LETTER : Island facts

I LIVED in Newfoundland for five years, so I was irritated by the mistakes in Mathew Horsman's story ("Canadians champion the cause of the little fish", 12 March). First of all, Newfoundland is not one of the Maritimes, which are Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Second, Newfoundlanders do not have an accent "with a hint of Gaelic". Gaelic has never been spoken in Newfoundland. Most of the population is of Devon or Dorset descent, and still speak with West Country accents. The others are of Irish descent and have an accent derived from County Waterford.

And for the benefit of television and radio newsreaders: the correct pronunciation of the name is Newf'ndLAND, with the stress on the last syllable. As Newfoundlanders explain to come-from-aways: "underSTAND? Newf'ndLAND".

Alan Fisk

Stowmarket, Suffolk