Talk:Newfie

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Newfoundland and Labrador
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Is this epithet ever applied to people from Labrador? —Charles P. (Mirv) 05:06, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

I have never heard the term 'Newfie' applied to a Labradorian: I'm pretty sure it is restricted to someone from the island. (Moonbeast 00:38, 8 December 2005 (UTC))

I think making a statement like "'Newfie,' however, is often considered far less derogatory than 'Newf,'" is fairly POV. I'm a Newfoundlander who far prefers 'Newf' to 'Newfie.' I know a number of like-minded people. ~~Anonymous user, February 4, 2006 ~~

The term has been applied inappropriately -- at least geographically -- to Labradorians, moreso back in the day when the province (and previous country) was merely called "Newfoundland". That it is an "incorrect" application of an epithet is irrelevant; people who use cultural or racial epithets are generally not geographic scholars. SigPig 02:00, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External links

That list of "Newfoundland links" was ridiculous. I deleted a bunch of them that had nothing to do with the subject of the article whatsoever. Also, two of other links were dead; they went as well. --Qviri (talk) 12:30, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


I prefer the term newfie over newf but it doesn't bother me which one you call me, i'm from newfoundland too. Also, only people from the island are called newfies. The people from labrador are called labradorians, and are different in several different ways. Especially their lifestyle S-francis

The page "Newfoundlanders" should not redirect here-it should redirect to the "Newfoundlander" page instead. I tried to fix it but I'm still new to the technical stuff on here-can anyone help out and do it?


I'm from Newfoundland too, and I really doubt that Newfie is offensive at all. At least no one I know finds it offensive.

"But he says Newfie is now recognized more as a term of endearment or a term of familiarity..."[1] It seems things have changed. The word is no longer taken as an insult.69.6.162.160 23:27, 16 September 2006 (UTC)Brian Pearson
The Alberta government is not the final arbiter of what is or is not offensive to Newfoundlanders. --SigPig 03:37, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
I do (find it offensive), and most people I know do as well. SigPig 03:49, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
Is it considered more offensive than Aussie for an Australian or Pom or Limey for an Englishman? Magic Pickle 00:00, 3 January 2007 (UTC)
I do not know how offensive those terms are to their respective peoples; I do know that generally, "Newfie/Newf" is, at best, condescending, and at worst, contemptuous. -- SigPig |SEND - OVER 18:06, 4 January 2007 (UTC)
Generally, Limey and Pom are not seen as offensive by us English. Looks like I'd better apologise to that Newfoundlander at work... Magic Pickle 19:41, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm a Newfoundlander and I have yet to hear Newfie or Newf used in a way that's not condescending when said by non-Newfoundlanders.

Spoken to the Newfoundlander at work. She was not offended. Magic Pickle 00:14, 9 February 2007 (UTC)


Whoever put rednecks and cockneys in the same sentence knows nothing about England. Subsequently deleted. - frasermoo 24 March 2007

[edit] This is insane

I was born and raised in newfoundland, and I've used the word newfie my whole life, and so has every other newfie I know. Nobody I've ever met has ever thought it was offensive. --24.89.237.100 04:09, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

This statement carries no weight whatsoever in Wikipedia. Stating a personal opinion is not what this project is about. The same is true of asking one coworker about how she feels about the term. Until such time as a reliable survey is conducted on the attitude of Canadians in general, and Newfoundlanders in particular, about the use of "Newfie" all we should be doing in this article is presenting the history and common use of the word. Remember, Wikipedia is not a dictionary, a place to publish original research or opinion, nor is it a soapbox. See Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not for a fuller description.Silverchemist 04:53, 6 August 2007 (UTC)
I'm a Newfoundlander and, frankly, in some cases I find it offensive. I've never used any type of Newfoundland slang in my entire life when talking to someone either. ~NeonFire372~ (talk) 16:30, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

The article does list Newfie as generally pejorative. Your claiming that we cant say Newfie is not derogatory, yet the article writer can list it as Generally pejorative? smooth thinking. Newfie refers to Newfoundlanders. It can be affectionate, or derogatory. Black people can say nigger and its not derogatory. Newfie refers to newfies. The word carries the derogatory value only when used in a derogatory context. Wikipedia should not be in the business of contextualizing articles.

You might want to read the page nigger to see how Wikipedia treats that term.
As for the term Newfie: in a straw poll of 6 people (none of whom has lived there for the past 3 years):
  • "Of course it's offensive. It's Canadian for redneck, pollack, and nigger all in one."
  • "A newfie is a dog, not a person."
  • "That's what I always called myself. I didn't even know it was supposedly racist."
  • "I'm a Chink and a Canuck, and I'm going to worry about Newfie?"
  • "It's mildly offensive, like Canuck or Yankee or Pom, not seriously like Chinky or Paki."
  • "It's the best word I can think of. It's much less offensive than 'Newfoundlander,' which is deliberately so long and unpronounceable that by the time you finish someone else has the job."
Still not a scientific result, but it seems to back up the discussion above: It's not an open-and-shut case either way. The description "colloquial, and generally pejorative," together with the later more detailed discussion, gets this across pretty well. Although it might be nice to mention what the polite term is "Newfoundlanders" right at the top. --75.36.142.90 15:38, 1 September 2007 (UTC)