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Backwards Talk
"Knows we never had a good time!" You've heard this said, or said it yourself, knowing exactly what it means - even if the words mean the opposite. There's no doubt that we Newfoundlanders have a particular way of speaking.You'll hear colourful pronunciations and clever turns of phrases everywhere from St. George's to St. John's. The Dictionary of Newfoundland English, first published in 1982, gives the meanings for hundreds of words and idioms in what the editors G.M Story, W.J Kirwin and J. D. A Widdowson dubbed "Newfoundland English." Most of these "non-standard linguistic features" are the result of migrants arriving from southwestern Britain and southeastern Ireland in the 17th century, bringing their local dialects with them and remaining outside the influence of the rest of North America throughout most of our history. Even today, you can hear traces of Gaelic and French, or the accents of the West Country and Channel Islands.Dialect and vocabulary aside, Newfoundlanders also have a way of playing with speech patterns. One we've noticed is the odd way Newfoundlanders have of saying the opposite of what they mean. For example, say you've got your eye on that handsome fella from Fortune. "Knows he's not gorgeous," you'd say to your sister. Sun splitting the rocks? "Some bad day out there." Buddy on the Yammie flying across the frozen pond? "Knows he can't go!" Why do we say this? We turned to some language and culture experts to see if they could offer any insight.Dr. Philip Hiscock, retired associate professor of folklore at Memorial University, says these kinds of backwards expressions are part of our unique sense of humour."That sort of irony caught on here perhaps 60 years ago and became an object of popular remark around then," he says. "In other words, it became a kind of viral style of humour in the 1960s and '70s. It's become a matter of comment and jokes for comedians in the past 25 years or so. I expect the routines by Buddy Wasisname added to its celebrity and its spread; and before then, writers like Ray Guy and Ted Russell did the same. Speech play like this (when it is playful rather than a person's actual dialect) is common in all languages and all forms of English - but there is no doubt that here in Newfoundland people enjoy it more than some other groups and use it with pretty high frequency. Speech play generally is often said to be part of what attracts visitors to here - we're thought of as having a stronger sense of humour."True, we're a funny bunch who don't take things too seriously. Can this particular kind of backwards wordplay be traced back to the old countries of our ancestors?"Most of our unique speech patterns have, in fact, been inherited from either southwest England or southeast Ireland, where most of our ancestors originated," explains Dr. Sandra Clarke, professor emerita in linguistics at MUN. And while this particular construction is not one that she has specifically traced back to a particular source, she says, "I wouldn't doubt, however, that this is also an inherited pattern."Lyrical ancestors in isolated communities with a particular gift of the gab and sense of humour seem to be the explanation. But is this a pattern of speaking that is unique to Newfoundland? Dr. Gerard Van Herk, honorary research professor in the department of linguistics at Memorial University suggests maybe not. "It's a Newfoundland thing," he explains, "but it's also really closely associated with the English of the islands in Chesapeake Bay. What makes that interesting is that (a) those places were settled really early and then followed by a long period of limited new in-migration, just like Newfoundland; and (b) the original settlers of those islands were from the same parts of southwestern England as many Newfoundland settlers." In fact, one of the special peculiarities of the speech of the residents of Tangier Island - a tiny place 12 miles, or an hour by boat, off the east coast of Virginia in Chesapeake Bay - is a similar humorous use of opposite meanings and double negatives. For example, if a Tangier Islander says, "You ain't pretty, none," they're giving you a compliment. And while you might be scratching your head, all the locals would know exactly what that meant.So, basically, most of the peculiarities of the way Newfoundlanders speak today can be credited to the earliest settlers who arrived on our shores. Even if there's no definitive answer to exactly why we like to turn things upside down and play with words and meanings in our variety of spoken English, that's part of its special charm. And in today's modern world of internet connectedness, outmigration and travel, unique local dialects and zany patterns of speech can quickly disappear. Let's celebrate our backwards expressions. Say it loud and proud - knows we don't love it!To learn more about Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay and its residents who sound so much like Newfoundlanders, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaP6U56eWMc
Getting Kids Outdoors
By Gord FollettAs devastating as the pandemic has been on a global level, it has managed to introduce (push) more people to the safety of the wonderful outdoors - particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador - than ever before. Surely over the past 16 months or so you've noticed many of the thousands of social media posts featuring families enjoying simple outdoor activities such as boil-ups for the very first time.If you're hoping to get your child or grandchild involved in the outdoors, the No. 1 rule has to be "make it fun." Adults sometimes lose sight of the fun aspect during the all-important early goings, then chaulk up their lack of success in getting the kids involved to the child just not being interested.Hey, not every kid is going to be an avid outdoors person. I get it. But if you want them to at least have an opportunity, there are right and wrong ways to go about it.Fishing is a common entryway to outdoor adventures. Let's start there. If you curse and complain each time they get the line tangled while learning to cast with a spinning rod, it's not gonna work. They'll lose interest right from the get-go. Help them practise casting a wooden bobber or hookless lure on the lawn at home. And don't expect them to fish for five or six straight hours the first few times they go. Be sure to pack a few treats with their lunch (remember the fun part?), and don't forget patience; there are times you'll need plenty of it.Introducing them to hunting? If they miss a stationary grouse with the .410 just 15 yards ahead on the trail and you poke fun or jokingly ask what they're shooting at, you may as well put that lil shotgun back in its case, 'cause they're not gonna want it again. (Safety reminder: anybody - child or adult - who touches a firearm must first be versed in best safely practices and must follow them at all times.) Some years back I took my daughter to an empty gravel pit and, after going through the general firearm safety rules with her, I set up balloons at 40 yards for her to try a few blasts with my 12-gauge shotgun. She had an absolute ball and was thrilled when she picked off a pair 10 yards apart with two quick shots.If you're an avid hiker and want the kids to join you, start at their pace and distance preference. Stop occasionally to admire scenery, skim rocks across the water or search for animal tracks. Keep it interesting and make time for fun.Comfort is another vital consideration when attempting to involve children in the outdoors. If you fail to provide the proper clothing to protect them from the wind and cold during a day of ice fishing, for instance, dig out your receipt for those extra rods and return them to Canadian Tire. They will not want to go again.Success in the outdoors - as in catching fish or harvesting game - is secondary. A distant second, actually. That will come with time. But if, for whatever reason, kids are turned off during those initial outings, chances of you getting them to try it again are twofold: slim and none. With few exceptions, involving the next generation in the outdoors these days is not strictly about continuing a tradition or putting food on the table. Adventures in the woods encourage fitness and health, they make for great bonding time, they teach life skills, responsibility and the value of teamwork - all qualities to last not just for the duration of a trip, but an entire lifetime! The relaxation and peace of mind that the outdoors can offer later in life is simply immeasurable. Trust me on this one. In many cases, the most unsettling and troubled times seem to disappear during a quiet hike in the woods or while casting a fly in a slow-flowing river. Incidentally, the province's Wildlife Division offers youth shooting skills events at various locations throughout the province each year. Under the guidance of qualified instructors, children aged 12-17 can take part in rifle and shotgun shooting, archery, fly fishing and outdoor survival. I've attended a number of these events as a sponsor representative with Newfoundland Sportsman, and to see the excitement of the participating boys and girls as they were actually learning was most encouraging, not to mention uplifting. These events are quite popular and registration space fills up quickly, so if you hear of one in your area, jump on it.Gord Follett was editor of the Newfoundland Sportsman magazine for more than 30 years and co-hosted the Newfoundland Sportsman TV show for 15 years. Email gordfollett@gordfollettoutdoors.com.
Tell Me a Story
By Nicola RyanKaren Carroll is a storyteller, writer and recitationist living in Logy Bay, NL. Originally from Carbonear, she writes stories with local flair based on her family, her personal experiences and tales shared by friends. Recently, with the generous help of some local musicians, she recorded and released an e-album of original recitations titled Molasses and Homemade Bread. Recitations are rhyming, rhythmic, funny stories told from memory in front of a crowd. Downhome readers may remember listening to Ted Russell perform the Chronicles of Uncle Mose on the radio or learning the lines to The Smokeroom on the Kyle at school. Spinning yarns is popular here in Newfoundland and Labrador, and our distinct oral tradition is so deeply woven into our culture it can be traced back to the first European settlers who arrived here."Every culture has its stories," Karen says. "But for us, for some reason, we've become exceptional storytellers. Its something we've done here for years." She adds, "I think storytelling is in the water and the air here, really. It's here everywhere."She traces her gift of the gab all the way back to her earliest days growing up in Carbonear. "I started from a very young age listening to stories. I'm number six of eight children, so there were always stories around our kitchen table and our house. My mother always had these little rhymes she would do. My maternal grandmother was a storyteller, so it just came to me organically I suppose." With the help of dedicated teachers, Karen honed her performance skills at school concerts and the Kiwanis music festival. "It's been kind of a process that's evolved for me over a long period of time," she explains. In recent years, she's been an active member of the Concert Crowd in Outer Cove and the St. John's Storytelling Festival. Her recitations generate lots of positive reception. "People started giving me stories," she laughs. "It's like I'm a magnet for it - which is great because it gives you so much material." The current COVID-19 crisis also gave Karen material. "During the pandemic, I took the opportunity and wrote a rhyming fable about my three grandchildren. I [wanted to] link it back to my maternal grandmother. She was born in 1900. She was alive for the Spanish flu, First World War, Great Depression, tuberculosis, polio - and she survived all that. So she had a lot of knowledge." Storytelling has long been an essential way of sharing this kind of traditional knowledge. "Everything my grandmother knew - how to bake bread, how to birth a baby and cure an infection, and herbs and plants, and how to make a poultice - that was all passed down verbally. That's how things were done," Karen says. "A lot has been lost to time. Lots of times, when people died, unless they passed [that information] on, it died with them and was gone. So any of these stories, even pieces of stories, that we can take and preserve and write down and record, they can now be passed on." A friend with a little recording studio recorded the family fable, Karen's husband Jim Carroll added some instrumental music, and they shared their work with family and friends that Christmas.At the same time, the pandemic also compelled the St. John's Storytelling Festival to go virtual - a move that expanded their audience tremendously. "We moved to the virtual format and we started doing our storytelling circles and events online for free. We had people attend from the entire world - from Australia to California to Scotland, Wales - you wouldn't believe the audience." Seeing folks online being enchanted by recitations and storytelling from Newfoundland and Labrador really inspired Karen. "I thought, you know what, I've got all these recitations, I've got to put them down, I've got to preserve them, I want them out there," she says. While storytelling might come naturally to Karen, creating an album still seemed daunting. "I started getting advice from people. The first thing [fellow recitationist] Dave Padden said to me was 'don't print CDs,'" Karen laughs. "He said, 'I have 800 of them in my basement, they're expensive to make and (you'll) end up just giving them away.'" Creating a virtual album - an e-album - that could easily be shared online was the way to go. "I worked with Brad Tuck, who's an amazing recording artist. He said we're going to put it on these (streaming) platforms and it doesn't matter where people are in the world, if they're interested they can access it electronically."The album, titled Molasses and Homemade Bread, is comprised of 12 original recitations written and performed by Karen, accompanied by instrumental music from a variety of local musicians including Siochana, Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellas, the Dardanelles, and Sherry Ryan who all lent their talents freely. "I was so fortunate to have all those musicians from here agree to let me use their music. There's such a wonderful community of artists here," Karen says. Launched in October on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music, the album release was live streamed on YouTube. So far, the reception and support have been phenomenal. "I've had people say 'I'm going to give this to so and so for Christmas,' 'I'm going to send this to my niece in London because she would love this and I can gift it so easily.' It's a really nice thing because it's gone so many places," says Karen."Dave Padden said to me, 'Now you don't think you're going to make any money, do ya?' I said, 'No, I'm not doing it for that reason,'" says Karen. "I say, just send it out to the world. Where it'll land, I don't know. I hope it lands with people who enjoy the stories. I just want people to enjoy it." For a free preview and to stream Molasses and Homemade Bread, visit https://tinyurl.com/KarenCarrollStoryteller, or follow "KarenCarrollStoryteller" on Facebook.
Critters in your houseplants?
By Kim ThistleIf you have houseplants, you know just how aggravating it can be to find yourself renting out accommodations to pesky insects. At the first sign of one little creature, you can be sure that tomorrow there will be dozens. Fortunately, there are a few preventative measures that you can take before you get a full-on invasion.What to watch for• Before purchasing you should check plants over thoroughly. Not only should you look for insects, but also for signs of insect damage such as honeydew, the sticky excrement of many pests. • Once you introduce a plant into your home, it is best to quarantine it in a separate room for a couple of weeks to see if any nasties show up. Often there may be no sign of adults in your new plant, but there could be eggs or larvae that are hard to detect. By keeping the plant in a holding area, it will give time for these eggs to hatch.• Yellow sticky traps placed just above the plant will attract insects that will stick to the card. If anything untoward shows up, it is a sign that there are many more in the plant that you have not yet detected. These traps are available for purchase at your local garden centre, but you can also make your own at home. All you need is a swatch of yellow cardboard or paper smeared with Vaseline. The insects are attracted to yellow. As soon as they touch the paper they stick to the Vaseline and are unable to free themselves. If you find anything, you should treat the plant before introducing it to the rest of your home. • Constant monitoring is a must. Every time you water your plants you should check them over for signs of damage. Often, the damage is noticed before the actual insect. You may see discolouring of the leaf, changes in leaf texture or spot webbing at the intersection of leaf and stem. If honeydew is present, you have a problem. This feels a bit liked spilled lemonade and it drips onto surfaces surrounding the plant. If the honeydew is serious enough it encourages a mould, which looks a bit like soot. • Insects multiply rapidly in an indoor environment, so don't put off treatment when you see signs. Act immediately. Some insects are born pregnant and they give birth to enough young'uns that can make your life miserable.Common culprits• Aphids. These are small yellow, green, orange or black six-legged bugs. They are usually seen in clusters around the tips of new growth. Nasty little things they are. These insects are born pregnant and will give birth to as many as 100 nymphs at one time. At the first sign of these, wash them off under running water. Quarantine your plant and be sure to wash it off with a strong jet of water every three days until you have them under control. You can also squish them with your fingers if you are not squeamish, or use rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip to remove them. Insecticidal soap works wonders and is safe to use.• Spider mite. These tiny arachnids are usually prolific under hot, dry conditions. You will probably not see the spider as it is very, very tiny, but there are telltale signs. The leaves of your plant will look pale and lose their sheen. Upon close examination, you will see very fine webbing on the undersides of the leaves or at the leaf axil. Spiders are wind surfers and float around on drag lines, so chances are that if one plant has them, someone has escaped and begun reproduction on a neighbouring plant.Prevention is key here. Keep your plants hydrated and do not let them dry out. Make sure you are using a healthy soil with organic matter, such as worm castings; healthy soil creates healthy plants that are better able to fight off problems. As soon as you see any sign of this pest, quarantine it and, again, spray with a hard jet of water. Remove as much of the webbing as you can as this is what is used to protect their eggs. Horticultural oil or dormant oil is a great organic treatment after you have done your initial cleaning. If you can find a hungry ladybug, introduce her to your plant and she will clean up the remaining spider mites.• Whitefly. Hideous creatures, they look like tiny white moths that become airborne when a plant is moved. These insects are also producers of honeydew that increases the chance of fungal diseases on your plants. As with any insect problem, it is important to keep your plant healthy. Do not let it become stressed from being pot bound or improperly hydrated. If you spot an infestation, get the vacuum out. You can destroy a goodly number of these bugs by sucking them up gently with your vacuum nozzle. Be careful not to injure your plant in the process. Remove the bag afterward and get it out of the house. Once this step is completed you can spray with insecticidal soap.Prevention tipsIt is key to be diligent when it comes to houseplants. A few preventative measures may keep pests at bay. • Repot your plant as soon as you bring it into your home. Use a good quality, sterile soil with organic matter already added, or add your own. I love worm castings.• Avoid repotting to a significantly larger container. Rather, go up one size in diameter. • Use an organic fertilizer.• Stick to a healthy watering schedule. • Clean your plants regularly with a damp cloth. A layer of dust will prevent them from transpiring properly and may hide insect eggs.Houseplants are a wonderful addition to any household, but like any living thing, they require maintenance. Be diligent with your monitoring. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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