Atlantic Twine: An Examination of Linguistic Influence from Basque Whalers on Newfoundland English

The linguistic development of Newfoundland English is examined in this paper, with particular attention paid to the important impact of the 16th-century Basque whalers who settled in the area. This study illustrates how early interactions between Basque-speaking settlers and other European and Indigenous communities shaped the unique characteristics of Newfoundland English by drawing on historical, phonetic, syntactic, and pragmatic viewpoints. This paper contends that although phonetic changes, such as vowel shifts, consonant alterations, and a “sing-song” intonation, are the most obvious effects of Basque, they also extend to the previously described syntactic and pragmatic levels. The multilingual, contact-zone character of early settlement is reflected in the sporadic verb-subject-object (VSO) word order and flexible topicalization that are Basque-inspired sentence patterns seen in Newfoundland English. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that deictic phrases pertaining to time, place, and social identity evolved in a multicultural setting under the influence of Basque and other European linguistic traditions. Finally, by using Newfoundland English as a living example of cultural and linguistic adaptation spanning centuries, this study sheds insight on the intricate ways that languages change as a result of prolonged contact.