TIGNISH, P.E.I. — So, have you heard the Tignish 'Word of the Day'?
That question has become a popular conversation starter for followers of a West Prince Facebook group – Tignish Talk.
Since March 1, Joanne Perry has been posting a daily version of Paul Shea’s Tignish Word of the Day on the group page.
Joanne and her husband, Tommy, had maintained a Eugene’s General Store Facebook page where they posted information about events in their community. After they sold their business, Joanne renamed the page Tignish Talk, retaining much of the original content.
It was during a dinner gathering at Our Family Traditions restaurant in February that the Tignish Word of the Day was born.
“Paul came up with the idea and we thought, ‘Sure, why not,’” Joanne recalls.
In introducing the word on the group page, Joanne prints an actual dictionary definition. What Shea comes up with in his 20 to 25-second reflection is often quite different from that definition.
Their very first word was “Kia.”
It’s a pretty quick and easy process. Joanne switches her phone to video and aims it at her husband, always in his red suspenders, who announces the Tignish Word of the Day.
She then pans by the table-mates until Shea comes into view, ready to deadpan his monologue, such as “Get that camera out of my face or I’ll 'Kia' stone dead.”
They have not missed a single day since March 1.
“I put a picture up every morning, just of a local scene. I do that first thing in the morning and, between 10 and 11, I put the word of the day up,” said Joanne describing her new daily routine.
The photos from around Tignish draw widespread interest, as well.
Since the Word of the Day debuted, the number of Tignish Talk followers has grown from 1,200 to over 6,300.
“There was a fellow from up north who wanted to get on the page, but we wouldn’t have ‘Nunavut,’” Tommy jokes. Nunavut, he notes, is one of the more than 210 words that Shea has re-crafted through Tignish Talk.
Group page’s most popular word
Turnip. Paul Shea tells of losing his false teeth. He expresses confidence they will “turn up” somewhere. Turnip led the way with 479 “likes” and 372 shares.
Another vegetable is Paul Shea’s favourite: Asparagus. He tells of having a flat tire down by the old Davis Lodge and needing to get driven home. “I shoulda had a spare, I guess.”
“A lot of people say it’s their daily thing, check out the group every day and see what today’s laugh is,” Joanne noted.
Tommy said he has heard from Tignish residents who work in camps out west. After supper each night other people from the camps will ask them to play the Tignish Word of the Day.
“They look forward to it.”
There were daily suggestions of words to use when they first started out and they still get about three suggestions a week. Not all fit the format though.
“No politics and no religion,” they insist. And nothing dirty, Tommy added.
“Family-friendly,” Paul added.
There is a definite Tignish slang or accent to his talk.
The page has people checking in from Australia, the United Kingdom, Florida – and people from Nunavut are certainly welcome.
Many of Shea’s words of the day have been crafted over Sunday night dinners at Our Family Traditions where Tom and Joanne and Paul and his wife Sharon regularly dine with Brian
Hogan, Blair and Julia LeClair, and Norman and Arlene Hackett. Paul often refers to one or more of the diners in his recorded comment.
“We’re all sitting around here. We don’t know what he’s going to come up with, actually,” said Hogan.
“It’s all in fun: live studio audience,” he laughed.
On the road
Tignish Talk, took the show “on the road” during the summer, with Paul and Tommy showing up on various street corners, each one introduced by its nickname.
“There are so many people who are on this group page who live away, but have a connection to Tignish. We thought it might be fun to go out and actually shoot a video or two from a significant corner within the community.
“The first one was Johnny Pump’s and that went over fantastic,” Joanne recalled.
They’ve also observed the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ Abbey Road photo, but with just Paul and Tommy (Ringo) taking to the Tignish Elementary School crosswalk.
They don’t anticipate running out of their Tignish language anytime soon.
“But we’re willing to go to different languages if we have to,” Tommy quipped.
