The D4 Accent - And how it gets around

Goose81 · 25-08-2009 8:56pm

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Did you see the two 17 year old twins from Dublin on the X-Factor?

First question Simon Cowell asks them is "If you're Irish, why are you talking with an American accent?"

I just watched that,thats not a D4 accent in the slightest,they are from Lucan ffs.
I wonder do many actually know what it is,for future reference Ruth O'Neill who was on xpose talent search thing has a strong one.

walshb · 25-08-2009 8:59pm

super_furry wrote: »

It's an interesting social phenomenon. Bob Geldof's the first person I know of to have one - listen to him during his Boomtown Rats day and he could be doing an AA Roadwatch report.

Geldof, although annoying, is one hell of a speaker and very articulate.
He doesn't have a D4 accent. He pronounces his words correctly.
The typical D4 accent lacks diction and pronunciation, because they
are so preoccupied with trying to sound, I don't know, posh?:rolleyes:

Kalashnikov_Kid · 25-08-2009 9:09pm

walshb wrote: »

Geldof, although annoying, is one hell of a speaker and very articulate.
He doesn't have a D4 accent. He pronounces his words correctly.
The typical D4 accent lacks diction and pronunciation, because they
are so preoccupied with trying to sound, I don't know, posh?:rolleyes:

Its where the 'D4' accent originated from though. I've an uncle who is of similar enough age to Geldof, grew up in Mount Merrion, went to Blackrock College, lives in Dun Laoighaire, and has a similar accent to Bob.

But you should here his kids! I nearly wet myself anytime I visit

walshb · 25-08-2009 9:12pm

Kalashnikov_Kid wrote: »

Its where the 'D4' accent originated from though. I've an uncle who is of similar enough age to Geldof, grew up in Mount Merrion, went to Blackrock College, lives in Dun Laoighaire, and has a similar accent to Bob.

But you should here his kids! I nearly wet myself anytime I visit

I can only imagine....Is Bob as scruffy in person as he is on tv?

raah! · 25-08-2009 9:24pm

Many of the local yacht sailing crowd where I'm from speak with a D4 accent. Cork that is.

procure11 · 25-08-2009 9:36pm

I still prefare it to some I have to listen to everyday

It..erm is...erm going..erm .. to be.. erm a good day.Horrific!

finisklin · 25-08-2009 9:44pm

Remember its a state of mind and people often mirror people/or a goal in the their lives that they wish to achieve/aspire to.

It would be an interesting exercise, if one could do it, to actually film some D4 people have an ordinary conversation. Once videoed over 5 minutes about simple, everyday topics (weather, traffic, etc.) play it back and turn the volume down. Does the body language equate to what a D4 person is saying? In other words are their affirmations through hand gestures, head and nose gestures etc.

Maybe I'm taking this too seriously

Reminder (to me) get a life!

Anyway you get the idea......

Kalashnikov_Kid · 25-08-2009 10:33pm

raah! wrote: »

Many of the local yacht sailing crowd where I'm from speak with a D4 accent. Cork that is.

That's another amazing phenomenon. I've known a Cork girl the last year or so and on meeting her first, and on several subsequent occassions, I honestly thought she was American. Unbelievable.

lightening · 25-08-2009 10:42pm

Kalashnikov_Kid wrote: »

I've known a Cork girl the last year or so and on meeting her first, and on several subsequent occassions, I honestly thought she was American. Unbelievable.

+ 2... had a next door neighbour, she was a solicitor from Cork and had a weird "Roight, yaw, I see whot you mean loike" accent. She only had the Cork accent when she was excited or angry.

Kalashnikov_Kid · 25-08-2009 10:57pm

lightening wrote: »

+ 2... had a next door neighbour, she was a solicitor from Cork and had a weird "Roight, yaw, I see whot you mean loike" accent. She only had the Cork accent when she was excited or angry.

Or drunk, from my experience

Nichololas · 26-08-2009 3:20am

I'm from D4. Literally no one here speaks with this supposed 'D4' accent, and I resent that it's associated with where I come from rather than the spanners who actually speak it. I've met people who took offense at the fact that I was from D4 purely because this accent supposedly originated here when in fact it didn't. I know quite a few old boys from around Sandymount and there is actually a specific accent, it's just nothing like what people imagine a D4 accent should be. Besides, it's not an accent that makes a person it's effing manners, and some of the people in this thread complaining need to cop the **** on.

hopalong85 · 26-08-2009 3:24am

meh, there's far worse accents in Ireland than d4 tbh. The howaya Dublin accent being just one, nevermind some country accents!

anonymous_joe · 26-08-2009 3:29am

Enlil_Nick wrote: »

I'm from D4. Literally no one here speaks with this supposed 'D4' accent, and I resent that it's associated with where I come from rather than the spanners who actually speak it. I've met people who took offense at the fact that I was from D4 purely because this accent supposedly originated here when in fact it didn't. I know quite a few old boys from around Sandymount and there is actually a specific accent, it's just nothing like what people imagine a D4 accent should be. Besides, it's not an accent that makes a person it's effing manners, and some of the people in this thread complaining need to cop the **** on.

I'm from D4, Sandymount too actually.

The accent's definitely real, I know I have it, but neither as strong nor as exaggerated as people are used to.

And let's point out, in most countries some people fake posh accents to sound, well, posh.

ynwa_17 · 26-08-2009 3:46am

I've lived in Cork for the past 10 years and have a cork accent with a slight hint of Northern Irish but if a relative phones me my voice automatically changes to a strong northern irish one. I actually have no idea why, it just comes on naturally

Piste · 26-08-2009 3:54am

I don't get what all the hate's about....It's just an accent, chill. Personally I think a South Dublin accent sounds much better than an inner city, "Fiar City" type accent which just grates on my ear. I think that majority of people with a South Dublin accent speak mildly enough, there are a few who totally exaggerate it and sound ridiculous though.

grenache · 26-08-2009 4:04am

raah! wrote: »

Many of the local yacht sailing crowd where I'm from speak with a D4 accent. Cork that is.

Crosshaven no doubt.

ynwa_17 · 26-08-2009 4:05am

grenache wrote: »

Crosshaven no doubt.

Or Kinsale. Too many "Americanized" girls there. Ruining my town they are :mad:

topper75 · 26-08-2009 8:29am

procure11 wrote: »

I still prefare it to some I have to listen to everyday

It..erm is...erm going..erm .. to be.. erm a good day.Horrific!

Now we are on to fillers. Fillers combined with this mock oh moy gawd accent are a deadly combination, that may induce a violent reaction in the poor listener (justified).

"So erm like you know.. and again, you know...whatever like aahhm... so, yeah"

stovelid · 26-08-2009 9:14am

Piste wrote: »

Personally I think a South Dublin accent sounds much better than an inner city, "Fiar City" type accent which just grates on my ear.

Can't we just feed both into a liquidizer?

asdasd · 26-08-2009 1:32pm

The American accent, actually originates from the west of Ireland accent from when the Irish emigrated in their thousands around the time of the famine and after..The american accent is basically an Irish accent, mixed in with so many other nationalities from around Europe and around the world that ended up as the American accent. A bit like a mix of Arnold Swharzeneger and a farmer from Galway.

It does sound like that, to a certain extent - it sounds German-Irish. The German-Irish Kelly family sounded a bit American, when they had a German-Irish accent.

But, I doubt it. Most Irish immigration was to the cities, and there you get some examples of Irish accents affecting the area - lack of th's in around Boston. However Boston's main accent is the Yankee accent ( probably also a sociolect), and that is what the Kennedy's spoke. It is clearly based on an English accent, but it doesn't sound like any today. The American accent is possibly caused by the accent of the older English settlers and Middle European. It could be West Country, or Yorkshire. But country, deeper than the posh English accent which would have been different then anyway.

In response to the poster who said that there are "countless" American accents - that is true but a bit misleading. Northern California has a northern Californian accent, but it is not spoken in San Francisco - to any large extent. It is a country drawl, reeking of marijuana. I have heard Americans ask each other where they were from even if they were born thousands of miles from each other - the standard American accent ( often the midwestern accent) is very pervasive. Could you hear any difference in accents when between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle? Of course neither of them probably came from the cities they were in at the time. They were thousands of miles apart though, and in most of the World that gets you many different languages, nevermind accents.

I was watching an episode of coast last week ( on t'iPlayer). Great series. They were in Ireland again - they can go around the Coast more than once seemingly - and did a fairly rapid circle from Galway to Dublin, including Galway, Cork, Waterford, and Dublin. The Irish accents changed rapidly every time, of course. All were understandable, though, as everybody who was interviewed was middle class. ( That neutralish Dublin accent - often used by engineers, technical people etc. is never mentioned but is fairly pleasant).

The British presenters has their own accents too, of course. Most had dialects. Alice Roberts who is from Bristol but whose accent is not - she has a sociolect - has a very pleasant accent, in fact the Post English accent has also changed over time becoming a lot less clipped and imperious. Nicer. Accents like that dont depend on the region people are born in, I dont think people are aware of a Liverpool posh accent. To speak with a Liverpool accent is to be considered working class, or lower middle class - posh Liverpudlians speak like Alice Roberts, like posh Bristolians. That possibly explains why you get a D4 accent in Clonmel, although Ireland has less of that ( but where did they go to school?).

For that reason, and back on topic, I dont think we can really condemn the new accent, accents change, more rapidly if they are associated with class than region. Anyway it is not the worst accent out there - Athlone, Dundalk, Drogheda etc.

aquaman · 26-08-2009 2:17pm

They say that people with a musical ear will pick up an accent very quickly.
So some people will go to England on a boat and come back on a bao, while others could live in the uk until 5 or six, move to Ireland and never pick up the accent. It's different for everyone.

As my granny used to say 'it doesn't matter the accent so long as the diction and grammer are correct'.
In other words, providing it's understandable to others who cares about an accent.
That being said, accents will always be a source of interest and fascination because they highlight differences, weather geographic or social between people..
So in a group of mainly D4 speakers the "bogger" accent will get a slagging. Whereas in a forum of mainly non-D4 accents the D4's will get it..

But back to the D4 type accent... what's yer ones name that used to be with Michael Flately and is now with some "celebrity lawyer"?
She has a peach of a D4 and I think she's from Cork...

Tim Robbins · 26-08-2009 2:24pm

Piste wrote: »

I don't get what all the hate's about....It's just an accent, chill. Personally I think a South Dublin accent sounds much better than an inner city, "Fiar City" type accent which just grates on my ear. I think that majority of people with a South Dublin accent speak mildly enough, there are a few who totally exaggerate it and sound ridiculous though.

The Fair City accent isn't put on - the actors all speak like that in real life.

vangoz · 26-08-2009 4:59pm

It bugs me when someone develops the accent just because they’re in some "Fancy" office job in the city centre and everyone else speaks like that... guy i went to school talks with the strongest D4 accent and he's from tallaght.... WTF. I work in an office round the corner from his and still speak with the same accent???? Its like speaking with that accent gains you more respect or makes you seem more professional in the workplace, the work you do and how you conduct yourself earns that.

eirebhoy · 26-08-2009 5:59pm

tallus wrote: »

That's spot on ..I worked with several guys from Donnybrook and they had normal Dublin accents, none of that D4 Crapola.

Dublin 4 is like a northside/southside thing all in itself. North Dublin 4 (South Lotts, Bath Avenue, Ringsend, Irishtown...) are working class area's with Dublin accents. Once you get to Ballsbridge, Sandymount you're getting posh but the real Dublin 4 is around Ringsend. In fact I was in the social welfare offices last week and a woman from Sandymount didn't know if she was under Dun Laoighaire county council or Dublin city council. She actually wasn't sure whether Sandymount was in Dublin 4. I really hope she only moved there very recently.

I think if anyone went into one of these pubs for the first time with the D4 stereotype they'd be in for a big surprise:
http://dynimg.rte.ie/00001f1810dr.jpg
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/9578/bathstwq1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Dublin1/Archiseek/IrishtownJune20098.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2731274677_fededed8a4.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2732106058_4159ddda41.jpg?v=0
http://www.dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/pubimages/theyacht.jpg
http://www.dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/pubimages/thelansdowne.jpg
(I could post plenty more pubs in which the people would be no different to any working class Dublin area)

Tim Robbins · 26-08-2009 9:53pm

eirebhoy wrote: »

I think if anyone went into one of these pubs for the first time with the D4 stereotype they'd be in for a big surprise
...

Course there'd be a surprise. There's always a surprise for the 1st time at anything.

MmmmmCheese · 26-08-2009 10:24pm

The D4 accent really isn't limited to Dublin. One of my Limerick friends says 'like' about 5 times in a sentence, another sounds like a Disney posterchild with her 'total awsomeness'! Another friend from Nenagh in the bog of Tipperary sounds like she just stepped off the plane from Los Angelas!

So its a nationwide thing really. But it is more common amongst the Abercrombie and Fitch wearing population!

Latchy · 26-08-2009 10:35pm

asdasd wrote: »

But, I doubt it. Most Irish immigration was to the cities, and there you get some examples of Irish accents affecting the area - lack of th's in around Boston. However Boston's main accent is the Yankee accent ( probably also a sociolect), and that is what the Kennedy's spoke

. That Kennedy / Boston accent sounds so different to other american accents .like the way they will say the word 'last ' is pronnounced 'Laaaaast ' ,like the word needs to be dragged out ,but intresting .

I dont think people are aware of a Liverpool posh accent. To speak with a Liverpool accent is to be considered working class, or lower middle class - posh Liverpudlians speak like Alice Roberts, like posh Bristolians. That possibly explains why you get a D4 accent in Clonmel, although Ireland has less of that ( but where did they go to school?).

As somebody who lives in that city I hear what your saying .A lot of people equate the Liverpool accent with being predominately working class when they have their own version of ' Dub 4 ' out in the suburbs .

For that reason, and back on topic, I dont think we can really condemn the new accent, accents change, more rapidly if they are associated with class than region. Anyway it is not the worst accent out there - Athlone, Dundalk, Drogheda etc.

Indeed like a lot of North county Dublin accents , the Southside version is in many cases, quite pleasent on the ears

Good post asdasd

gurramok · 26-08-2009 11:58pm

eirebhoy wrote: »

Dublin 4 is like a northside/southside thing all in itself. North Dublin 4 (South Lotts, Bath Avenue, Ringsend, Irishtown...) are working class area's with Dublin accents. Once you get to Ballsbridge, Sandymount you're getting posh but the real Dublin 4 is around Ringsend. In fact I was in the social welfare offices last week and a woman from Sandymount didn't know if she was under Dun Laoighaire county council or Dublin city council. She actually wasn't sure whether Sandymount was in Dublin 4. I really hope she only moved there very recently.

I think if anyone went into one of these pubs for the first time with the D4 stereotype they'd be in for a big surprise:
http://dynimg.rte.ie/00001f1810dr.jpg
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/9578/bathstwq1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/Dublin1/Archiseek/IrishtownJune20098.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2731274677_fededed8a4.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2732106058_4159ddda41.jpg?v=0
http://www.dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/pubimages/theyacht.jpg
http://www.dublinpubscene.com/thepubs/pubimages/thelansdowne.jpg
(I could post plenty more pubs in which the people would be no different to any working class Dublin area)

You left out 'The Hobblers End' aka Bunits in Ringsend

Agree that alot of Bath Ave or Nth Sandymount(Bath Ave is Sandymount) has working class accents, there is just a misconception out there that ALL people from there speak posh.

Have heard lots of country accents too in D4(immigrants

), at least they are not ashamed of how they talk.

Someone mentioned Blackrock, work with a bloke from there, heaviest Dub accent you could hear.

Again, its mostly teenagers(girls) and women in their 20's who put on the fake 'D4' accent. Funny thing is when they hit their 30's/40's, they magically sound like Irish people all over again since when they were first able to speak

daniel91 · 27-08-2009 12:06am

some people say i sound like i have Dublin accent! I was born in London, my mother is from Dublin, my father from Derry, moved from London when I was 5 to Galway and lived there to I was 12 until I moved up to Donegal and been living here for almost 6 years now. It really weird because so many people think i'm from Dublin when they hear my accent, but have never lived there! I actually dont know what accent i have!

Latchy · 27-08-2009 12:07am

Aren' t Irish People just wonderful ?

The D4 Accent - And how it gets around

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