Cape Breton Dictionary | CBC Comedy

If you're going to visit, then you better learn the language.
Created by the Magic Ranch.
Subscribe for more comedy: bit.ly/subscribeCBCcomedy
CBC Comedy is your destination for funny Canadian web series, stand-up comedy, sketches and clips from television shows from the CBC, Canada's public broadcaster. Subscribe for videos from your favourite shows like Kim's Convenience, Baroness von Sketch Show and Schitt's Creek. Check out www.cbc.ca/comedy for more original comedy.
Follow CBC Comedy:
On Twitter: / cbccomedy
On Facebook: / cbccomedy
On Instagram: / cbccomedy
#capebreton #dictionary #comedy

[@mokhalid9319]

Am from Saudi Arabia and graduated from Cape Breton University (CBU) and I can tell that Capers people are so kind and beautiful and very open minded. Honestly, I misses everything in there and no word can describe how good people they are. God bless you all and I really had my best time ever in my whole life in Cape Breton and I wish to come back for visit in some day...

[@Emess_902]

Please come back my friend.

[@michaelbernier8159]

You forgot saying "I misses" instead of "I miss".

[@GuruishMike]

Didja learn any Gaelic?

[@monahalliday1441]

That's lovely

[@mikemcdonald8002]

Come back. We can do the Cabot trail!

[@mariendorf1981]

I'm from Dublin, we also do the 'yeah,yeah,yeah' inhalation, she's having a bloody 'conniption', 'didja', 'j'eat yet', 'roaring', & she scoffed that down. Funny to hear that over the years these weren't lost! Do Cape Breton's do this on the phone?: 'bye, bye, bye, bye'....can go on a bit ;-)

[@innovativeatavist159]

Some of these still survive in east TN...except it sounds like 200 years of being slowed down by the heat and trichinosis. "Djeat yet?" "Nah" "Yont too?

[@emilystillwell7033]

Marienkäfer it takes about an hour to say good bye on the phone to my relatives in Cape Breton 😂

[@mikaylastewart3183]

Yeah its Gaelic

[@halensunday2016]

I'm from Sligo Ireland and I was waiting for the Bye bye bye bye bye!! Uncanny.

[@anonymousperson7121]

Jesus yes!

[@donalgeaney626]

Interesting being Irish that you can understand a lot of these words and I can hear the Irish ancestry in the accent. We still use a lot of these words.

[@laceyallison622]

I always say I can understand the Irish accent and that I feel we sound alike .

[@owencoventry2435]

I hear the Scottish/Irish too

[@mikemcdonald8002]

we understands you bye

[@musicperson3162]

Why does nobody point that out

[@nozecone]

I would say this is the more Irish-influenced accent, from the industrial towns where a lot of Irish-Newfoundlanders immigrated.

[@segurosincero4057]

Please tell me I’m not the only one who recognized Tracy and Martina?

[@Autumn_Sunrise]

I did immediately by their voices! Was so happy to see them in this video lol

[@keypicks1837]

I am a caper and I can confirm all of these

[@HalifaxHercules]

However, "pogey" is typically used in other Nova Scotian accents, including Haligonian. "Scoff" is used frequently in Newfoundland English, referring to a large meal. I'm originally from Halifax, but now live in Corner Brook. The word "Scoff" is used often there.

[@Basertac]

A great big “scoff” and a big “feed” are used all over cape breton

[@pisspissdacatfiss5544]

Every person in this video is either from Glace bay or new Waterford .

[@p.e.i.man-canada-1372]

"Glace Bee"

[@maidenrulz73]

Pisspissdacat Fiss what’s got 11 legs and 7 teeth? The front row of the new Waterford ladies auxiliary 😝

[@902TwoStroke]

Ingonish bi

[@sagejohnson2445]

Pisspissdacat Fiss true

[@sagejohnson2445]

I’m not east bay haha

[@handsomenala6716]

Meat darts where have you been my whole life

[@halensunday2016]

I'm from the north west of Ireland and this is uncanny. The way the vowels sound and the phrases I understand. Even the breathing in. We say 'conniption fit' if someone was acting crazy. The poultice. The phrasing 'ya didn' bring yer lighter wit ya did yah? d'jeat yet? Roarin' Scoff, Sin..I speak like that! If I didn;t know it was Cape Breton I'd actually think it was an Irish person who spent time in Canada esp the guy with the red top.

[@TheBirdierouge]

It’s because we’re all Irish and Scottish descendants 😊 I was born and raised there but live in the US now. I’m asked Frequently if my accent is Irish or Scottish.

[@lizreed7762]

Funny, because Cap Breton is a community in the Scottish Highlands and in this area of canada they dance a version of the Scottish step dance and play Scottish music yet they sound Irish. It is so confusing.

[@MrSimonmcc]

@@lizreed7762 I think you're confused. Cape Breton Island is part of Nova Scotia. The Cape Breton Highlands is a national park within Cape Breton Island. The Scottish Highlands are on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

[@harvidmoreton817]

I'm from the midlands (Nuneaton actually,) England, and it's crazy how a lot of Nova Scotia words either have the same meaning and/or the same pronunciation, like didya (oh, wen up tahn didya?) scoff, and haard. Large Scottish population (my real name is Harbison) and lots of culturally linguistic influences. Fascinating stuff.

[@denisegreene8441]

I had to laugh. I was born and raised in Nova Scotia and I remember being teased about how I talked when we moved to BC but I couldn't hear any difference. After watching this I had to laugh because I do say 90% of what was said in this video. I still do the yeah yeah while sucking in air but didn't realize that was part of an accent. Too funny. You can take a girl out of NS but you can't take the NS out of the girl. Bluenoser forever❤

[@Hsalf904]

The “puck” in a sentence was bang on

[@snowflakes1and2]

My Nana's 98 from the Island. She is bilingual Gaelic/ English. She says 'Well bless er little heart." or when she is disappointed, "Bless their poor soul" Once she told me the only one that would marry me is from the corner. She thinks any Irish or Scottish child who can't dance the jig is truly damned. My grandfather was a well known RCMP officer. They took me everywhere many times!

[@andrewjennings7306]

Can you speak Gaelic aswell?

[@snowflakes1and2]

@@andrewjennings7306 No, Sorry

[@Irishitalian]

Some of those words are quite common and used over here in Ireland as well. Blond fella in the blue jumper, Greg, is simply 😍❤️..

[@onlinemusiclessonsadamphil4677]

As a Scot I was fascinated by this. In Scots: -fleg is fright -pochol is to steal -simmit is a vest -breaks is trousers -thrang is stubborn Gaelic: -ceol is music -salach is dirty -clan is family -Doolich is being sorry

[@FirstLast-uj9ud]

My aunt (who lives in Halifax) always does the inhaling "yeah" and I never understood why-interesting to know that's a legitimate dialect thing!

[@mikaylastewart3183]

It's called "Gaelic gasp" because it stems from the Gaelic language. That's how words were spoken. Because we have such strong Gaelic roots we kept it in our dialect. I find myself and others do it even when counting

[@matthewschiavi7353]

My mother's family comes from the Canadian maritimes and I'm hearing a lot of her vernacular in this... the inhaled "ey'yeah" included. She was born and raised in Eastern Massachusetts, but some of my grandparents speak still came through.

[@Skkorm]

My gf is from Cape Breton. This video is very helpful. xD

[@kennawenna5251]

I vist Cape Breton every summer. Every relative I have besides 4 cousins live there. All my family and relatives live in Canada, actually.

[@sandraburbidge8038]

Absolutely hilarious! Thanks! Been a long time since I visited cape breton wonderful magical place close friend from cape breton loved listening to him speak! Miss that!!!

[@ryandowling6288]

My Dads from Baddeck, NS...he calls the blankets on the bed “the bed clothes” 😊

[@nozecone]

Well, by the time you get finished saying "the blankets on the bed", you could have had the bed made.

[@pammarchand1527]

It’s so true...My mom would say... Are you putting the bed clothes on the line? Washing my bed blankets❤️

[@jasandros]

All Navy Terms. Understood everything!!

[@dosmart]

Best kind of pizza

[@SuperSenna2]

If you guys ever decided to visit Ireland, you'd fit right in with us! :)

[@Emess_902]

Good, my family are accendants from Ireland and me being a cape bretoners reading this from an Irish folk, gladly any day I'll be down with yas

[@sagejohnson2445]

People from cape breton are Irish ,Gaelic, Native , Scottish , and French and all of those combined make the cape breton accent

[@Emess_902]

@@sagejohnson2445 unfortunately you are correct. Very correct. I have a thick Irish cape breton accent and it thurrally pisses me the fuck off

[@nozecone]

@@sagejohnson2445 What happened to the English? Not to mention the Ukrainians, Poles, Chinese, etc., etc.

[@crochetwithapril]

@@Emess_902 Lmao. Same. Although mines no longer thick, I had to practice Theopholis the thistle sifter for years to thin it out because II work as a public speaker. But even after leaving Cape Breton more than 30 yrs ago, anyone from the Maritime Provinces still say "Hey, you're from down east aren't ya??

[@902TwoStroke]

Straight from glacé bay and new waterferd 😂😂

[@DeeDeeCatMom]

Love it! I'm from NB and I recognized a lot of the vocab :)

[@maggieroderick9994]

"Take note, rest of Canada"

[@RealCanuckian]

I'm from the Annapolis Valley and I use almost all of these.

[@Ryan-yz1tf]

RealCanuckian I think almost all Nova Scotians do. I’m from Cole Harbour and I use all of these

[@HalifaxHercules]

Some of the Caper words are also used frequently in Newfoundland English, particularly "Scoff".

[@icequeensamwich9309]

@@Ryan-yz1tf I'm from Halifax originally and I knew like a third of these and use almost none

[@jptc123]

S'gowin-ahnn

[@hopespringseternal7038]

jptc123 na much

[@billjarvis5853]

Lived on Cape Breton for a year, working in Donkin, definitely miss it, beautiful scenery and the locals treated me like I’d been there my whole life, I plan on going back to see everyone, wonderful place!!!

[@stevestruthers6180]

It was interesting to watch this. My maternal grandmother was from Cape Breton (Sydney area) and she moved to Ontario with my grandfather (who was from Ontario) around 1944, and I don't ever remember hearing a Cape Breton accent coming from her, or any of the expressions heard in the video. Perhaps she had a native CBI dialect and lost it after living in Ontario for a major part of her adult life. Now, my ex-mother-in-law, who was from Sydney Mines, definitely had a bit of a Caper accent going on.

[@lindamugford5507]

Love it, thanks for sharin, needed a good laugh :)

[@spiderlinux]

Haha that's a good one, Roarºin xD

[@burnyizland]

I'm born and bred on the west coast and we say a lot of these; you surprised me.

[@mizzenmonkey]

Lots of those are used in Pictou county too!

[@ronanoloingsigh5251]

They sound irish I wanna visit there now lol

[@noahroangoldwing]

I needed this. I’m creating a character from Cape Breton for Fanfiction purposes.

[@eziomaiwuh649]

I hope to be in Cape breton in 2020 and I look forward to having a wholesome experience.

[@algow5988]

Be your self, don't pretend to be someone you're not (a fony), and you will.

[@GuidedWithLight]

I hope you enjoyed yourself there!

[@dragonshivers2836]

Why is 'combination pizza' so hard? Its so easy youd be laughin! We're goin on a mission to get some combo pizza, by's 😂

[@canuckyukyuk9164]

What about "caw me", as in: "Caw me as soon as you get home!"? And b'y? (As in: the song "Tanks Ma, B'y!"...it's on KZbin.)

[@messymason1984]

That’s hilarious.

[@consonantsandvowels1]

Tracy and Martina! 💜💜💜

[@anam5099]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 @1:59 oh my fuck that's allllllll North Sydney right there lmao

[@JenniferJane78]

I have been off the Island a long time, took me way too long to remember Devco.

[@benyedlin2521]

conniption fit is normal english though. i heard that from my parents in vancouver in the 90s

[@frempy4426]

Who knew Cape Breton had a name for the best combination of North American pizza ingredients, and it's called... Combination.

[@ryanmacphee3418]

I'm originally from Sydney river nova scotia but I'm living in Edmonton Alberta canada now for 16 years now caper I will always be

[@nightingalebou2342]

New Brunswick says a lot of this stuff too lol

[@eathcookie]

Many of these are "words / expressions" are widely used in Atlantic Canada

[@DoctorFurioso]

*inhales*Yeah.

[@DrAmazing]

This is like 50% things I never heard of and 50% things I didn't know was unique to Cape Breton.

[@Anonymous-ex5uu]

Same im cape breton we say bye alot

[@ItsHollowfied]

It's bie!

[@stegomasaurus6737]

Missed a prominent one: french fries are always called chips in Cape Breton.

[@justben193]

Stegomasaurus no only when y’all have them with fish we call them chips

[@poop5223]

bro no lie, we got the best food

[@MacEachern902]

ya missed a whole bunch bi, say "whataya sayin" or "rushin out" to a mainlander lol pure confusion

[@vwgolf1991]

A lot of these are pretty Canada wide and maybe some in the US as well. I grew up in rural BC and conniption fit was definitely used a lot. My dad would have a conniption fit watching the Canucks lose another shot at the cup....year after year. Have a bird was get angry, so a bit different there, didja...everyone says that, no? We didn't have meat darts but we did have meat bingo and meat raffles, usually for charity. Every logger sports day there'd be a meat raffle. I think we won about 40lbs of ground beef once. A puck is a puck. That's what it's called. What else would it be? We didn't say scoff for meal, but you could scoff down your meal, any homemade or improvised alcohol was a shit-mix. BC has got some good ones like faller - that's just a logger who fells the trees, as different from a chokerman or logdriver. Saltchuck for the ocean, muck a muck which my mom used to use all the time to describe older, bossy, usually sexist men that irritated her. "Now that he's the superintendent he thinks he's the big muckamuck around town and we should all cowtow to him eh." She used skookum a lot too, as in "oh that's a fair skookum deal on bread" or "oh look at his little skookum cheeks". Basically anything generous big or good with the connotation of abundance was skookum.

[@seratonyn]

I got most of em.

[@tnmoe-]

CBC waiting till everyone forgets PEI Encyclopedia, then throws this out there...

[@onlinemusiclessonsadamphil4677]

Excellent! In North east Scotland, where I’m from and is the home of the Strathspey. (My great x 5 grandfather was William Marshall) , we go ‘aye aye aye aye aye’ like sucking air out of a balloon or until the chiel’s lungs go dry. A chiel is a farmer or a country person. The spik o Cape Breton is braw. Mare like Scots and Irish then onythin!

[@acedelizo6430]

I am in Dartmouth now and still waiting for my chance to say, " jeet yet?"

[@zymbotictoot]

The only two things I could add is a bun of bread and a good ol game of tarbish.

[@Anthony_Spilotro]

Listen beh! Ed dare now!

[@adrianmartin5780]

Back in the 70's up in No.2 there were a few sayings that were used by a very funny guy hangin around at night up on 3rd, 4th and 5th streets,a natural comedian this guy was,I thought he was hilarious,he had side bustin humour,non stop.For instance, if ya said something outrageously stupid he might say to ya, "I think ya better shake yer beer box there by'", meaning that ya might have a couple of empties in there,he had one liners like "ja hear about the guy who went up to Halifax....yeah,he bounced all the way up on a rubber onion! Rimshot..Then right quick he'd ask ya "what's orange lying on the side of the road?..a wounded cheezie".Another rimshot.. And Oh yeah,der might be a lingering scent of cannabis indee air too. This guy was really funny,hurtin funny.Oh Danny Boy,the pipes,the pipes are calling...

[@davidmacdonald7462]

What about a Krimco? Aka Chocolate milk when I grew in CB! Or "dear" I was going to buy the raisin bread, but it was too dear (expensive) so I left it on the shelf.

[@beanstwo4117]

Krimco. Yum yum

[@GordiansKnotHere]

My mother's side is from Sydney Mines, Cape Breton (I've been told), they're all Scots. Justine is a total Smokeshow!!!

[@valeriamontesr.8896]

combination pizza is called toute garnie in Québec

[@yeeyoh]

combination pizza sounds good...

[@bignose880]

Cheaper and almost (ALMOST) indistinguishable from "the works"

[@melkeith9]

I order that all the time, didn't know it had a name

[@icyblossom9824]

It is.

[@blazetieftw]

Get it from Fatboys in NW, it’s legendary. Their steak subs with the works is the best thing you’ll ever order from a fast food joint though.

[@amylouise6646]

They sound so Irish

[@mikemcdonald8002]

we are

[@whitneysmith5509]

What about three sheets to the wind bi!!!

[@Coolio-bd7vt]

We have a very similar thing to the “did’ja” in Ireland we say did ya instead “ya went to work today did ya?l

[@gotohellaaron]

@ 1:58 holy shit she looks familiar!

[@glynnL]

Sqwuzed is killing me. Never hear that one that I remember. It’s perfect though

[@HalifaxHercules]

I'm originally from Halifax, but now live in Western Newfoundland. Most of the words I recognized are also used in my home town, including "pogey". In addition, some of the words are also used in Newfoundland English, including "scoff" meaning a big meal.

[@porko882]

Im the Niagara region and i hear pogey used, i think alot of these words became more common because of Trailer park boys.

[@francisdoran8992]

@@porko882 no these words were used long before that show come on.

[@terence5563]

Girl at 1:58 sounds just like Bubbles.

[@GhostlyDogg]

They're like discord newfoundland accents.

[@hanslamontagne]

What about “bed clothes” hahaha

[@shannondawn44]

They don't use bed clothes in other parts of the country ?

[@shannondawn44]

What do they put on their beds ?

[@daveyandsky]

WHOS UR FADERS FADER!

[@iaincaillte3356]

Well, an' now A'feel confident enuff ta visit.

[@c0pyimitati0n]

Hi, it's your girl Tracy hun!

[@adrianmartin5780]

Utube "Rubberbandits"and The Bull Mick.. they're Irish, its similar ta CapeBreton humour, like Rusty Cutlery or Embraced in Barbados

[@p.e.i.man-canada-1372]

Thats fuckin right

[@Michiganian8]

How long is this video 😆

[@waynemclaughlin6089]

How come in the news media like the ( CBC) in Nova Scotia you never hear the news anchors talking like this in Halifax? Maybe there's some Cape Bretoners among them. I asked my sister who lives just outside of Corner Brook NL once before about the CBC News in St John's NL and why they don't talk like the cast on Allan Hawco's Republic Of Doyle crime tv show? That's what made the Maritime East Coast accents unique, it's different from the rest of Canada.

[@CBCComedy]

That's a good question, it's probably a mix of developing a professional on-air "news presenter" voice, and non-locals who have moved to smaller markets to start journalism careers (which is pretty common). With that said, in my experiences, you can definitely tell the difference between NL reports, and say, Alberta.

[@bido0125]

Sydney mines is the best part

[@anthonynapier2887]

Yizz payin fer that? Er izz EEE EYE pay'n fer that?

[@lizreed7762]

"Roar-lin" "scoff" "Did ya" "Biff" "Puck" very common words in my town in Scotland. Actually, used in most of the UK. This just sound like basic English, I don't understand why they think it's a language 🤷 "combination pizza" found here in Australia where I Live currently.

[@kevinleblanc47]

Ron James should have done this

[@jenniferc6868]

What about “ walk on , bye “?

[@Reddog794]

Justine is right some fit

[@robertsteele925]

Love it im from a small town sydney mines in cape breton ns. Came to toronto in 2010. Friends say your an east coaster. Cause of my axcent . i love it. Now up here women calls underware panties back home we say bloomers lmao

[@ziziscorsese9475]

Robert Steele Nonsense. If you're from the backwoods , say up in the highlands deep within, you might call them bloomers, and you might be an octogenarian . Bloomers. Does your wife wear bloomers lol ?

[@jampuppy]

Did ja is pretty much universal amongst folks in the US. So is J’eat yet?

[@tomasmcdermott6810]

Its like irish slang and the accents are almost identical to irish accents

[@andrewjennings7306]

Honestly I was hoping to hear some scottish gaelic, which used to be the main language of cape breton.

[@Usernamenotrecognized01]

Man I dont think I’ve ever met someone from PEI. Seems like a strange place. And these must be the Canadian accents everyone makes fun of!

[@katiewoodford6452]

Dave Marc they where talking about people from cape Breton Nova Scotia not PEI lol

[@nozecone]

You wanna take a look around and see who's wit'in ear shot before makin' fun of dese accents, b'y ........

[@vigo894]

Folks, you sound like Bubbles.

[@mitchaelclement1184]

Sydney mines is pre cool.

[@genericname155]

Except hold your bird

[@komiccomik4796]

Nova Scotian is just less intense Irish change my mind

[@PolarAppleCaps]

Nah. Just Islander. In Pictou County we just mumble and use a bit of slang. It sounds normal to me at least. Lol

[@mistym0rning]

I’ve been to Dublin/Ireland, and I’ve traveled around Nova Scotia & Cape Breton Island. Can confirm they sound 90% alike.

[@communistpowerranger9629]

Are ice clampers just here.

[@cheapshotninja]

So they're like the North Caroliners of Canada huh.

[@luketracey3269]

🍀

[@fasulia67]

They sound rather Irish. Were there Irish settlers there in the past or does their accent relate to the Scottish Gaelic community that settled there

[@brennanmacdonald7720]

It's a mix of Mi'kmaq, Irish, Scottish, English, and French Acadian.

[@danconnor8422]

More like all the newfies that migrated there in 60s

[@az0963818]

Most of them are Gaelic Scotts descendants. That kind of "Irish" like sound to the accents is a common theme in Atlantic North America. It has little to nothing to do with the actual Irish, ironically lol.

[@kayo7783]

lots of scots gaelic, my moms dad is from cape breton, his dad's family were scottish immigrants in the 19th century , tonnes of Scottish, some irish a bit of m'igmaq

[@darcison]

@TheCrazycaper actually, in french "Novelle Ecosse" literally means "Nova Scotia". But the name "Nova Scotia" is latin. And it means New Scotland :) The more you know! hahaha