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narn
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
adv. — rare, Newfoundland
none.
Type: 2. Preservation — The term narn is used as a negative adjective with the meaning of 'none; not a single one' (see DNE, s.v. "narn") or 'never a one' (see the 1937 quotation). As noted in DNE, the term likely derives from British English (see DNE, s.v. "narn" (supp)), documented as one of the many forms of "ne'er a" (see OED-3, s.v. "ne'er a"); moreover, EDD marks the term as "in general dialect use in Scotland, Ireland and England", comparing the term with "anon", "never a one" and "norn" (see EDD, s.v. "narn"). A derivation from British English coincides with Newfoundland's settlement history, as the province was settled by people from southwest England in the 18th and 19th centuries (Clarke 2010b: 7). The term's cultural significance is supported by a popular Newfoundland joke, or "the shortest recorded Newfoundland conversation" (see the 1987 quotation). In the joke, two fishermen converse: "Arn?" "Narn" (see the 2003 quotation), which translates into "Are there any [fish]?" "No, there aren't" (see the 1998 quotation).
See DNE, s.v. "narn".
See DNE, s.v. "narn".
Quotations
1971
"Arn to give us?" (which can be read as "Do you have one to give me?") and [...] "Narn yer (here)" (which can be read as "(There's) not one here.")
1979
Salt Water, Fresh Water 3 'Any fish?' 'No ... nar'n ... very scarce.' And the fish would be down drowning on your lines, and you wouldn't haul up, no way. You'd get a smoke ... or pretend to cook a feed, and he'd say: 'Well, nothing here,' and be gone.
1987
Ray Guy says the shortest recorded Newfoundland conversation had one returning fisherman ask another "Arn?" He was answered "Narn." Freely translated, this means "Did you catch any fish?" - "No, not one."
1990
C 74-128 [local rhyme] John Antle got a quintal, / John Pew got a few. / John War'n got narn, / That was all was got this mar'n.
1998
The year 1998 provided a watery selection of books, including the winning work of David Adams Richards, Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi (Doubleday). Also, Derek Lundy's Godforsaken Sea (Knopf Canada), about sailing, and Consider the Fish, by Chris Gudgeon (Viking), about fishing in Canada, and Thomas E. Roach's Arn? Narn!, which in Newfoundland outports translates to mean, "Are there any [fish]?" and "No, there aren't!" and which is about fishing for a living.
References
- DNE
- EDD
- OED-3
- Clarke (2010b)