Talk:Newfoundland outport

Canada: Newfoundland & Labrador / Communities Mid‑importance

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Outport -> Bay wop?

Quoth the article:

On the island of Newfoundland, residents of the capital city of St. John's would frequently be referred to as townies, whereas those not from St. John's would be referred to as bay wops - derived from outport.

Surely that derivation is a folk etymology? I don't see how you get one from the other. Isn't it more likely to be an ethnic slur in origin (since a lot of Basque and Portugese fishermen worked in Newfoundland waters)? --Jfruh 21:04, 24 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Surprisingly, the Dictionary of Newfoundland English doesn't seem to have any clear answers. The entry for bay simply notes that "Up until a few years ago, people of the outports were looked down upon and referred to as 'baywops' by certain segments of the St John's population." One entry for wop suggests it describes a "Volunteer worker from other countries doing odd jobs at the International Grenfell Mission, Labrador," and that "The work of these 'wops,' the word for the aides who came in the summer WithOut Pay, was very desultory—unloading cargoes of supplies, sorting clothes and arranging them for sale, and doing odd chores." But I think these are two different things. --Killick 15:05, 14 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why the rename?

The term outport is a geographical one Webster's dictionary so I am not too sure why the rename took place. This is simply an example of the term ... Peter Shearan (talk) 07:18, 23 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]