Has a Canadian Slur Lost Its Sting?<br />Dr. Baker said he believed that young Newfoundlanders had reclaimed the term as a word they used to refer to themselves, a common sociological reaction among<br />discriminated groups, the way some use the word "queer." "Certainly, there was a mixed sense among the youth that I interviewed," Dr. Baker said.<br />By CRAIG S. SMITHJUNE 2, 2017<br />Newfoundland, the last of Britain’s North American colonies to join Canada, is enjoying newfound attention thanks to the hit Broadway musical "Come From Away."<br />But if you see the show, don’t expect to hear talk about "Newfies," a colloquial term for the island’s residents.<br />"Some said, ‘Yes, I could be offended,’ and others said they weren’t even offended by ‘Newfie’ jokes." Dr. Baker argues<br />that "Newfie" is an ethnophaulism, a derogatory word or expression used to describe a racial or ethnic group, because he believes that white Newfoundlanders are a distinct ethnicity.<br />Overton Colbourne said that I hate the word,<br />But when he talked to students at Memorial University in Newfoundland, where he earned his Ph.D., he found<br />that the term had become "context dependent," he said in a telephone interview, meaning that whether or not it is offensive depends on how it is used and by whom.<br />The show’s name is a Newfoundland vernacular phrase for "outsiders." Irene Sankoff, who wrote the musical with<br />David Hein, said Newfoundlanders in the production had made it clear that the term "Newfie" was not welcome.
