Newfoondland Erse
Newfoundland Erse (Erse:Gaeilge Thalamh an Éisc) is an extinct dialect o the Erse leid specific tae the island o Newfoundland, Canadae. It wis verra seimlar tae Munster Erse, as spoken in the sootheast o Ireland, due tae muckle immigration frae the coonties Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, an Cork.
Erse settlement o Newfoundland eedit
Seiven Inglis colonies wur established bi royal charter in Newfoundland atween 1610 an 1628, an Lunnon-based mercantile companies uised Celtic-speakin peasants tae settle ilka ane. The colonists wur primarily Welsh peasants but there wur forby mony Erse paisants wha uisually spak the Erse. The leid wis fur common spoken in rural auries till the mid-20t century. There is evidence tae suggest that as mony as 90% o the Erse immigrants tae Newfoundland in the 17t an 18t centuries ae spak Irish.
Court records shaws that defenders aften required Erse-speakin interpreters, whilk indicates that the dominant leid in mony auries o the Avalon Peninsula wis Erse rather than Inglis[1]. Ecclesiastical documents bowsters this case; for example, in the mid-1760s a Methodist missionary named Reverend Laurence Coughlan convertit virtually the hail North Shore tae Methodism. Observers creeditit the thrift o his evangelical upcocklin at Carbonear an Harbour Grace tae the fact that he wis fluent bilingual in Inglis an Erse. The Roman Catholic bishops forby realised the importance o Erse-speakin priests - in letters tae Dublin, Bishop James Louis O'Donel requeestit a Franciscan missionary for the parishes o St. Mary's an Trepassey, indicatin that it wis absolute necessar that he shoud speak Erse[1].
Current status eedit
A 2001 census report myntit that ten fowk in Newfoundland haed a Gaelic leid as their mither tongue[1] PDF (8.25 KB). However, the report does no specify whilk leids is includit in this figure. Scholars at Memorial University o Newfoundland concludit that Newfoundland Erse became extinct durin the 20t century[2].
See also eedit
References eedit
- ↑ a b Newfoundland: The Most Irish Place Outside of Ireland, Brian McGinn, the Irish Diaspora Studies scholarly network
- ↑ Language: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site