Linguistics

This is a tricky topic to write on. It's tough to encapsulate the Irish accent and slang... but here are a few things that have stood out to me either because of how much they are used, or because it's strange or funny. Some are more obvious and expected, others quite quirky.


adding "so" to the end of sentences
"d"  replaces any "t" or "th" sounds- eg. "they" becomes "dey", "the" is "duh"
"ye" instead of "you"
the sidewalk is the "footpath"
quay is pronounced "key"
apartment is "flat", and roommates are "flatmates"
when saying the time, it's not "eight thirty", it's "half eight"
sort of slur words- don't say all the vowels basically
...but enunciate- say each word clearly
things are grand, not great
when you pause when talking, it's "em" not "um"
people actually say bollocks
chips are french fries, crisps are potato chips
talk very fast...

Maybe this is why I have a hard time doing an Irish accent? These are just the few that I can think of right now. If I realize more, I'll add them to the end of future posts.

Oh, and I had another moment today that made me feel Irish- a girl sought me out and gave me a handout for a program for Irish students to travel to the US next summer...  in my head, I said, "thanks, I plan to!"