Beorn
07-19-2009, 02:40 AM
I have recently discovered that Newfoundland and Bristol share quite some ties in accents/language and overall genetic input.
To quickly quote Wikipedia on the subject:
The use of to to denote location. Where's that to? ("Where's that?"). This is something you can still hear often, unlike many other characteristics. This former usage is common to Newfoundland English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_English), where many of the island's modern-day descendants have West Country origins - particularly Bristol - as a result of the 17th–19th century migratory fishery.Now, I was watching Stephen Fry travelling around America in a series he presented only recently, and he visited Newfoundland and partook in a bout of seasickness/fishing(:D) with local family fishermen who looked as if they could step right out of Hartcliffe or Withywood, Bristol.
As I previously said, I have recently discovered that the accents they were speaking are largely influenced by the input of the Bristolians(West Country) and Irish in the 17th and 19th centuries.
I personally could not hear the similarities to either Irish or the Bristolian accents, nor could I find any examples on Youtube or any website whilst Googling (at least that were strong and definitive), but a conversation with Jagerzen revealed that pockets of Americans do indeed speak a dialectal copy of the West Country accent.
So, can anyone confirm or deny this for me? Can anyone produce a video or sound clip of a native Newfoundlander(?) speaking their tongue?
EDIT: My sincerest apologies, but I seem to have got my facts and memories in a mix, here.
It seems Stephen Fry visited New Brunswick and not Newfoundland. This would obviously explain why I could not discern an accent from the fishermen he interviewed.
It is still interesting to note that the chaps of New Brunswick still look like they could walk into any Bristol pub and not bat an eyelid though. :)
To quickly quote Wikipedia on the subject:
The use of to to denote location. Where's that to? ("Where's that?"). This is something you can still hear often, unlike many other characteristics. This former usage is common to Newfoundland English (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_English), where many of the island's modern-day descendants have West Country origins - particularly Bristol - as a result of the 17th–19th century migratory fishery.Now, I was watching Stephen Fry travelling around America in a series he presented only recently, and he visited Newfoundland and partook in a bout of seasickness/fishing(:D) with local family fishermen who looked as if they could step right out of Hartcliffe or Withywood, Bristol.
As I previously said, I have recently discovered that the accents they were speaking are largely influenced by the input of the Bristolians(West Country) and Irish in the 17th and 19th centuries.
I personally could not hear the similarities to either Irish or the Bristolian accents, nor could I find any examples on Youtube or any website whilst Googling (at least that were strong and definitive), but a conversation with Jagerzen revealed that pockets of Americans do indeed speak a dialectal copy of the West Country accent.
So, can anyone confirm or deny this for me? Can anyone produce a video or sound clip of a native Newfoundlander(?) speaking their tongue?
EDIT: My sincerest apologies, but I seem to have got my facts and memories in a mix, here.
It seems Stephen Fry visited New Brunswick and not Newfoundland. This would obviously explain why I could not discern an accent from the fishermen he interviewed.
It is still interesting to note that the chaps of New Brunswick still look like they could walk into any Bristol pub and not bat an eyelid though. :)