A book for those who come from away and for us livyers
This work brings together words from indigenous cultures and words spoken and recorded in English from the time of the European discovery of the New Founde Lande in 1497.

The dominant European language became English, imported from the West Country of England and enriched by settlers from Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and France. Because settlements were separated from the Mother Country and from each other, in its written and spoken forms the language became a time capsule of unique expressions drawn from everyday life.
The Newfoundland vocabulary was greatly influenced by the early commercial activities of the European settlers engaged in the cod fishery, sealing, and fur trapping. In addition, commercial and social interaction with indigenous cultures exposed the newcomers to a treasury of words from the ancient North American languages.

The living cultures of the Inuit, Innu, Mi’kmaq, and the French Mi’kmaq rightfully deserve dictionaries of their own, well-researched by experts in their respective fields. We are fortunate that numerous words from these cultures and from the Beothuk became incorporated into the lexicon of English-speaking writers, and many are included here.

In 1905, Mi’kmaq prospector Matty Mitchell found a strange rock in Sandy River, running into Red Indian Lake, Newfoundland. This rusty brown and yellow outcrop was rich in sulphides of lead, zinc and copper, but it took twenty years of scientific advancement before the secrets of the complex minerals were unlocked. In 1926, the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company signed a pact, establishing one of Newfoundland’s richest mines at the sire they called Buchans.The Lucky Strike Glory Hole and the underground mines were not the only legacies that Buchans left to Newfoundland. As soon as the mine and mill had begun production, the pioneers turned to recreation, turning and iron ore shed into an ice arena, and the town became famous for its hockey team, climaxing in the “Glory Days” of senior amateur hockey in Newfoundland, when The Buchans Miners hockey team cross-crossed the province in pursuit of sports glory.Here is an account of the Buchans miners – the underground drillers and the hockey players – told by a Buchaneer who worked as a prospector and in the underground mines.Garry Cranford is the author of the bestselling book, Newfoundland Schooner: Norma & Gladys, and co-author of Potheads & Drum Hoops and From Cod to Crab. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Garry Cranford's profile page