Irish Accent

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IRISH ACCENT

Transcript of Irish Accent

Page 1: Irish Accent

IRISH ACCENT

Page 2: Irish Accent

GENERAL INFORMATION

2 official languages: Hiberno-English → Irish and English

(brought during the Norman invasion in the 12th century)

since the late 19th century, English has been dominant first

language

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IRISH ENGLISH

English spoken in Ireland ≠ English spoken in Britain

speaking to a native → “mid-Atlantic” accent, words that are

common across the English-speaking world

when they speak among themselves → more difficulties in

comprehension (some of the Irish accents are quite difficult, they

generally speak quickly , hard to keep up)

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BROADEST CATEGORIES OF SPEECH

East Coast Irish English (Dublin)

“local Dublin” → “working-class” or “inner city” accent

“mainstream Dublin” → typical accent spoken by middle-class

“new Dublin” → accent amoung younger people (born after 1970)

South-Western Irish Accents (County Cork, County Mayo) → influence

from Irish Gaelic

Northern Irish Accents (Ulster)

South Ulster English

Mid Ulster English

Ulster Scots

Irish accent is said to be rhotic (speakers pronounce /r/ in all positions)

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HISTORY

4 historic phases

Old Irish (600 – 900 A.D.)

Middle Irish (900 – 1200 A.D.)

Early Modern Irish (1200 – 1650 A.D.)

Modern Irish (1650 – until now)

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“Statue of Kilkenny” (1366) → strenghten the English authority

in Ireland (English people weren’t allowed to speak the Irish

language)

“The Penal Laws” (1695) → Irish people were denied formal

education, English continued developing till the 18th century

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN IRISH ACCENT AND A BRITISH ACCENT

Irish people talk faster than English people

in an Irish accent the “h” is heard right after “w” → to

distinguish whales and Wales

Irish sounds similar to American

the further north you go, the more flattened the vowels are,

whereas vowels pronounced in and around Dublin are similar to

vowels pronounced in England

some Irish accents are similar to Scottish accents

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LINKS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU2wY0sKf3k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDWcXKPRELg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liCiI8_O7rI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbgrFFK9M24&feature=related

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THE END!