A LIVE Newfoundland Language Lesson: With Comedian Mark Critch

Being in the entertainment biz, Cailin O’Neil is kinda a big deal. When I spent some time with her in Halifax, we went to a filming of This Hour Has 22 Minutes (a hugely popular CBC comedy show). One of the actors, Mark Critch, is a comedian from Newfoundland, and he’s pretty much beloved by everyone on The Rock.

So naturally, Cailin hit him up on Twitter and asked if he’d film a Newfoundland Language Learning Lesson with me during March’s visit. He said “Sure!” My knees shook.

A little while later I found myself sitting at a table in The Republic sharing a beer with a celebrity and engaging in some Newfie conversation. The video went live yesterday, and it’s pretty freaking hysterical. This morning, while at the Hospitality Newfoundland office preparing for the webinar I was leading on Facebook Page marketing, I heard one of the members shout, “Candice! Come here!”

I went to see what all the fuss was about, and some of the other employees were watching the video on YouTube…not realizing it was ME they were laughing at! Or, you know, the famous guy sitting next to me.

I’ll be accepting autographs shortly.

Thank-you, Mr. Critch! You were a delight to spend a few hours with and I hope we cross paths again.

  • April 27 2011

    Wow. I got quite the education on Newfoundland from this. I had no idea!

    • April 29 2011

      Hahaha, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

  • April 27 2011

    Oh dear god I’ll just keep the beer in my mouth and nod in agreement when I visit.

  • April 27 2011

    That is hilarious!

    It’s very similar to an Irish accent, in many ways.

    • April 29 2011

      Yep! Once, while visiting a store in Ireland, I was mistaken for being Irish because of my accent, haha.

  • April 27 2011

    So funny!
    I’m from rural North Dakota and my wife claims/makes fun of me for ‘having a modified Scandinavian accent’. Which is totally not true.
    I don’t say ‘ Nort Dakooota’ or ‘hows it goin’ der’ or ‘ ya’, you betcha’.
    Honest. Never done it. Really. Dat would be silly, der.
    :)

  • April 27 2011

    I left a comment on Travel Yourself, but I gotta say this video was hilarious. I had no idea that the Newfoundland accent and langauge varied from region to region. The town vs bay thing was rather amusing. I know in Alberta (at least) there’s always rivalries between towns and between Edmonton and Calgary.

    • April 29 2011

      Oh man, the differences are insane! There’s about 30 different variations.

  • April 27 2011

    Is there such a thing as beyond funny if not than I’m inventing that for this.

    • April 29 2011

      Hahaha, imagine my plight trying to keep a straight face…

  • April 28 2011

    loves this video i does :)
    I’m impressed you were able to speak at all, I’d just be laughing uncontrollably ;D

    • April 29 2011

      It was the hardest challenge ever! Haha.

  • April 28 2011

    Love it. No idea what you were saying but it was funny.

    • April 29 2011

      Hehe, I guess you can get the gist…

  • April 29 2011

    Ugh, I keep losing my comments because I forget to scroll down and enter the CAPTCHA.

    This was funny. I remember my Toronto friends would try and speak in a “Newfie” accent as they called it.

    Do you really eat seal flippers?

    • May 03 2011

      Damn, sorry! :( I need to fix that. And no, I haven’t tried it, but I plan on it!

  • April 29 2011

    haha “food that can taste you back” ah this is too funny! And now I have a craving for beer… ahh :]

  • May 03 2011

    Okay, I’m very glad I watched this. From what you’re written previously, I understood you guys talk a little diffently. But I didn’t know that it sounds like a different language. I understood him better than I did you, Candice!

    • May 09 2011

      Hahaha, I only talk like that when I’m in the presence of other Newfoundlanders, seriously. Most people don’t think I have an accent until I’m in a phone convo with my parents or something.

  • May 07 2011

    I so have a craving for beer right now. Hilarious video! Well done on get an interview with him.

    • May 08 2011

      thanks Ant!! It was fun! I worked with Mark on a TV show for two years and he is a really great guy so it wasn’t too hard to twist his arm and get him to come out with us :)

    • May 09 2011

      Thank ya! It was so much fun.

  • May 13 2011

    Is that English? I want a how-to video next!! :)

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