connection to other places in the world. Traditionally, it has been that we’re our own place. Right? Because of this. And it’s still a pain in the ass to get on and off the island. Right, it’s, you know, so we have to go to Toronto and then we can go everywhere else.

Carrie Gillon
Yes. Flying, you have to fly, if you’re flying to Europe, you had to fly to Toronto or Montreal and then… So, you’re like–

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
You’re flying right over St. John.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, but like we’re closer. Right. So they have direct flights now to some places. So it’s opening up right but yeah, it’s- it’s interesting here. It’s still like I like to come home from home this week for reading break, because I needed to get clear of the city.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
And I just wanted it to be quiet, and I’m looking out now at the trees and the river and it’s like oh. And the wind is so loud.

Carrie Gillon
It’s so loud there! It’s crazy!

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, so I could just think right, but then if I want to do any like, x if I want to get a cappuccino, right I have to drive an hour to go to St. John’s to get a cappuccino.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
And in Toronto in my apartment, I just run across the road and get one.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
These are called first world problems.

Megan Figueroa
Oh my god.

Carrie Gillon
They really are.

Tracy O’Brien
That’s so pretentious like, Oh, really? It’s hard to bring a cappaciono? Ah. Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
But it’s so true, though. You get used to these things. And then…

Tracy O’Brien
You do! You get I think the word spoiled.

Carrie Gillon
Yes. Spoiled.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, but um, okay, so we should talk more about language.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, yeah yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
When you’re in Toronto, do people know right away where you’re from when they hear you?

Tracy O’Brien
No, people in Toronto think you’re from- we’re from Ireland a lot. That happens a lot. Sometimes they all know Newfoundland. Oh it’s, you know, and they get very excited because they’ve seen Come From Away three times. Oh, I’ve seen Come From Away. I’m like, Yeah, I haven’t seen it yet. Oh, you’ve got to see it.

Carrie Gillon
What is Come From Away?

Tracy O’Brien
The musical? You don’t know what Come From Away?

Carrie Gillon
No.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, I love that. How charming. It’s a musical based on the events at Gander on 911.

Carrie Gillon
Oh, I have heard about that.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, the days following it. And it’s a huge success. And since it’s come out, people have gone to see us. More and more are coming to Newfoundland. Right? Now it’s like, oh, Newfoundland is on my bucket list. Right I’m like, it’s gonna be great when all of these people who are dying show up in Newfoundland because we’re on their bucket list like we’d like for you to visit when you’re at your best. Yeah, so certainly that musical and 911 has.

Carrie Gillon
You should ex–

Megan Figueroa
Like 911?

Carrie Gillon
You should explain because Megan doesn’t know this story.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, sorry, geese. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Megan Figueroa
911? The thing that happened?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, you know, 911. Yes.

Tracy O’Brien

911. Megan Figueroa
     Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
Sorry, I just assume everybody knows Americans know this. Because it seems to be the Americans coming here. So when September 11 happened, I can’t remember how many planes, ridiculous number of planes, were diverted to St. John’s but an awful lot were diverted to Gander because there’s an International Airport- port there.

Carrie Gillon
And it’s a tiny town. Gander’s like small.

Tracy O’Brien
Tiny, tiny. There were more people on airplanes than there are population of Gander. And, of course, people were stuck on planes for hours and hours and terrified. Didn’t know what was happening, and Americans were there- a lot of Americans not knowing what’s going on at home. And then slowly the news was trickled in to the people on the flights, that the country was under attack. So Gander then opened up public spaces like school gymnasiums and things like that to help get people off planes and give them places to go. And people opened up their homes, and they quickly, the whole town, organized itself to help put people on planes. And.

Megan Figueroa
Because they were stuck there.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, to give them food and clothing and beds and bedding and access to doctors and phones and TVs and internet and just everything, right? And apparently that was, that’s a big deal. But that’s- this is kind of what- this is what you do as people as human beings you know, like, you know, how would you like to be treated? You just go do that, like, you know, so? Yeah, and since then, a number of families have come back to Gander, especially around September 11. And a lot of friendships have emerged. Beautiful stories. And there’s a girder from one of the towers in Gander that was sent up as a memorial. Yeah, and this anyway, this musical I can’t tell you- I don’t want to give you details I’m not sure about so. But the musical came out of this, right? Some two people got together and I don’t know what one does, and a musical popped out of them. I don’t know. But, yeah. And it’s about the events of Gander.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. And it’s been a huge success. And it opened up of course, in Broadway on Broadway in New York City. And of course, who loves music more than Newfoundlanders and, and New Yorkers? I don’t know.

Carrie Gillon
That’s true.

Tracy O’Brien
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who loves it more but maybe as much, but not more, right? Yes, a very, very successful and now it’s playing in Toronto as well. But when they opened, I can’t- I’m not sure about the New York show I think. I don’t this some of the cast anyway did a hit on what they call it like a stage performance of it. So they just got up and read and sang the musical. I believe. I don’t think they put off the whole thing, but I can’t- I might be wrong about that. In Gander, which was lovely for the families and the people.

Carrie Gillon
That’s cool.

Megan Figueroa
That’s sounds really nice.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. So as more and more people see the musical, I hear it all the time. Like Oh, I gotta go Newfoundland, like yeah, you kinda do like, pretty awesome.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, I know it’s a really awesome place like like you say, like the whales.

Tracy O’Brien
The whales.

Carrie Gillon
The icebergs. And then yeah, the people. The people are very friendly. Like, very warm.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Very warm. And it’s and then to get back to the language. Language like what? It’s great. I love it when people from away come because they’re like, I’m sorry. What was that? And.

Carrie Gillon
Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
I’m sorry, could you repeat yourself?

Carrie Gillon
Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s just like, ah, right. You’re not from here, right?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
All I said was, “Blah, blah, blah, blah.” Just because we talk so fast.

Megan Figueroa
Oh wait, did you just say Come From Away like you used it but not like in the musical title.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah yeah yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
That’s where the title. The title comes from.

Carrie Gillon
It’s a normal phrase there.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s people that are from away, you’re come from away. Oh, your see. Well, we call them two ways.

Megan Figueroa
That makes so much more sense. It makes so much sense.

Tracy O’Brien
So they titled it after that because everybody on those planes were Come From Awayers.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Right. So there’s mainlanders, Mainlanders. are really people from Canada, mainland Canada. And but a CFA can be anyone from anywhere in the world. That’s how I think about it. Right. So.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah. And when people come here. From away. Yeah, they encounter the language immediately. And have to deal with that.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
So, most people talk quickly? That’s a thing?

Carrie Gillon
Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, we just do. I think no, actually, I think we just talk, and everyone else talks really slowly. Just like oh my god, just speed up a little bit. I got places to be.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, and I would say like, for me, the most people in St. John’s. I was totally like, most of the time I understood, but every once in a while, I would hear someone from like, not St. John’s.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
And I was like, what? Is that English?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Around the town. The town has got a lot of time on their hands, right? So they can talk slower. They don’t- they don’t have a lot going on. Yeah, it’s true. And they’re are part- There are people, so I went to Branch a few years ago- I was just for a drive, and this is on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. Beautiful. Beautiful anyway, and I just felt like. Well, I don’t know, I was driving along and I left the gas station. And he comes along and on his quad. And I stopped. And he- He was laughing to kill himself. He was really jolly. I loved him. I’ve no idea what he said to me. And I had- I asked him a couple of times, I’m like, and I looked at my friend who’s from the mainland. And I meant I’m from here. I don’t have clue what he says. Like I just laughed and nodded and said, Yep, that’s right. And went on. ‘Cause everything was like that’s right. That’s right. Yeah and to this day, I don’t know. Yeah, but there are certainly dialects that it takes- It takes a bit of time for your ear to adjust, you know, and it’s like, Oh, I see what you’re doing with your vowels there. Okay.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah yeah yeah.

Megan Figueroa
And you just said- you said laughing to kill himself.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
That’s a thing I’ve never heard.

Tracy O’Brien
You don’t say this?

Carrie Gillon
No.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh.

Carrie Gillon
No.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. We say that.

Carrie Gillon
It’s definitely Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, my God I was laughing to kill myself or Oh, yeah, she’s laughing to kill herself. Or I dies. I dies at you. It means you’re really funny, and I laugh at you a lot. I dies. So it was like, Oh my God. Yes, he was dying.

Megan Figueroa
Or he was dying, I got. Like we say things like that.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, do yeah?

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. He was laughing so- Yeah, right?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, yeah. He laughed himself to death, we could say.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. So I dies like that just means that you laugh at something. If you say I dies for that. It means that it’s something you really like and really want, like, after a long night of partying I dies for a Mc Chicken with extra mayonnaise. That just means. [all laugh] But, it’s something–

Megan Figueroa
Carrie loves mayonaise.

Tracy O’Brien
Right? It’s a whole other issue. Yeah, so I dies at means that something that makes you laugh really hard. And I dies for means it something you really really want and you’re dying for it.

Carrie Gillon
That’s- That’s so fun. That also reminds me of that- the s the present tense there.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Gets used like all over the place in different like–

Tracy O’Brien
Oh my god. So, apparently, this is an East Coast. thing. Because my partner Ted is from the west coast of the island. And, so I will say, if I do something if I whatever I have a habit of doing, oh my god, okay. Yeah. So perfect example my cell phone. I never know where my cell phone is. It’s almost always in my hand or my pocket but because I’ve always got it out, I’m always laying it down somewhere.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Right? So I’ll say to someone like oh yesterday, my friend was visiting. And I think in the space of an hour, she looks at me, she’s like, did you lose your cell phone again? Right? I’m like, Yeah, it bes like that all the time. Right. Because it’s a habit. I’m like it bes like that. Ted Chri- he dies- he dies laughing at it. He dies. Because he’s like, you know, he just makes fun of me like oh, I bes at that. Like, who says that? And I’m like, lots of people do it. I love it because our daughter has picked it up. And she’s like, Oh, I’d bes like that. I’m like, yes.

Megan Figueroa
I love it.

Carrie Gillon
That’s awesome.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, we do. We do play with the verbs in the present tense. Yeah, but yeah, the first person s.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, I–

Megan Figueroa
So you’re using that as a habitual marker.

Carrie Gillon
Well, the B would be the habitual but the be s would be just present tense, like, s, right?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. I loves that. Yep. We put the S on first person.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Are we? Yeah, we plural as well. We loves it. We loves that. Things like that all the time. Cracks me up. Because I’m like, What do you mean you don’t say that? You don’t speak proper Newfoundland English.

Carrie Gillon
I did not realize that there was this divide. I love it.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh there is. And the plural, second person plural is really variable in Newfoundland. So I know over around Mary’s town they’ll say yous. Or yous guys doing. It drives me crazy. Because it should be ye. What are ye doing? Right? Ye. Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Nice.

Carrie Gillon
That’s fantastic.

Tracy O’Brien
And I don’t know who says plural you, like I know we do because it’s the standard English.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
But when I’m just talking to people, I’m like, What are ye at? Or what are ye going at? Or you know.

Carrie Gillon
I did not hear that. Oh, that’s awesome.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh ye, come over here. Yeah, you never heard of ye?

Carrie Gillon
If I did, I just interpreted it as you probably. I just like didn’t notice it.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Plural you. And a lot of people will say yous. Like yous guys. Like why would you say that? It’s unnecessary. You’ve already got an essence redundant. It’s ye guys, right? We won’t talk about the redundancy in the way I do it though. Yeah, quite like the ye, gotta say, I’m really proud of that.

Carrie Gillon
I also want to can you explain b’y?

Tracy O’Brien
Oh for god’s sake.

Carrie Gillon
I know, it’s tricky.

Tracy O’Brien
I can.

Carrie Gillon
But I think it’s really important. A big part of Newfoundland English. So…

Tracy O’Brien
It is. So everybody wants to, when they visit, they always try to- to do it.

Carrie Gillon
Oh yeah, I can’t do it.

Tracy O’Brien
Many have tried. Few have succeeded. I don’t even like Okay, so you know, what d’ya up boss? Like it’s just, Hey, folks. Hey, guys, like it’s just that, right? But we also tag it onto a lot of stuff like yes b’y. I don’t know what that- what that is. And in CFA speak, you’re having a conversation, and you’re talking, and you would, and I’m telling you bought my day and something happened, what could have happened? Okay, we had an explosion at the Newfoundland distillery the other day. Let’s talk about that. So the still exploded, and you would say, Wow, really?

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
And we would say, Yes, b’y. Right? Go on b’y. Like Yeah, it did. Yes, b’y. And so it’s boy, right, it’s that BOY, why but I get– we- we take out, so it’s B apostrophe Y. And people that are learning to say it or want to pick it up, always struggle with what to do with the vowel or the diphthong I guess right?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, it’s diphthong.

Tracy O’Brien
Yes, b’y. Because it’s- it’s not boy.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
So it’s yes b’y, so it comes out like- so it’s b’y [short], but it’s not b’y [enunciated, long]. right, it’s not yes b’y, it’s yes b’y.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
So it’s- it’s almost like ba except we go ee ah at the end of it. So you cut it off.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
So yes, b’y. Yeah, I don’t know how to tell you. You’ve got to curl up the back of your tongue and– but it’s also like, you know, all the guys like, you know, what do’ya up guys? Right, or like, you know, oh no, don’t mind them that’s just the guys. I don’t know. How do you how do you want me to explain this Carrie?

Carrie Gillon
No, no! That’s good! I think that’s good.

Megan Figueroa
Now that you said that it was from- it was from boy, I can hear it now. Like I didn’t hear before. But now I get it. Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
So you still get that E at the end of boy-e.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. Exactly.

Tracy O’Brien
You still get that E. But you dropped the whole oh part. And it’s just yes b’y.

Megan Figueroa
So then it becomes like a- like a word of exclamation? Kind of?

Tracy O’Brien
Kind of, Yeah. Or so many things.

Megan Figueroa
Or like camaraderie? Camaraderie too? Is there a lot of?

Carrie Gillon
It can be.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. Okay. So it’s multipurpose.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s very multi- very multipurpose. Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, it’s kind of like A in that way that you can use it a lot of different ways, but.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, we don’t say A. That’s a real Canadian mainland thing.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, that’s definitely a mainland thing.

Tracy O’Brien
Right.

Carrie Gillon
So another thing that I always thought was interesting, and I may fuck this up. So I apologize. Like, where are you at? Come, where ya to? Is that right?

Tracy O’Brien
That’s a– Yeah, I think that people always say like that, but I’m like, Have I ever really heard anybody say this in a sentence where y’at? Where are you? Where are you to? No, I’d say where are you to? Where are you to?

Carrie Gillon
Where are you to? Ok, so I did fuck it. Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. So where are you to? So, what are ya at? That’s why you got- fucked it off. What are ya at? Which means how are you? What are you doing? Hello? Right. What do you at? And not b’y, what do you at? Nottin. Just this. So- so it’s what do you at? It’s where- where are you to? But I’ve never heard anyone say, even though it makes sense, Where are you to? What comes where you’re at? Or stay, or I’ll come to- come where you’re at or whatever. Like.

Carrie Gillon
Right, right. Right, right.

Tracy O’Brien
Just yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. You know? When we do say, or some of us say, I say it, where are you to?

Carrie Gillon
Which is just where are you, right?

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, yeah, it’s just where are you? We just like to stick prepositions on the end of everything. And I remember this in Alberta. Ryan Clint who was in at U of A when I was- when I was there, and he was always catching me. And especially with the prepositions. Because I’d say, where are you to? And he’d look at me, waiting for me to finish, and I’m looking at him. What’s wrong with you, Ryan? And he’s like, Where am I to what? I’m like What? What? And, yeah, ’cause to… something.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
You know, it just means- it just means where are you?

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
Where you to? Right? So, yeah, we do that. We like to stick our prepositions at the end.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, it is- it is hard when you’re not used to it. Like my brain always goes [explosion noise]

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Yeah, zzz.

Carrie Gillon
What are you doing?

Tracy O’Brien
And they’re just standing there looking at you. Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
I wonder. So, right when we got on the Skype call with you, I understood you completely. I had no trouble understanding you. Is that–

Tracy O’Brien
Of course.

Megan Figueroa
Like, do you have what you would- like what some people would call it quote unquote thick accent?

Tracy O’Brien
I don’t think so. No, not compared to some people.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. Especially from smaller towns.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, they’d have a thicker accent, but you’d still understand them. There’s no trouble understanding them. Which is why it’s dialect, not a language.

Carrie Gillon
Sometimes.

Megan Figueroa
I was thinking of like Scottish English where I’m… at a loss.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. So I have friends in Scotland, and some of them I understand no sweat and others, I’m like, I don’t- like that’s not English.

Megan Figueroa
Right. Yeah. Yeah. So I’m wondering if there’s any time any people on the island where I might have that problem?

Carrie Gillon
You would for sure.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Absolutely.

Megan Figueroa
Me.

Carrie Gillon
I do.

Megan Figueroa
Ok.

Tracy O’Brien
Well, like that guy from Branch. I don’t know what he was saying. If it was English.

Megan Figueroa
And that guy. Yeah, yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
And yeah, I mean, I have an ear for it. Right? So I now know the turns of phras,e and the expressions and- and all that kind of stuff. I wouldn’t struggle with any of that. It’s just the vowels sometimes are quite different.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, when I- when I think of Canadian vowels, actually, I think of how you have– your accent, of your dialect.

Carrie Gillon
That’s interesting because that is not at all the standard.

Megan Figueroa
Oh.

Tracy O’Brien
That is not. Yeah. You don’t know what we’re gonna do with our E’s and our E’s. And yeah, yeah. Yeah. And I guess too, I kind of, my dialect gets watered down like I’m finding it hard to talk like Newfoundlander when I’m talking to you guys, but when we’re off the call, and I go to a party, it all comes out.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
It really depends on…

Carrie Gillon
Your audience.

Tracy O’Brien
Well, it’s code switching in that way. Yeah. Yeah. And the audience. Right. And for some people, they don’t. Right?

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
Which has always fascinated me, some people switch automatically. And can just drop the accent altogether, and others won’t. Don’t. They just don’t. It’s really interesting. And I think I’m somewhere in between.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. I think that’s true.

Tracy O’Brien
Because when I’m in class in Toronto, it depends on how tired I am, and I have to try, I try to speak more slowly. And I try to enunciate, and if I’m contrary? If I’m crooked? Or tired, I’m like, No, you can all figure out what I’m saying. I don’t care.

Megan Figueroa
You gotta go a little slower for just me though.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah yeah!

Megan Figueroa
But yeah, I can hear that- I can hear why people think Irish now. I do definitely hear it.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Right, right.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. Well, there- there is definitely an Irish influence. I mean, lot, not all, but a lot of people came.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, my last name’s O’Brien, right? And then…

Carrie Gillon
Your last name’s O’Brien!

Tracy O’Brien
The Southern shore, you’ll find- oh, they have the beautiful like Fairland, oh, they have the most beautiful Irish Lilt, it’s gorgeous. The accent– I wish I was from Fairyland, just so I can have their accent. I love it.

Carrie Gillon
That’s cool.

Tracy O’Brien
And then in St. John’s, you get different. Again, you get a different dialect. And then on the West Coast, there’s more French influence.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Megan Figueroa
Ah, Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s very, very interesting.

Megan Figueroa
But it’s there, right? I forgot about French. So is there a lot of folks that speak French?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. So there’s communities there where they’ll do– They’ll say things like, “oh me, I like- me, I get my groceries every Saturday.” Because they’ll do that French thing like “moi, je blah, blah, blah.” Yeah, and I know there are better and more examples of that, but I don’t have them because I didn’t grow up there. But people that have grown up there have given me interesting examples of how the French is incorporated into the English.

Carrie Gillon
And actually, there’s a part of France that’s just south of Newfoundland.

Tracy O’Brien
Yes, St. Pierre et Miquelon.

Megan Figueroa
What? Ok.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, yeah, yeah it’s French. It’s from– and France French, not Montreal.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, it’s actually a part of France.

Megan Figueroa
Wow, yeah. Do you- what do you think would have happened if you didn’t become part of Canada. What- Were you just- you weren’t part of France ever.

Carrie Gillon
No.

Tracy O’Brien
No we were independent.

Megan Figueroa
Independent. Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
And Britain- and Britain. Britain would have been-

Megan Figueroa
Of course. Yes, that makes sense.

Tracy O’Brien
Picking up the slack. So. Yeah. Yeah, I don’t- I don’t know what would have happened.

Carrie Gillon
It’s really hard with these counterfactuals.

Megan Figueroa
I know. Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
So it’s French, like looked upon as prestige kind of language on the island or?

Tracy O’Brien
I don’t think so. I think it’s just another language. The island is English, right? And so St. Pierre Nicola is French because there were France. It is France when you go there. It’s also France when you don’t go there. It’s just France. Yeah, so my daughter is in French immersion. It’s not every school that has French Immersion available in St. John’s, you can do it from kindergarten, but out here, it’s late, so you can’t do it to grade eight I think is when she started with that? No, seven.

Megan Figueroa
Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
And then she can continue it in high school. But it- it’s just Canada. Right. So it’s the other language. Yeah, from our perspective, apologies to nybody from Quebec. It shouldn’t be looked on as the other language.

Carrie Gillon
But it kind of is, Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
You know, so. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, I might be a different case. I studied French in university and I’m, you know, I’m studying English literature. I did linguistics, I love languages, and language and all use of language. I find it all fascinating. I love dialects. So I don’t even know if I’d be aware if there’s some kind of a- any kind of- I don’t know what kind of way it’s looked at.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
Right? I know that there’s this idea that if you’re in French immersion, smart kids are in French immersion.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
But at the same time, some of the kids are getting, you know, have a 99 average, and they won’t do French immersion, because they want to keep that ninety-nine average for scholarships.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
There’s that presumption that learn- language learning is hard. Immersion is hard. But that’s not about French. That’s about language learning. That’s about language learning. Right. So I couldn’t- when I had a friend, one of the problems with moving home was because we were in Alberta at the time. I was like, you know, in Edmonton, we could put her in Cree immersion.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Right? She could do Mandarin immersion. Her day home provider spoke Urdu. Yeah. So I’m not the best person to answer the question about…

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, but I think he would still know if it was like really looked down upon.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, I guess it’s not like on- because there’s no contempt. There’s no–

Megan Figueroa
Racial animus or anything.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, the animosity is not there. Because population’s not here.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Like I get it. When I’m in Ontario. I hear disparaging remarks about French and Quebec, right? And I’m like, what? Like, oh. And then there’s some students in my cohort who are from Montreal, and they’re like, Oh, I guess if you like Toronto, I don’t really like Toronto. I think it’s hilarious.

Carrie Gillon
I love so much how they hate each other’s cities. It’s so amazing.

Tracy O’Brien
I know! I think I was surprised ’cause I’m like Oh, I love Montreal. Like. No, I love Toronto too. Oh, I love Newfoundland. I just love all these cities. So.

Carrie Gillon
I know me too.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s fun. Yeah, yeah, and yeah, anyway, so that’s why I think here is like, you’re just doing French immersion. And of course, you are like, you know you– and that’s it.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s like, Oh, can you tell me what that says? It doesn’t matter. But there’s no other. Yeah, there’s no animosity around it that I’m aware of. Again, I don’t know. It’s in St. John’s where there’s a French school. Is there any animosity? I don’t know. Different populations. So yeah, can’t speak to it.

Megan Figueroa
So then, the Rock is composed of mostly European descend- descendants then?

Tracy O’Brien
Yes.

Megan Figueroa
Okay. So you got you don’t got the racial animo.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, it’s like, I don’t even need to think about that. Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, it’s– yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s very white here.

Megan Figueroa
So then you say that any sort of discrimination based on linguistics would be class based?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, and social. So when I was growing up, I know, it was preferable to speak a standardized English. And I remember when people would go to St. John’s to go to university, they’d come back sounding like they’d been away and full of themselves. Right? Because they’re talking fancy.

Megan Figueroa
Talking fancy. Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Fancy. And the idea being that for the person then coming from a small community was that, if you didn’t talk like them, then you sounded stupid. Right? So your bay accent basically made you sound stupid. And your townie accent made you sound smart. It doesn’t seem to be the case now.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, that’s great.

Carrie Gillon
Oh, that’s good.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. But I guess it was a little with my generation. I have a bit of an attitude problem. So I don’t recall anybody– I don’t remember feeling any- feeling insecure about my dialect at all? But I imagine, my mother’s generation would have, and you know what I mean? It’s just one of those things that improves over time.

Megan Figueroa
So your daughter then might– does she feel at all bad about the way she speaks?

Tracy O’Brien
No. She’s quite proud of it. But actually, interestingly, she has a very good friend in Boston. He’s the same age as her. So I grew up with her mother- his mother, sorry. Here in North River. We spent our whole lives together and then she wound up in Boston, and she has two sons. So she speaks to him all the– So they visited in the summer and things and became friends. And because of the wonders of technology, they have this wonderful long to- long distance relationship, right? Friendship. And she loves saying things to him that he cannot understand. Which Erin will come to me and say, “Ma, Is there any other way I can say… something,” right? And we’ll just find something. She’s like, Oh, yeah! Forgot about that. And then she’ll just speak to– Nick is his name– she’ll speak to Nick in Newfoundland English. And will not tell him what she means. And she and her friends will make fun of him and laugh and laugh and laugh until he either figures it out by context. Or he goes to his mother and says, “Ma, Erin just said this to me, like what do you at? What do you at? What does that mean?” You know, “What is she talking about? What is she talking about, ma?” And, so they have a lot of fun and interestingly, what will happen is that he’ll then say, Oh, we say it this way. Which is pretty neat. And. So they had a big discussion one time about dating. It’s crazy. Oh my god.

Tracy O’Brien
So, so here in I know it’s different St. John’s I can’t remember what phrase they use, but here they use the phrase what is gross? I think it’s gross. When people are talking to- when they start talking to each other a lot, and they’re trying to sort of feel out, they like each- I kind of like this person. They kinda like me. You know, they’re trying to get each other like each other a bit more. So, something can happen right? So apparently that’s called greasing. Which is-

Carrie Gillon
Ew!

Tracy O’Brien
I know! It’s gross, blegh. I think it’s disgusting, and it sounds so sleazy. It sounds just pornographic to me. I don’t like it. Anyway, but that’s what they call it. And then once it gets to the next level, when it’s like this acknowledgment of I like you and you like me, and maybe we’ll have a date or something like that, but we’re not boyfriend girlfriend. Then that’s called- that’s being on the go. So those two are on the go. Right? And when people are on the go, you give them their space, right? Let’s see what happens. And maybe they’ll become boyfriend, girlfriend. Girlfriend, boyfriend. Girlfriend, girlfriend. Boyfriend, boyfriend. Whatever, right? So they’ll couple up. So they had this big discussion about that. And I know, Erin has a cousin in New Brunswick in Fredericton. And they’ve also had the discussion, and they’re like, Oh, you call on the go, oh, we call it something else. And then they’ll have this big discussion about– on the go seems pretty intuitive to me? I don’t know. Maybe not. But, they’ll have a big discussion than about why do you call it that? Like, where does that phrase come from? Which I think is pretty cool.

Carrie Gillon
Linguistic talk.

Tracy O’Brien
They’re doing the work of a linguist. And they’re fourteen. Right, but they’re just doing it out of curiosity. So.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah. That’s awesome.

Tracy O’Brien
And I think it’s because of vines and, and gif and memes and just everything is so quick with- with these little blurbs of language from all over the world. And everybody wants a huge audience, and it picks up, and they figure out what stuff means through context. And they could share it with each other, and it’s really neat. I think it’s very, very cool.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
I’m really pro internet. So pro social media. Becuase of the sharing.

Carrie Gillon
I mostly am as well. I have a little bit of problems with some of the things that have happened, but…

Tracy O’Brien
But you know, the arseholes are everywhere. I’m like, we’re not letting them take it down. Because there’s so much good that can happen.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, for sure. For sure.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. The younger generation is doing amazing things with the Internet. So.

Carrie Gillon
I have one more word that I always think about when I think about Newfoundland, and it’s not even that exciting, but it’s just different from what I know. So blocked?

Tracy O’Brien
‘Cause you’re full?

Carrie Gillon
Because you’re like really busy.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, okay. So some people say I’m blocked because they ate too much.

Carrie Gillon
Oh, that I didn’t know.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. I don’t because I think it sounds disgusting.

Megan Figueroa
Don’t think about that too deeply.

Tracy O’Brien
I say I’m stuffed to the gills. So there’s a- there’s a fish word for you. I don’t have gills.

Megan Figueroa
I like stuffed to the gills. That’s nice.

Tracy O’Brien
But I’m stuffed to the gills.

Carrie Gillon
We even say that in BC too.

Tracy O’Brien
Do you?

Carrie Gillon
But we also have fishing for sure.

Tracy O’Brien
But you have fish. Of course you do. You should say it.

Carrie Gillon
Not as much as Newfoundland but definitely.

Tracy O’Brien
Well, because we eat too much. Yeah, blocked. Oh yeah. When it’s really busy like Christmas time at the Avalon Mall. Right?

Carrie Gillon
Oh, the Avalon Mall, I forgot about that!

Tracy O’Brien
The Avalon Mall like fuck, that shit’s going to be blocked or Costco. Blocked. Yeah, that’s true. I can’t find parking spot there today. Bosch is blocked. Yeah, yeah. Blocked is true. Do you want me to give you some of the phrases I wrote down?

Carrie Gillon
Sure.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Okay. You tell me the ones that you already like, oh, yeah, everybody says that. This is one that confused. So my friend who grew up in Bobcaygeon and spent years in British Columbia, and I met her in Alberta. So everybody, I think correct me if I’m wrong, says things like that drives me up the wall. Right? Would you also say well, oh my god that drives me?

Carrie Gillon
Nope.

Tracy O’Brien
Really? Oh ok. What she loved was that one day we were there and I was really frustrated. ‘Cause that day, because I was sick or something. I was done. Right, I’m frustrated. I’m finished with it. And I’ll say no, fuck this. I’m drove. That’s it. I’m drove. Anyway, yeah, so she lost it. She’s a poet as well. And she’s like, Oh my god, I love that! I’m like, You love what? She’s like, you know things- things drive people up the wall. But I love that you’re- you’re completely done. So you’re- you’re finished driving up the wall. You’re drove. Like you’re finished. I’m like, yeah. I’m drove. That’s it. Like it drives me. I’ve been driven. I’m drove. Yeah. Yeah. Or he drives me and you don’t say anything else. So we cut off that end part. You don’t say “on the wall.” That’s a mainlander thing. Okay, interesting. Yeah, I’m drove I say that a lot. Everyone says that about my life. I’m drove. Oh, when you have a good time, at some point, like you have fun. You go to a party or or even if you don’t, even if you’re just at home, sitting around the table, having a drink, and you’re laughing. And later you might talk about it and say oh we had some time. Do you say that?

Carrie Gillon
No.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, you just say you had fun?

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh my god, boss. That’s terrible.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, that’s another thing. Actually. The the use of “some” is different in Newfoundland and I never figured it out.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, we had some time. It means we had a lot of fun. Or I’m some hungry. It’s like a–

Carrie Gillon
Yeah! I’m some hungry.

Tracy O’Brien
Quantitative. What’s it called?

Carrie Gillon
It’s a- it’s a quantifier. Yeah, but–

Tracy O’Brien
Quantifier. You know, we had some time. We had a lot of t- fun. I’m some hungry.

Megan Figueroa
Was it like an intensifier?

Tracy O’Brien
I’m really hungry. Yeah, it’s an intensifier. Thank you. Yes. I got to write that down. Jesus. I can never remember that word. Intensifier. Yeah, just an intensifier for the most part, I think.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, it is. Yeah. Do you call? No, this is of guys in particular, who are a little too full of themselves and they’re a little cocky. Do you call them bucko? Do you have a word bucko?

Carrie Gillon
No, but I have heard the term.

Tracy O’Brien
Bucko.

Megan Figueroa
I’ve– We use bucko but not– actually yeah, no no, I do! I have that.

Tracy O’Brien
You have that? Okay, because yeah, Ted calls a lot of the guys that come around, bucko. And it cracks me up.

Carrie Gillon
So to me bucko sounds really old fashioned. Like I don’t think I would ever say it.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, it is old. Yeah, yeah.

Carrie Gillon
But I- but I understand– or at least I think I would understand it.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah, well, you would because he’d be like, huh, oh yeah. Like a bucko. Like a bucko coming up on a bike.

Carrie Gillon
You’re right. I would totally–

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, you would know. Look, a bucko coming. Yeah, I can hear him now. So a bucko could be, not necessarily though, a skeet. What is a skeet? A skeet is a hard ticket.

Megan Figueroa
What?

Carrie Gillon
I know what that means, but I don’t- does Megan know what that means?

Megan Figueroa
No.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s someone who is getting into quite a bit of trouble. Right? They’re a hardcase. They’re…

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
I- I- I get ya. I don’t know what I would call that. But yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, I know, it’s kind of hard to explain without using the word hard case, hard ticket, skeet.

Carrie Gillon
Like a nare do well?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, a nare do well, yeah. Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Which is probably not terribly helpful. I don’t know.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. Yeah. It’s not very helpful.

Carrie Gillon
No?

Megan Figueroa
I know what it is because of you but…

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, they’re kinda like, you know, they’re gonna go, yeah, spend all their paycheck. And they’re calling in sick half the time. Then they’ll get paid and then they’ll spend it all on booze and weed. And then- then they got no money left and they’re looking to their buddy’s girlfriend to loan some money. Because

Megan Figueroa
Oh, it’s a scrub.

Scrub!

Tracy O’Brien
Okay.

Carrie Gillon
That’s right.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
That’s right.

Megan Figueroa
Is it?

Tracy O’Brien
I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. I don’t know what a scrub is.

Carrie Gillon
There’s- there’s even a song about it.

Tracy O’Brien
I know.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
TLC. Getting… That’s it. Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Okay, yeah, there you go. Skeets. Okay, hard tickets, hard cases. Okay, what’s a racket?

Carrie Gillon
Well, I mean, there’s the physical thing but then also like a loud noise or like. Those are the only ones I know.

Megan Figueroa
A clusterfuck.

Tracy O’Brien
Like for a fight, or an argument?

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
They were in a big racket? Or there were a racket?

Carrie Gillon
I wouldn’t say that.

Megan Figueroa
I would never say it. But I think I’ve– I get it.

Tracy O’Brien
Here it’s usually– I think I’ve heard I’ve heard my mom say, oh, my god. That was some racket last night. What was going on? For noise. Like cacophony.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, yeah yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
But usually when people say racket, it means someone’s in a fight. Like, Oh, you don’t want to enter, they’re always in a racket. It means, they’re always arguing or always fighting. Yeah. Okay. I really love that word racket. I think it’s perfect.

Carrie Gillon
It’s a good one.

Tracy O’Brien
It is. Oh, so I don’t know if this is a Newfoundland phrase or not, but Erin’s little friend who lives across the road. Her little friend. She’s also 14. Her best friend. Whenever I say do this to her, because she’ll do something stupid ’cause she’s teenager. She cries laughing. Right? So I’ll look at her. I’m like–

Megan Figueroa
She dies.

Tracy O’Brien
She dies! She dies. And I’ll look at her and be like, Oh my god. You haven’t got since God gave a cat. And she’ll just lose it. Do you know that one?

Carrie Gillon
No, but I understand what it means.

Tracy O’Brien
You know what it means, right? You haven’t got since God gave a cat. And Yeah, she dies. Windy enough for various things. To blow the sugar out of your tea? That’s a good line.

Megan Figueroa
Is it because it’s so windy there?

Tracy O’Brien
Oh my god. It’s so windy here. Enough to blow the sugar right out of your tea. Yeah. It’s blowing-

Megan Figueroa
But is that like to take the wind out of your sails?

Tracy O’Brien
No, it just means blowing a gale.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s so windy.

Megan Figueroa
Oh!

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. Like a- take your breath away. Yeah. It’s so windy.

Megan Figueroa
Okay, okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, whenever someone says it’ll take your breath away, we don’t mean [gasp] so beautiful. It means like it’s so windy. You can’t breathe. Oh, somebody who can put- fix anything. Just one of those people that are super handy and fix anything can put the arse back in a cat. [all laugh] That’s not, you don’t know that one either?

Carrie Gillon
No.

Tracy O’Brien
Put the arse back in a cat. So my townie friend says that all the time. Oh! This is, I love this one, when it all goes- when things start to fall apart. There’s good sayings for this. One of them is everything’s gone to put.

Carrie Gillon
That one I know that one.

Tracy O’Brien
You know that one? Okay. The other one I love is the arse is out of our. We love talking about our arses.

Carrie Gillon
[laughs] Nope, don’t know that one.

Tracy O’Brien
The arse is out of our.

Megan Figueroa
Out of our where?

Tracy O’Brien
Er. [laughs] The arse is out of er. The arse is out of her. But you wouldn’t say that.

Megan Figueroa
It’s always h- it’s always her? Or er? It’s never him.

Tracy O’Brien
No. God no.

Megan Figueroa
Okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Everyone’s her. It’s very gendered language Yeah, the arse is out of her. Yeah, so it all falls apart. The distillery blew up is like, oh my god, boys. The arse is out of her now. Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
Oh my god. I gotta remember these. I got to start using them.

Tracy O’Brien
I’ll- I’ll send you the notes. Oh, someone was really crooked looking? Right like grumpy and crooked looking? I just– you’d say, what’s wrong? I can hear my mother saying this, what’s wrong you? You got face on you like boiled boot. I don’t know what it is like why would you boil a boot and does it have a face. I feel like I’m missing some etymological information there. But yeah. Face on a boot. That’s not a compliment.

Carrie Gillon
No it’s- no it’s not.

Megan Figueroa
I don’t think anyone would mistake that for a compliment.

Carrie Gillon
I know right?

Tracy O’Brien
My- this is my favorite because my father, when I- when I was around 25, my father- I was chatting with my dad on the phone. And it was kind of contrary because it was a boring day. Not- he was just in a bad mood and was bored. He was bored, right? He’s like sixty-five years old being sulky he because he was bored. And I- and he said what’s on the go, what are you doing, what are you at, and all this kind of stuff, and I said nothing, what’s on the go there. He said nothing. This is as dead as a nit. And I never heard him say it. I went like- I covered my mouth. So he wouldn’t hear me laughing because I was just shocked. I’m like, I’ve lived with you my whole life. I’ve never heard you say this phrase. But he wouldn’t do– Ted’s mother does this sometimes too just whips stuff out it’s like, where did that come from? Just in the recesses of their Newfoundland English brain. And it’s what he said to me, as dead as a nit. I’ve been saying it ever since. And yeah, but I guess a nit is a- is a gnat like a little bug fly.

Carrie Gillon
Oh, okay.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. And this is what he said this is as dead as a nit. And I love that the tis, right? Dad did that a lot. He said tis. Tis is as dead as a nit. It’s like, oh that’s wicked. Yeah, that’s all I wrote down.

Carrie Gillon
That’s a lot. That’s fantastic.

Thank you.

Tracy O’Brien
Well, look at the size of this dictionary! The possibilities are endless, right?

Carrie Gillon
I know.

Megan Figueroa
It’s like the OED but better.

Tracy O’Brien
It is, and it’s not even complete. It’s not even complete. You know, there’s lots of- lots to be had. That’s for sure.

Carrie Gillon
That’s for sure. Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
That’s fantastic.

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
I love this. I absolutely knew nothing coming into this.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh really? You still know nothing like it’s- it’s so.

Carrie Gillon
We’ve just brushed the surface.

Tracy O’Brien
I mean, like this is like the lightest introduction. You can go online and look at Newfoundland English. And like Shaun Majumder has done interviews with people. It’s so funny.

Carrie Gillon
Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Shawn Majumder
You ask me to search and tell you where the pharmacy is, the what? The pharmacy? Oh, the drugstore. Oh. That’s funny. Well, you need some condoms, do you? [laughter] I knows what you’re up to. Here’s what I do. I like to dip mine in some latex paint. I’m good to go all winter. I’m just friggin with ya. I’m just frigging with ya.

Tracy O’Brien
Rick Mercer, and I mean they’re priceless. Getting people to speak and say phrases. And Rick Mercer is from town, so you can hear the St. John’s. I think he’s from town. You can hear the St. John’s accent at him.

Rick Mercer
And what’s the worst part of being a driver?

Unknown
Always lugging around the drunks, b’y.

Rick Mercer
The drunks? How about, you know, people who might have drank too much?

Unknown
Oh, well, I always get them home.

Rick Mercer
How does one put the drunk in his place?

Unknown
Well, it’s being polite with him, but if he starts getting rough, then I got a little friend up here that will help me put him in his place. Name is Billy, and he sits on his wife at sea. My wife’s grandfather made him for me. He’s just a little persuader, that’s all it is.

Rick Mercer
For clubbing seals or passengers?

Unknown
Oh, no, it’s not for clubbing, it’s just some persuader. That’s all.

Tracy O’Brien
Shaun Majumder grew up around the bay. So, he’s got the great, great, great bat and play it up, right? So really, really fun. Yeah, but yeah, the whole everything- there’s morphology and syntax and phonology. There’s so much variation. It’s incredible. You know, so yeah. Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
I guess there’s like a like, final thing that I want to know because you kind of said it was shifting? So does that mean that you don’t feel like your English is as, I don’t know–

Tracy O’Brien
Rich? It’s not as rich?

Megan Figueroa
Shit upon? Is it not as shit upon as much anymore?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah. No, it isn’t. Good luck to somebody who tries to shit on my English. Yeah, no, it isn’t. And there’s also the- it’s water- being watered down slowly but surely, like as cultures do, you know? So as we open up more, there, we go away a lot from- to jobs and education. And people come here, right for the same reasons. Everything ends up being what’s the word I’m looking for? Yeah, kind of assimilation.

Megan Figueroa
I’m thinking of the word saturated, but I’m not sure that’s I–

Tracy O’Brien
Saturation. Yeah, it’s like an assimilation. We’re all…

Megan Figueroa
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
To each other, right? Yeah, so you lose a lot of the. Like in the dictionary. I don’t know most of the words in that.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah. When what when was it published?

Tracy O’Brien
First Edition 1982.

Megan Figueroa
So might be something your mom and dad might be more familiar with most of the time.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, god. Yeah. When I first got this, I sat there Christmas Day. And this was like 20 years ago. And just started flipping through it. And I pointed- closed my eyes, pointed at a word, and I’d say it out loud. And none of us would know it, but dad knew a lot of them. Right, which is- but I’d never heard him say them. Because why would he talk about those things? Right?

Carrie Gillon
Right.

Tracy O’Brien
So when dad lived in North River, they had a horse and buggy, and his father worked- helped build the railway here, right railway doesn’t get used anymore. It’s gone now. And everybody were- everybody was farmers and fishermen and you know, everybody had their own little farm, like I was saying earlier, where they grow their vegetables and they had some animals. You know, so it’s a totally different lifestyle, which, and that vocabulary isn’t necessary anymore, so it’s gone. And you don’t have big families anymore. So any vocabulary and phrases built around that? That’s all gone.

Megan Figueroa
Oh, was it very Catholic there?

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Like Catholic? Ok.

Tracy O’Brien
Well, it’s Irish, right. So there’s a lot of-

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
There’s lots of Catholic and Protestant.

Megan Figueroa
Irish Catholic. Yeah. Sure.

Tracy O’Brien
And that’s a whole other cultural thing about the animosity between communities, but that’s gone away because now it’s denominational. So all the kids are lumped in together.

Megan Figueroa
Well, I’m glad that people don’t shit as much on your…

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Dialect as much.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah, I’m glad too. I’m glad things are changing.

Tracy O’Brien
Now, it’s gone the other way. It’s, you know, everybody would like to- ever- people try to speak like Newfoundland become the fetishization almost. Which I also am fussy and don’t like, but what are you gonna do? I don’t know.

Carrie Gillon
I kind of feel like you either get one or the other.

Tracy O’Brien
You get one or the other right? What’s does ma always say? It’s- oh, I love. I say this all the time to Erin. It’s great to be popular, but it’s hell when you’re the rage. Right? And it’s– Right. Right?

Carrie Gillon
That’s a good one. It’s so true.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s so true. Yeah, so I guess that’s it. No, Flanders, you know, we’re all the rage right now.

You can’t help it.

I can’t help it.

Megan Figueroa
It’s not your fault.

Tracy O’Brien
We always knew we were amazing. We were the best kept secret.

Megan Figueroa
Wow.

Carrie Gillon
It’s true. That’s true.

Megan Figueroa
Well, you’re about to get broadcasted to a whole lot of people. And now more people are gonna know. But now I want- now I want to go visit the Rock.

Carrie Gillon
You definitely should.

Tracy O’Brien
Oh, you do for sure. Absolutely. In July-

Megan Figueroa
But when it’s not cold. Yeah.

Tracy O’Brien
Late July through August. That’s when you want to come. Last two weeks of July, first two weeks of August. The best time. You’ll get hot, sunny weather.

Megan Figueroa
Three weeks!

Tracy O’Brien
At least at some point. And loads of whales. Maggoty with whales. And you might say–

Carrie Gillon
Maggoty with whales!

Tracy O’Brien
Maggoty. Like that? You do, yeah.

Carrie Gillon
I like it.

Megan Figueroa
Like a maggot? Maggoty?

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah.

Carrie Gillon
If- like lousy with whales like louse?

Tracy O’Brien
Yes, exactly. Same thing as- except we say maggoty.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Oh my god. I didn’t know that louse, lousy was really a thing.

Tracy O’Brien
Which is funny. Because I think saying that it’s lousy with whales with something is gross. Like that’s disgusting. Like, ew! But maggoty is fine.

Carrie Gillon
That’s the same thing!

Tracy O’Brien
‘Cause I don’t think of the bug. I think if something’s maggoty, it just means there’s a lot.

Carrie Gillon
Yeah yeah yeah.

Megan Figueroa
Wow. Fantastic.

Carrie Gillon
So funny.

Tracy O’Brien
God, language is weird. It does weird things to your brain.

Carrie Gillon
It does do weird things to your brain.

Megan Figueroa
It does.

Tracy O’Brien
It does.

Megan Figueroa
All right, fantastic.

Carrie Gillon
Well, thank you so much!

Megan Figueroa
Thank you! Yeah, this was great!

Carrie Gillon
This was a wealth of information.

Megan Figueroa
Yeah! I mean..

Carrie Gillon
That was so fun!

Tracy O’Brien
Yeah, God, I hope it’s accurate but anyway. We’ll see.

Carrie Gillon
I mean. It’s accurate to you. That’s all that matters.

Tracy O’Brien
It’s accurate for me. That’s right. Anything’s wrong it’s well, that’s Newfoundland English for yeah. It’s all contradiction. It’s Newfoundland weather, Newfoundland lifestyle, it’s all contradiction.

Carrie Gillon
Okay. Well, thanks again. And we always leave our listeners with our final message: Don’t be an asshole.

Tracy O’Brien
Don’t be an asshole! That’s what Ted and I tell Erin’s friends all the time.

Megan Figueroa
Oh really?

Tracy O’Brien
Life is simple. One rule. Don’t be an asshole.

Carrie Gillon
Yes! Yes.

Tracy O’Brien
Right?

Carrie Gillon
I love it!

Tracy O’Brien
And it’s an amazing they look at you like, wow, like, yeah, it’s actually pretty simple.

Carrie Gillon
Pretty simple.

Tracy O’Brien
Good for you guys. Don’t- Don’t be arseholes.

Carrie Gillon
Or don’t be arseholes.

Megan Figueroa
Don’t be arseholes.

Tracy O’Brien
Don’t be arseholes. Take care of Thank you. See ya!

Megan Figueroa
Bye! [“What do you at?” music]

Carrie Gillon
The Vocal Fries Podcast is produced by Chris Ayers for halftone audio. Theme music by Nick Granum. You can find us on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at vocalfriespod. You can email us at vocalfriespod@gmail.com