Stranger in a Strange Land?
Greg gave me these magnets in my Christmas stocking; they're standard Newfoundland expressions.
I'm translating them into something more familiar:
Whaddayat ? = Howudoin'?
Oh Me Nerves = What the xxxx!
Go way bye, yer cracked! = Get outta here dude, you're crazy!
Shag It! = Fuggedaboutit!
Most talk of the Newfoundland accent applies not to people who live/grew up in St. John's (aka "townies), but the folks further afield, in the outports (aka "bay men"). I have heard some people talking on the streets downtown and couldn't get a word of the conversation. We tend to think New Yorkers talk super fast...well, NL has some really fast talkers.
A good time can be had with the Whaddaya App, available for iPod/iPad/Android. It features a man saying Newfoundland-ese phrases with proper English translation shown on the screen.
And then there's Allan Hawco, star of "Republic of Doyle" (a show filmed here in St. John's), doing a great bit on some NL expressions:
I think it's pretty akin to what you hear from Ireland, and in the same vein as dialog in the old Bowery Boys and Little Rascals movies. It feels familiar - I like it.
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