The Dictionary of Newfoundland English, first published in 1982
to regional, national and international acclaim, is a historical
dictionary that gives the pronunciations and definitions for
words that the editors have called "Newfoundland English". The
varieties of English spoken in Newfoundland date back four
centuries, mainly to the early seventeenth century migratory
English fishermen of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, and
to the seventeenth to the nineteenth century immigrants chiefly
from south-eastern Ireland. Culled from a vast reading of books,
newspapers and magazines, this book is the most sustained
reading ever undertaken of the written words of this province.
The dictionary gives not only the meaning of words, but also
presents each word with its variant spellings. Moreover, each
definition is succeeded by an all-important quotation of usage
which illustrates the typical context in which word is used.
This well-researched, impressive work of scholarship illustrates
how words and phrases have