I speak Hiberno-English!
Hiberno-English (from Latin Hibernia: "Ireland") or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland).
In the Republic of Ireland, English is one of two official languages, along with the Irish language, and is the country's de facto working language. Irish English's writing standards, such as its spelling, align with British English. However, Irish English's diverse accents and some of its grammatical structures and vocabulary are unique, with some influences deriving from the Irish language and some notably conservative phonological features: features no longer common in the accents of England or North America. Phonologists today often divide Irish English into four or five overarching dialects or accents: Ulster accents, West and South-West Irish accents (like the widely discussed Cork accent), various Dublin accents, and a non-regional standard accent expanding since only the last quarter of the twentieth century (outside of Northern Ireland).
Old English, as well as Anglo-Norman, was brought to Ireland as a result of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland of the late 12th century; this became the Forth and Bargy dialect, which is not mutually comprehensible with Modern English. A second wave of the English language was brought to Ireland in the 16th-century (Elizabethan) Early Modern period, making that variety of English spoken in Ireland the oldest outside of Great Britain, and it remains phonologically more conservative today than many other dialects of English.
Initially, Norman-English was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with largely the Irish language spoken throughout the rest of the country. Some small pockets remained of speakers who predominantly continued to use the English of that time; because of their sheer isolation these dialects developed into later (now-extinct) English-related varieties known as Yola in Wexford and Fingallian in Fingal, Dublin. These were no longer mutually intelligible with other English varieties. By the Tudor period, Irish culture and language had regained most of the territory lost to the invaders: even in the Pale, "all the common folk… for the most part are of Irish birth, Irish habit, and of Irish language".
However, the Tudor conquest and colonisation of Ireland in the 16th century led to the second wave of immigration by English speakers along with the forced suppression and decline in the status and use of the Irish language. By the mid-19th century English had become the majority language spoken in the country. It has retained this status to the present day, with even those whose first language is Irish being fluent in English as well. Today, there is little more than one percent of the population who speaks the Irish language natively, though it is required to be taught in all state-funded schools. Of the 40% of the population who self-identified as speaking some Irish in 2016, 4% speak Irish daily outside the education system.
Ulster English (or Northern Irish English) here refers collectively to the varieties of the Ulster province, including Northern Ireland and neighbouring counties outside of Northern Ireland, which has been influenced by Ulster Irish as well as the Scots language, brought over by Scottish settlers during the Plantation of Ulster. Its main subdivisions are Mid-Ulster English, South Ulster English and Ulster Scots, the latter of which is arguably a separate language. Ulster varieties distinctly pronounce:
An ordinarily grammatically structured (i.e. non-topicalised) declarative sentence, often, with a rising intonation at the end of the sentence (the type of intonation pattern that other English speakers usually associate with questions).
KIT as lowered, in the general vicinity of [ë~ɘ~ɪ̈].
STRUT as fronted and slightly rounded, more closely approaching [ɞ].
GOOSE and FOOT as merged in the general vicinity of [ʉ].
MOUTH with a backed on-glide and fronted off-glide, putting it in the vicinity of [ɐʏ~ɜʉ].
PRICE as [ɛɪ~ɜɪ], particularly before voiceless consonants.
FACE though nowadays commonly [eːə] or even [ɪːə] when in a closed syllable.
GOAT, almost always, as a slightly raised monophthong [o̝(:)].
A lack of happy-tensing; with the final vowel of happy, holy, money, etc.
Syllable-final /l/ occasionally as "dark [ɫ]", though especially before a consonant.
Notable lifelong native speakers
Christine Bleakley, Jamie Dornan, Rory McIlroy, Liam Neeson – "The Northern Irish accent is the sexiest in the UK, according to a new poll. The dulcet tones of Liam Neeson, Jamie Dornan, Christine Bleakley and Rory McIlroy helped ensure the accent came top of the popularity charts"
John Cole – "His distinctive Ulster accent"
Nadine Coyle – "I was born and raised in Derry and I can't change the way I talk".
Daniel O'Donnell – "the languid Donegal accent made famous by Daniel O'Donnell"
Colin Morgan – "Colin Morgan has revealed that fans of the show are often confused by his accent. The 23-year-old... is originally from Northern Ireland"
West and South-West Irish English here refers to broad varieties of Ireland's West and South-West Regions. Accents of both regions are known for:
The backing and slight lowering of MOUTH towards [ɐʊ~ʌʊ].
The more open starting point for NORTH and THOUGHT of [ɑːɹ~äːɹ] and [ɑː~ä], respectively.
The preservation of GOAT as monophthongal.
/θ/ and /ð/, respectively, as [t~tʰ]
In the West, /s/ and /z/ may respectively be pronounced by older speakers as /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ before a consonant, so fist sounds like fished, castle like cashle, and arrest like arresht.
South-West Irish English (often known, by specific county, as Cork English, Kerry English, or Limerick English) also features two major defining characteristics of its own. One is the pin–pen merger: the raising of DRESS to [ɪ] when before /n/ or /m/ (as in again or pen). The other is the intonation pattern of a slightly higher pitch followed by a significant drop in pitch on stressed long-vowel syllables (across multiple syllables or even within a single one), which is popularly heard in rapid conversation, by speakers of other English dialects, as a noticeable kind of undulating "sing-song" pattern.
Dublin English is highly internally diverse and refers collectively to the Irish English varieties immediately surrounding and within the metropolitan area of Dublin. Modern-day Dublin English largely lies on a phonological continuum,[citation needed] ranging from a more traditional, lower-prestige, local urban accent on the one end to a more recently developing, higher-prestige, non-local (regional and even supraregional) accent on the other end, whose most advanced characteristics only first emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s.[34] The accent that most strongly uses the traditional working-class features has been labelled by linguists as local Dublin English. Most speakers from Dublin and its suburbs, however, have accent features falling variously along the entire middle as well as the newer end of the spectrum, which together form what is called non-local Dublin English, spoken by middle- and upper-class natives of Dublin and the greater eastern Irish region surrounding the city. A subset of this variety, whose middle-class speakers mostly range in the middle section of the continuum, is called mainstream Dublin English. Mainstream Dublin English has become the basis of an accent that has otherwise become supraregional (see more below) everywhere except in the north of the country. The majority of Dubliners born since the 1980s (led particularly by women) has shifted towards the most innovative non-local accent, here called new Dublin English, which has gained ground over mainstream Dublin English and which is the most extreme variety in rejecting the local accent's traditional features.[35] The varieties at either extreme of the spectrum, local and new Dublin English, are both discussed in further detail below. In the most general terms, all varieties of Dublin English have the following identifying sounds that are often distinct from the rest of Ireland, pronouncing:
MOUTH as fronted and/or raised [æʊ~ɛʊ~eʊ].
PRICE as retracted and/or centralised [əɪ~ɑɪ].
GOAT as a diphthong in the range (local to non-local) of [ʌʊ~oʊ~əʊ].
Local Dublin English
Edit
Local Dublin English (or popular Dublin English) here refers to a traditional, broad, working-class variety spoken in the Republic of Ireland's capital city of Dublin. It is the only Irish English variety that in earlier history was non-rhotic; however, it is today weakly rhotic,[8][36] Known for diphthongisation of the GOAT and FACE vowels, the local Dublin accent is also known for a phenomenon called "vowel breaking", in which MOUTH, PRICE, GOOSE and FLEECE in closed syllables are "broken" into two syllables, approximating [ɛwə], [əjə], [uwə], and [ijə], respectively.[37]
New Dublin English
Edit
Evolving as a fashionable outgrowth of the mainstream non-local Dublin English, new Dublin English (also, advanced Dublin English and, formerly, fashionable Dublin English) is a youthful variety that originally began in the early 1990s among the "avant-garde" and now those aspiring to a non-local "urban sophistication".[38] New Dublin English itself, first associated with affluent and middle-class inhabitants of southside Dublin, is probably now spoken by a majority of Dubliners born since the 1980s.[34] It has replaced (yet was largely influenced by) moribund D4 English (often known as "Dublin 4" or "DART speak" or, mockingly, "Dortspeak"), which originated around the 1970s from Dubliners who rejected traditional notions of Irishness, regarding themselves as more trendy and sophisticated;[39] however, particular aspects of the D4 accent became quickly noticed and ridiculed as sounding affected, causing these features to fall out of fashion by the 1990s.[40] New Dublin English can have a fur–fair merger, horse–hoarse, and witch–which mergers, while resisting the traditionally Irish English cot–caught merger. This accent has since spread South to parts of East Co. Wicklow, West to parts of North Co. Kildare and parts of South Co. Meath. The accent can be also heard among the middle to upper classes in most major cities in the Republic today.
Standard Irish English
Edit
Supraregional Southern Irish English (sometimes, simply Supraregional Irish English or Standard Irish English[41]) refers to a variety spoken particularly by educated and middle- or higher-class Irish people, crossing regional boundaries throughout all of the Republic of Ireland, except the north. As mentioned earlier, mainstream Dublin English of the early- to mid-twentieth century is the direct influence and catalyst for this variety,[42] coming about by the suppression of certain markedly Irish features (and retention of other Irish features) as well as the adoption of certain standard British (i.e., non-Irish) features.[43] The result is a configuration of features that is still unique; in other words, this accent is not simply a wholesale shift towards British English. Most speakers born in the 1980s or later are showing fewer features of this late-twentieth-century mainstream supraregional form and more characteristics aligning to a rapidly spreading new Dublin accent (see more above, under "Non-local Dublin English").[44]
Ireland's supraregional dialect pronounces:
TRAP as quite open [a].
PRICE along a possible spectrum [aɪ~äɪ~ɑɪ], with innovative [ɑɪ] particularly more common before voiced consonants,[36] notably including /r/.
MOUTH as starting fronter and often more raised than other dialects: [aʊ~æʊ~ɛʊ].
START may be [äːɹ] (listen), with a backer vowel than in other Irish accents, though still relatively fronted.
THOUGHT as [ɒː].
NORTH as [ɒːɹ], almost always separate from FORCE [oːɹ], keeping words like war and wore, or horse and hoarse, pronounced distinctly.
CHOICE as [ɒɪ].
GOAT as a diphthong, approaching [oʊ] (listen), as in the mainstream United States, or [əʊ] (listen), as in mainstream England.
STRUT as higher, fronter, and often rounder [ə~ʊ].
Overview of pronunciation and phonology
The following charts list the vowels typical of each Irish English dialect as well as the several distinctive consonants of Irish English. Phonological characteristics of overall Irish English are given as well as categorisations into five major divisions of Hiberno-English: Ulster; West & South-West Ireland; local Dublin; new Dublin; and supraregional (southern) Ireland. Features of mainstream non-local Dublin English fall on a range between "local Dublin" and "new Dublin".
Monophthongs
The following monothong sounds are defining characteristics of Irish English:
STRUT is typically centralised in the mouth and often somewhat more rounded than other standard English varieties, such as Received Pronunciation in England or General American in the United States.
There is a partial trap-bath split in most Irish English varieties (cf. Variation in Australian English).
There is inconsistency regarding the lot–cloth split and the cot–caught merger; certain Irish English dialects have these phenomena while others do not. The cot-caught merger by definition rules out the presence of the lot-cloth split.
Due to Gaelic influence, an epenthetic schwa is often inserted between sonorants, e.g. film [ˈfɪləm] and form [ˈfɒɹəm].
The words any and many are often exceptionally pronounced with /æ/, i.e. rhyme with Annie and Danny.
A number of Irish language loan words are used in Hiberno-English, particularly in an official state capacity. For example, the head of government is the Taoiseach, the deputy head is the Tánaiste, the parliament is the Oireachtas and its lower house is Dáil Éireann. Less formally, people also use loan words in day-to-day speech, although this has been on the wane in recent decades and among the young.
Another group of Hiberno-English words are those derived from the Irish language. Some are words in English that have entered into general use, while others are unique to Ireland. These words and phrases are often Anglicised versions of words in Irish or direct translations into English. In the latter case, they often give meaning to a word or phrase that is generally not found in wider English use.
The syntax of the Irish language is quite different from that of English. Various aspects of Irish syntax have influenced Hiberno-English, though many of these idiosyncrasies are disappearing in suburban areas and among the younger population.
The other major influence on Hiberno-English that sets it apart from modern English in general is the retention of words and phrases from Old- and Middle-English.
From Irish:
Reduplication is an alleged trait of Hiberno-English strongly associated with Stage Irish and Hollywood films.
the Irish ar bith corresponds to English "at all", so the stronger ar chor ar bith gives rise to the form "at all at all".
"I've no time at all at all."
ar eagla go … (lit. "on fear that …") means "in case …". The variant ar eagla na heagla, (lit. "on fear of fear") implies the circumstances are more unlikely. The corresponding Hiberno-English phrases are "to be sure" and the very rarely used "to be sure to be sure". In this context, these are not, as might be thought, disjuncts meaning "certainly"; they could better be translated "in case" and "just in case". Nowadays normally spoken with conscious levity.
"I brought some cash in case I saw a bargain, and my credit card to be sure to be sure."
Yes and no:
Irish has no words that directly translate as "yes" or "no", and instead repeats the verb used in the question, negated if necessary, to answer. Hiberno-English uses "yes" and "no" less frequently than other English dialects as speakers can repeat the verb, positively or negatively, instead of (or in redundant addition to) using "yes" or "no".
"Are you coming home soon?" – "I am."
"Is your mobile charged?" – "It isn't."
This is not limited only to the verb to be: it is also used with to have when used as an auxiliary; and, with other verbs, the verb to do is used. This is most commonly used for intensification, especially in Ulster English.
"This is strong stuff, so it is."
"We won the game, so we did."
Recent past construction:
Irish indicates recency of an action by adding "after" to the present continuous (a verb ending in "-ing"), a construction known as the "hot news perfect" or "after perfect". The idiom for "I had done X when I did Y" is "I was after doing X when I did Y", modelled on the Irish usage of the compound prepositions i ndiaidh, tar éis, and in éis: bhí mé tar éis/i ndiaidh/in éis X a dhéanamh, nuair a rinne mé Y.
"Why did you hit him?" – "He was after giving me cheek." (he had [just beforehand] been cheeky to me).
A similar construction is seen where exclamation is used in describing a recent event:
"I'm after hitting him with the car!" Táim tar éis é a bhualadh leis an gcarr!
"She's after losing five stone in five weeks!"
When describing less astonishing or significant events, a structure resembling the German perfect can be seen:
"I have the car fixed." Tá an carr deisithe agam.
"I have my breakfast eaten." Tá mo bhricfeasta ite agam.
This correlates with an analysis of "H1 Irish" proposed by Adger & Mitrovic, in a deliberate parallel to the status of German as a V2 language.
Recent past construction has been directly adopted into Newfoundland English, where it is common in both formal and casual register. In rural areas of the Avalon peninsula, where Newfoundland Irish was spoken until the early 20th century, it is the grammatical standard for describing whether or not an action has occurred.
The reflexive version of pronouns is often used for emphasis or to refer indirectly to a particular person, etc., according to context. Herself, for example, might refer to the speaker's boss or to the woman of the house. Use of herself or himself in this way often indicates that the speaker attributes some degree of arrogance or selfishness to the person in question. Note also the indirectness of this construction relative to, for example, She's coming now. This reflexive pronoun can also be used to describe a partner – "I was with himself last night." or "How's herself doing?"
"'Tis herself that's coming now." Is í féin atá ag teacht anois.
"Was it all of ye or just yourself?" An sibhse ar fad nó tusa féin a bhí i gceist?
Prepositional pronouns
Edit
There are some language forms that stem from the fact that there is no verb to have in Irish. Instead, possession is indicated in Irish by using the preposition at, (in Irish, ag.). To be more precise, Irish uses a prepositional pronoun that combines ag "at" and mé "me" to create agam. In English, the verb "to have" is used, along with a "with me" or "on me" that derives from Tá … agam. This gives rise to the frequent
"Do you have the book?" – "I have it with me."
"Have you change for the bus on you?"
"He will not shut up if he has drink taken."
Somebody who can speak a language "has" a language, in which Hiberno-English has borrowed the grammatical form used in Irish.
"She does not have Irish." Níl Gaeilge aici. literally "There is no Irish at her".
When describing something, many Hiberno-English speakers use the term "in it" where "there" would usually be used. This is due to the Irish word ann (pronounced "oun" or "on") fulfilling both meanings.
"Is it yourself that is in it?" An tú féin atá ann?
"Is there any milk in it?" An bhfuil bainne ann?
Another idiom is this thing or that thing described as "this man here" or "that man there", which also features in Newfoundland English in Canada.
"This man here." An fear seo. (cf. the related anseo = here)
"That man there." An fear sin. (cf. the
In the Republic of Ireland, English is one of two official languages, along with the Irish language, and is the country's de facto working language. Irish English's writing standards, such as its spelling, align with British English. However, Irish English's diverse accents and some of its grammatical structures and vocabulary are unique, with some influences deriving from the Irish language and some notably conservative phonological features: features no longer common in the accents of England or North America. Phonologists today often divide Irish English into four or five overarching dialects or accents: Ulster accents, West and South-West Irish accents (like the widely discussed Cork accent), various Dublin accents, and a non-regional standard accent expanding since only the last quarter of the twentieth century (outside of Northern Ireland).
Old English, as well as Anglo-Norman, was brought to Ireland as a result of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland of the late 12th century; this became the Forth and Bargy dialect, which is not mutually comprehensible with Modern English. A second wave of the English language was brought to Ireland in the 16th-century (Elizabethan) Early Modern period, making that variety of English spoken in Ireland the oldest outside of Great Britain, and it remains phonologically more conservative today than many other dialects of English.
Initially, Norman-English was mainly spoken in an area known as the Pale around Dublin, with largely the Irish language spoken throughout the rest of the country. Some small pockets remained of speakers who predominantly continued to use the English of that time; because of their sheer isolation these dialects developed into later (now-extinct) English-related varieties known as Yola in Wexford and Fingallian in Fingal, Dublin. These were no longer mutually intelligible with other English varieties. By the Tudor period, Irish culture and language had regained most of the territory lost to the invaders: even in the Pale, "all the common folk… for the most part are of Irish birth, Irish habit, and of Irish language".
However, the Tudor conquest and colonisation of Ireland in the 16th century led to the second wave of immigration by English speakers along with the forced suppression and decline in the status and use of the Irish language. By the mid-19th century English had become the majority language spoken in the country. It has retained this status to the present day, with even those whose first language is Irish being fluent in English as well. Today, there is little more than one percent of the population who speaks the Irish language natively, though it is required to be taught in all state-funded schools. Of the 40% of the population who self-identified as speaking some Irish in 2016, 4% speak Irish daily outside the education system.
Ulster English (or Northern Irish English) here refers collectively to the varieties of the Ulster province, including Northern Ireland and neighbouring counties outside of Northern Ireland, which has been influenced by Ulster Irish as well as the Scots language, brought over by Scottish settlers during the Plantation of Ulster. Its main subdivisions are Mid-Ulster English, South Ulster English and Ulster Scots, the latter of which is arguably a separate language. Ulster varieties distinctly pronounce:
An ordinarily grammatically structured (i.e. non-topicalised) declarative sentence, often, with a rising intonation at the end of the sentence (the type of intonation pattern that other English speakers usually associate with questions).
KIT as lowered, in the general vicinity of [ë~ɘ~ɪ̈].
STRUT as fronted and slightly rounded, more closely approaching [ɞ].
GOOSE and FOOT as merged in the general vicinity of [ʉ].
MOUTH with a backed on-glide and fronted off-glide, putting it in the vicinity of [ɐʏ~ɜʉ].
PRICE as [ɛɪ~ɜɪ], particularly before voiceless consonants.
FACE though nowadays commonly [eːə] or even [ɪːə] when in a closed syllable.
GOAT, almost always, as a slightly raised monophthong [o̝(:)].
A lack of happy-tensing; with the final vowel of happy, holy, money, etc.
Syllable-final /l/ occasionally as "dark [ɫ]", though especially before a consonant.
Notable lifelong native speakers
Christine Bleakley, Jamie Dornan, Rory McIlroy, Liam Neeson – "The Northern Irish accent is the sexiest in the UK, according to a new poll. The dulcet tones of Liam Neeson, Jamie Dornan, Christine Bleakley and Rory McIlroy helped ensure the accent came top of the popularity charts"
John Cole – "His distinctive Ulster accent"
Nadine Coyle – "I was born and raised in Derry and I can't change the way I talk".
Daniel O'Donnell – "the languid Donegal accent made famous by Daniel O'Donnell"
Colin Morgan – "Colin Morgan has revealed that fans of the show are often confused by his accent. The 23-year-old... is originally from Northern Ireland"
West and South-West Irish English here refers to broad varieties of Ireland's West and South-West Regions. Accents of both regions are known for:
The backing and slight lowering of MOUTH towards [ɐʊ~ʌʊ].
The more open starting point for NORTH and THOUGHT of [ɑːɹ~äːɹ] and [ɑː~ä], respectively.
The preservation of GOAT as monophthongal.
/θ/ and /ð/, respectively, as [t~tʰ]
In the West, /s/ and /z/ may respectively be pronounced by older speakers as /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ before a consonant, so fist sounds like fished, castle like cashle, and arrest like arresht.
South-West Irish English (often known, by specific county, as Cork English, Kerry English, or Limerick English) also features two major defining characteristics of its own. One is the pin–pen merger: the raising of DRESS to [ɪ] when before /n/ or /m/ (as in again or pen). The other is the intonation pattern of a slightly higher pitch followed by a significant drop in pitch on stressed long-vowel syllables (across multiple syllables or even within a single one), which is popularly heard in rapid conversation, by speakers of other English dialects, as a noticeable kind of undulating "sing-song" pattern.
Dublin English is highly internally diverse and refers collectively to the Irish English varieties immediately surrounding and within the metropolitan area of Dublin. Modern-day Dublin English largely lies on a phonological continuum,[citation needed] ranging from a more traditional, lower-prestige, local urban accent on the one end to a more recently developing, higher-prestige, non-local (regional and even supraregional) accent on the other end, whose most advanced characteristics only first emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s.[34] The accent that most strongly uses the traditional working-class features has been labelled by linguists as local Dublin English. Most speakers from Dublin and its suburbs, however, have accent features falling variously along the entire middle as well as the newer end of the spectrum, which together form what is called non-local Dublin English, spoken by middle- and upper-class natives of Dublin and the greater eastern Irish region surrounding the city. A subset of this variety, whose middle-class speakers mostly range in the middle section of the continuum, is called mainstream Dublin English. Mainstream Dublin English has become the basis of an accent that has otherwise become supraregional (see more below) everywhere except in the north of the country. The majority of Dubliners born since the 1980s (led particularly by women) has shifted towards the most innovative non-local accent, here called new Dublin English, which has gained ground over mainstream Dublin English and which is the most extreme variety in rejecting the local accent's traditional features.[35] The varieties at either extreme of the spectrum, local and new Dublin English, are both discussed in further detail below. In the most general terms, all varieties of Dublin English have the following identifying sounds that are often distinct from the rest of Ireland, pronouncing:
MOUTH as fronted and/or raised [æʊ~ɛʊ~eʊ].
PRICE as retracted and/or centralised [əɪ~ɑɪ].
GOAT as a diphthong in the range (local to non-local) of [ʌʊ~oʊ~əʊ].
Local Dublin English
Edit
Local Dublin English (or popular Dublin English) here refers to a traditional, broad, working-class variety spoken in the Republic of Ireland's capital city of Dublin. It is the only Irish English variety that in earlier history was non-rhotic; however, it is today weakly rhotic,[8][36] Known for diphthongisation of the GOAT and FACE vowels, the local Dublin accent is also known for a phenomenon called "vowel breaking", in which MOUTH, PRICE, GOOSE and FLEECE in closed syllables are "broken" into two syllables, approximating [ɛwə], [əjə], [uwə], and [ijə], respectively.[37]
New Dublin English
Edit
Evolving as a fashionable outgrowth of the mainstream non-local Dublin English, new Dublin English (also, advanced Dublin English and, formerly, fashionable Dublin English) is a youthful variety that originally began in the early 1990s among the "avant-garde" and now those aspiring to a non-local "urban sophistication".[38] New Dublin English itself, first associated with affluent and middle-class inhabitants of southside Dublin, is probably now spoken by a majority of Dubliners born since the 1980s.[34] It has replaced (yet was largely influenced by) moribund D4 English (often known as "Dublin 4" or "DART speak" or, mockingly, "Dortspeak"), which originated around the 1970s from Dubliners who rejected traditional notions of Irishness, regarding themselves as more trendy and sophisticated;[39] however, particular aspects of the D4 accent became quickly noticed and ridiculed as sounding affected, causing these features to fall out of fashion by the 1990s.[40] New Dublin English can have a fur–fair merger, horse–hoarse, and witch–which mergers, while resisting the traditionally Irish English cot–caught merger. This accent has since spread South to parts of East Co. Wicklow, West to parts of North Co. Kildare and parts of South Co. Meath. The accent can be also heard among the middle to upper classes in most major cities in the Republic today.
Standard Irish English
Edit
Supraregional Southern Irish English (sometimes, simply Supraregional Irish English or Standard Irish English[41]) refers to a variety spoken particularly by educated and middle- or higher-class Irish people, crossing regional boundaries throughout all of the Republic of Ireland, except the north. As mentioned earlier, mainstream Dublin English of the early- to mid-twentieth century is the direct influence and catalyst for this variety,[42] coming about by the suppression of certain markedly Irish features (and retention of other Irish features) as well as the adoption of certain standard British (i.e., non-Irish) features.[43] The result is a configuration of features that is still unique; in other words, this accent is not simply a wholesale shift towards British English. Most speakers born in the 1980s or later are showing fewer features of this late-twentieth-century mainstream supraregional form and more characteristics aligning to a rapidly spreading new Dublin accent (see more above, under "Non-local Dublin English").[44]
Ireland's supraregional dialect pronounces:
TRAP as quite open [a].
PRICE along a possible spectrum [aɪ~äɪ~ɑɪ], with innovative [ɑɪ] particularly more common before voiced consonants,[36] notably including /r/.
MOUTH as starting fronter and often more raised than other dialects: [aʊ~æʊ~ɛʊ].
START may be [äːɹ] (listen), with a backer vowel than in other Irish accents, though still relatively fronted.
THOUGHT as [ɒː].
NORTH as [ɒːɹ], almost always separate from FORCE [oːɹ], keeping words like war and wore, or horse and hoarse, pronounced distinctly.
CHOICE as [ɒɪ].
GOAT as a diphthong, approaching [oʊ] (listen), as in the mainstream United States, or [əʊ] (listen), as in mainstream England.
STRUT as higher, fronter, and often rounder [ə~ʊ].
Overview of pronunciation and phonology
The following charts list the vowels typical of each Irish English dialect as well as the several distinctive consonants of Irish English. Phonological characteristics of overall Irish English are given as well as categorisations into five major divisions of Hiberno-English: Ulster; West & South-West Ireland; local Dublin; new Dublin; and supraregional (southern) Ireland. Features of mainstream non-local Dublin English fall on a range between "local Dublin" and "new Dublin".
Monophthongs
The following monothong sounds are defining characteristics of Irish English:
STRUT is typically centralised in the mouth and often somewhat more rounded than other standard English varieties, such as Received Pronunciation in England or General American in the United States.
There is a partial trap-bath split in most Irish English varieties (cf. Variation in Australian English).
There is inconsistency regarding the lot–cloth split and the cot–caught merger; certain Irish English dialects have these phenomena while others do not. The cot-caught merger by definition rules out the presence of the lot-cloth split.
Due to Gaelic influence, an epenthetic schwa is often inserted between sonorants, e.g. film [ˈfɪləm] and form [ˈfɒɹəm].
The words any and many are often exceptionally pronounced with /æ/, i.e. rhyme with Annie and Danny.
A number of Irish language loan words are used in Hiberno-English, particularly in an official state capacity. For example, the head of government is the Taoiseach, the deputy head is the Tánaiste, the parliament is the Oireachtas and its lower house is Dáil Éireann. Less formally, people also use loan words in day-to-day speech, although this has been on the wane in recent decades and among the young.
Another group of Hiberno-English words are those derived from the Irish language. Some are words in English that have entered into general use, while others are unique to Ireland. These words and phrases are often Anglicised versions of words in Irish or direct translations into English. In the latter case, they often give meaning to a word or phrase that is generally not found in wider English use.
The syntax of the Irish language is quite different from that of English. Various aspects of Irish syntax have influenced Hiberno-English, though many of these idiosyncrasies are disappearing in suburban areas and among the younger population.
The other major influence on Hiberno-English that sets it apart from modern English in general is the retention of words and phrases from Old- and Middle-English.
From Irish:
Reduplication is an alleged trait of Hiberno-English strongly associated with Stage Irish and Hollywood films.
the Irish ar bith corresponds to English "at all", so the stronger ar chor ar bith gives rise to the form "at all at all".
"I've no time at all at all."
ar eagla go … (lit. "on fear that …") means "in case …". The variant ar eagla na heagla, (lit. "on fear of fear") implies the circumstances are more unlikely. The corresponding Hiberno-English phrases are "to be sure" and the very rarely used "to be sure to be sure". In this context, these are not, as might be thought, disjuncts meaning "certainly"; they could better be translated "in case" and "just in case". Nowadays normally spoken with conscious levity.
"I brought some cash in case I saw a bargain, and my credit card to be sure to be sure."
Yes and no:
Irish has no words that directly translate as "yes" or "no", and instead repeats the verb used in the question, negated if necessary, to answer. Hiberno-English uses "yes" and "no" less frequently than other English dialects as speakers can repeat the verb, positively or negatively, instead of (or in redundant addition to) using "yes" or "no".
"Are you coming home soon?" – "I am."
"Is your mobile charged?" – "It isn't."
This is not limited only to the verb to be: it is also used with to have when used as an auxiliary; and, with other verbs, the verb to do is used. This is most commonly used for intensification, especially in Ulster English.
"This is strong stuff, so it is."
"We won the game, so we did."
Recent past construction:
Irish indicates recency of an action by adding "after" to the present continuous (a verb ending in "-ing"), a construction known as the "hot news perfect" or "after perfect". The idiom for "I had done X when I did Y" is "I was after doing X when I did Y", modelled on the Irish usage of the compound prepositions i ndiaidh, tar éis, and in éis: bhí mé tar éis/i ndiaidh/in éis X a dhéanamh, nuair a rinne mé Y.
"Why did you hit him?" – "He was after giving me cheek." (he had [just beforehand] been cheeky to me).
A similar construction is seen where exclamation is used in describing a recent event:
"I'm after hitting him with the car!" Táim tar éis é a bhualadh leis an gcarr!
"She's after losing five stone in five weeks!"
When describing less astonishing or significant events, a structure resembling the German perfect can be seen:
"I have the car fixed." Tá an carr deisithe agam.
"I have my breakfast eaten." Tá mo bhricfeasta ite agam.
This correlates with an analysis of "H1 Irish" proposed by Adger & Mitrovic, in a deliberate parallel to the status of German as a V2 language.
Recent past construction has been directly adopted into Newfoundland English, where it is common in both formal and casual register. In rural areas of the Avalon peninsula, where Newfoundland Irish was spoken until the early 20th century, it is the grammatical standard for describing whether or not an action has occurred.
The reflexive version of pronouns is often used for emphasis or to refer indirectly to a particular person, etc., according to context. Herself, for example, might refer to the speaker's boss or to the woman of the house. Use of herself or himself in this way often indicates that the speaker attributes some degree of arrogance or selfishness to the person in question. Note also the indirectness of this construction relative to, for example, She's coming now. This reflexive pronoun can also be used to describe a partner – "I was with himself last night." or "How's herself doing?"
"'Tis herself that's coming now." Is í féin atá ag teacht anois.
"Was it all of ye or just yourself?" An sibhse ar fad nó tusa féin a bhí i gceist?
Prepositional pronouns
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There are some language forms that stem from the fact that there is no verb to have in Irish. Instead, possession is indicated in Irish by using the preposition at, (in Irish, ag.). To be more precise, Irish uses a prepositional pronoun that combines ag "at" and mé "me" to create agam. In English, the verb "to have" is used, along with a "with me" or "on me" that derives from Tá … agam. This gives rise to the frequent
"Do you have the book?" – "I have it with me."
"Have you change for the bus on you?"
"He will not shut up if he has drink taken."
Somebody who can speak a language "has" a language, in which Hiberno-English has borrowed the grammatical form used in Irish.
"She does not have Irish." Níl Gaeilge aici. literally "There is no Irish at her".
When describing something, many Hiberno-English speakers use the term "in it" where "there" would usually be used. This is due to the Irish word ann (pronounced "oun" or "on") fulfilling both meanings.
"Is it yourself that is in it?" An tú féin atá ann?
"Is there any milk in it?" An bhfuil bainne ann?
Another idiom is this thing or that thing described as "this man here" or "that man there", which also features in Newfoundland English in Canada.
"This man here." An fear seo. (cf. the related anseo = here)
"That man there." An fear sin. (cf. the
