Tignish, Prince Edward Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tignish is a relatively small fishing community located in western Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located approximately 50 miles NW of the city of Summerside, and 100 miles NW of Charlottetown[1]. With a town population of 990, plus around 700 in surrounding localities, Tignish is considered by the government to be a "village", which is one level higher than a locality, one level lower than a town, and two levels lower than a city.
Tignish was discovered in the late 1790s by nine founding Acadian families, with future non–Acadian citizens (mostly Irish) arriving in the 1800s and settling mostly in the nearby smaller locality of Anglo–Tignish (whose name literally means "English Tignish"). Most of Tignish citizens today are either of Acadian or Irish heritage.
One of Tignish's most popular and defining structures is the local Catholic church, which was among the first major structures built in Tignish, and was constructed between 1857 and 1860.
Contents |
[edit] Community
Fishing is one of the most important aspects of daily life and employment in Tignish, with many local families depending on this venue for income. There are currently three functioning harbors located in the Tignish area: the Tignish harbor, the Skinner's Pond harbor, and the Seacow Pond harbor.
Among the businesses in Tignish include the Tignish Heritage Inn, which was a convent from 1867 through 1991, Eugene's General store, Judy's Take-out, Olive's Quik-Mart, Shirley's restaurant, Tignish Co-op grocery store, hardware store, and gas station, Tignish Cultural Center, Cousin's Diner, Pizza Shack, and much more.
Citizens of Tignish celebrated the bicentennial of Tignish in 1999. Among local festivities were Acadian music, local parties, carnivals, and the creation of a local music CD rich with the voices of Tignish residents. In addition, each summer there is a Bluegrass festival that is held in Tignish.
[edit] Accent and dialect
Tignish has one of the most unique location–specific accents and original dialect in eastern Canada. It is often etymologically described as a blend of English, French, and Scots/Scottish English, and there are many actual English words that possess a unique alternate definition in Tignish, such as "slack". Some of the time a comma, and the word "too" is added after some terms (i.e. "slack, too") to provide emphasis. While English–speakers in nearby towns such as Alberton and O'Leary have an accent and dialect similar to many other communities across the Maritime provinces, Tignish dialect is often described independent from this dialect, and is sometimes not even comprehensible by non–locals. Below is a chart comparing the actual definition of a word to the Tignish–specific alternate definition.[2]
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since March 2007. |
| Term | Original definition(s) | Alternate Tignish–specific definition |
|---|---|---|
| slack | Relaxed; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; as, a slack rope. | Awesome, excellent, good. The term "too" is often added in succession. |
| poor | With little or no possessions or money; of low quality. | Awesome, excellent, good. The term "too" is often added in succession, as with "slack". |
| handsome | Agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance or expression; attractive. | Of no value, a referral to an unfortunate event/situation, ugly, pathetic. |
| too | Likewise; also; in addition. | Provides emphasis to a particular preceding word. Often invites the implication of sarcasm and reversal of definition. For example, "handsome, too" would actually be describing something the opposite of actually being handsome. |
[edit] Statistical information
[edit] Education
K–12 students in the Tignish area mostly attend Tignish Elementary School from grades K–6, followed by Merritt E. Callaghan Intermediate and Westisle Composite High schools for grades 7–12.
Tignish is within district #27 of PEI's electoral boundaries, which is labeled the Tignish–DeBlois division. There is a polling station at the Tignish fire hall, and another is located in nearby Palmer Road. As part of a new proposal, Tignish may become part of a new district, which would still be #27, under the name Tignish–Palmer Road or Tignish–St. Louis.
[edit] Demographics
Residents of Tignish and surrounding localities are predominently Caucasion (99%), with a very small Black–Canadian population. Approximately 99% of locals are of the Roman Catholic religion, with the remainder being either Protestant, agnostic, or atheist.
Approximately all (98%) of Tignish citizens can speak English, 55% can speak French, and 51% can speak both English and French. No recorded percentage of locals can speak any other language, though few may be able to speak Spanish or Afrikaans.
[edit] Surrounding communities
Nearby smaller localities, considered to be "part of" Tignish due to their proximity, include:
- Ascension (2 mi NW of Tignish)
- St. Felix (2 mi S)
- Harper (2 mi SW)
- Leoville (3.5 mi SW)
- Peterville (2.5 mi SW)
- Nail Pond (3 mi N)
- Greenmount (3.5 mi S)
- Skinner's Pond (5 mi NW)
- St. Peter and St. Paul (3 mi S)
- Kildare North (4 mi SE)
- Tignish Shore (2 mi E)
- Anglo Tignish (2 mi NE)
- Seacow Pond (5 mi NE)
- Norway (6 mi NE)
[edit] References
- ^ Government–sponsored `MapGuide` map of PEI. Retrieved on 28 March 2007.
- ^ Although Tignish dialect often gives alternate definitions to specific, existing English words, the original definition(s) of these words is still used and understood within Tignish dialect. In addition, not all those from the general Tignish area speak with this dialect, though it is especially used by the elderly and youth of the community.
[edit] See also
- List of communities in Prince Edward Island
- St. Simon & St. Jude Church, Tignish
- List of pastors at St. Simon & St. Jude Church
