NEW DIALECT FORMATION IN HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY: A REPORT ON ONGOING RESEARCH

Abstract

IN THIS PAPER, I REPORT on the early stages of my M.A. (Linguistics) research, which focuses on the variety of English spoken in the relatively new Labrador community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay (henceforth HVGB), founded in 1941. The English of HVGB is a mixed variety that has emerged from a number of input dialects which have been in sustained contact over the past 62 years. These include English regional dialects from coastal Labrador as well as various parts of the island of Newfoundland, along with American, Mainland Canadian, Innu, Inuit, and Southern Inuit dialects of English. This complex linguistic scenario served as the linguistic input to subsequent generations of native-born Happy Valley-Goose Bayers.