Tignish Facebook group embraces humour and P.E.I. dialect

The people of Tignish, P.E.I., are known for their community pride and good sense of humour. 

It's pretty obvious if you visit the Facebook page Tignish Talk.

The page was started by Joanne Perry who lives in the area, but it didn't start out as Tignish Talk. 

Ten years ago when she and her husband Tommy Eugene Perry owned Eugene's General Store, they launched a Facebook page to advertise, but last year they sold the business, Perry said.

I've had an awful lot of people comment that live far away from home, that whenever they are looking at these videos it sparks a little bit of, I don't know, it sparks a little bit of love inside them.— Joanne Perry

"I did not want to do away with this group page because we developed so many memories."

Then about four weeks ago, her daughter had a suggestion to change the group name and turn it into a fun hobby, Perry said.

"That's when we came up with the idea of a Tignish Talk page, and believe me it's just gone wild because so many people daily are joining my group. Now, it has grown into a bit of a comedy section."

Word of the day

Perry's husband came up with the idea of creating a Tignish Word of the Day with family friend Paul Shea because people from the area tend to use a lot of slang words, she said.

"The amount of people who have been wanting to join the group because that word of the day is just unreal right now."

Everyone has been really positive about this and everyone keeps asking for more.— Joanne Perry

One of the words of the day was 'maze'. Her husband will use it in a sentence, Perry said.

"We maze well go home."

People get a good laugh, Perry said.

Community engagement

Lately, the group has been getting personal messages from members suggesting new words.

Usually, she discusses the words that are going to be featured over dinner with her husband, Shea and his wife, Perry said.

Luckily, she hasn't had anyone take the jokes in a negative light.

"Everyone has been really positive about this and everyone keeps asking for more," Perry said.

Bringing Islanders back home

She even had an Islander living in Germany reach out.

"I think it really brings a lot of people back home again, especially those who are living away," she said. "I've had an awful lot of people comment that live far away from home, that whenever they are looking at these videos it sparks a little bit of, I don't know, it sparks a little bit of love inside them."

Perry created the page to get a laugh and be happy, she said.

"I think it's important to keep this sense of community alive, but I really don't think we are making fun of ourselves. I think we're just kind of having fun with ourselves."

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