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

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 InglisNewfoundland: The Most Irish Place Outside of Ireland, Brian McGinn, the Irish Diaspora Studies scholarly network. 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.

Current status

A 2001 census report myntit that ten fowk in Newfoundland haed a Gaelic leid as their mither tongue. 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 centuryLanguage: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web site.

See also
Erse Newfoundlanders
Scots Gaelic in Canadae
Newfoundland Inglis

References

External links
Newfoundland: The Most Irish Place Outside of Ireland
Dictionary of Newfoundland English Online

Category:Erse leid
Category:Erse dialects
Category:Leids o Canadae
Category:Canadian Gaelic
Category:Endangered Indo-European leids
Category:Extinct leids o North Americae