Galway accent...

simu · 24-01-2004 9:34pm #1

Is there such a thing? (the way there are Cork and Dublin accents).

What is it like?

I've been living in Galway for a while but most ppl i meet just sound generically Irish to my ears.

Sarky · 24-01-2004 11:24pm

Apparently so, but damned if I could tell you what it's like, despite having lived in Galway almost all my life...

Robbo · 25-01-2004 2:13am

I've always found Galway to have a pretty neutral accent. When I lived in England last year, as a way of amusing myself, I did find myself laying on the "Darby
O'Gill" accent pretty thickly...

Panda · 25-01-2004 5:02pm

Theres no real obvious galway accent, no like the dubs, kerry, cork, donegal type accents anyway.

although in the more culchie parts, there is a certain thickness to it.....

simu · 26-01-2004 7:19pm

Originally posted by Panda
Theres no real obvious galway accent, no like the dubs, kerry, cork, donegal type accents anyway.

although in the more culchie parts, there is a certain thickness to it.....

Yeah, that's what I've found as well. I was just wondering if I'd missed out on all the ppl with more obvious Galway accents. Apparently not - guess there is no such thing.

Are there any expressions and words used in Galway only?

Sarky · 26-01-2004 7:23pm

I understand "tome" is used to denote something is good.

Don't have a clue why... Sounds very silly.

Anima · 26-01-2004 8:54pm

Yeah alot of moshers use the word "tome".

Retarded word if you ask me.

Gearoid · 27-01-2004 7:03pm

If u're ever watching TG4, wait for a bit when one of the Gaeltacht lads says an English word, eg Boston, It comes out like it's the first time they ever said it - mBoston, That I reckon is the a good example of Galway accent, can't speak for any other parts of Galway though.

simu · 27-01-2004 7:21pm

Originally posted by Gearoid
If u're ever watching TG4, wait for a bit when one of the Gaeltacht lads says an English word, eg Boston, It comes out like it's the first time they ever said it - mBoston, That I reckon is the a good example of Galway accent, can't speak for any other parts of Galway though.

Thanks. That's a tome idea. (never gonna use that word again!)

po0k · 29-01-2004 12:41am

Put a h after most occurences of "s"s ounds in words and you're halfway there.
Then speak faster.

On a secondary note, I move to have this board's title changed to "Wesht"

simu · 30-01-2004 3:45pm

Originally posted by SyxPak
Put a h after most occurences of "s"s ounds in words and you're halfway there.
Then speak faster.

On a secondary note, I move to have this board's title changed to "Wesht"

They do that in Kerry too though!

Wesht would be a much cooler name for this board!

DRakE · 30-01-2004 8:08pm

my brother says shmirnoff instead of smirnoff..

had to hit him for that one

po0k · 30-01-2004 11:17pm

He's true to his culture.

Robbo · 31-01-2004 12:10am

Originally posted by DRakE
my brother says shmirnoff instead of smirnoff..

Given enough of the stuff, everyone shlurs there wordsh.

Panda · 05-02-2004 4:11pm

theres loads of words including tome, that originate, i think, from that hole they call Tuam.

tome = fine
others include:
biore = girl
feek = kiss, feel up a girl also known as "to shift" or "shifting"

put them all together and you get:
"jaysus shes a tome biore, i wouldnt mind feeking her!"

Robbo · 05-02-2004 4:23pm

Beag (v): To Steal

Mace (v): To forcibly request the conveyancing of cash and other valuables from a person by threat of violence.

Monch (n): Comestibles. A sufficiently tasty snack or meal.

simu · 07-02-2004 10:27pm

Byore for a woman is Cork slang!

Munch, for food, I've heard a million times in Cork as well!

I'll watch out for that stuff in Galway all the same!

phobos · 07-02-2004 11:26pm

As a Galwegian myself, I can declare without any doubt that a strong Galway city accent exists. For those of you who live in galway -> 2 words: Claddagh Hackney.

If you've ever rang up Claddagh Hackney, you've no doubt heard your one saying

"...and where ya goin love?"

It's so apt, because people from suburbs like Claddagh (especially), Shantalla, Henry St, Mervue, Riverside, Ballybane etc...I've always found to have very strong Galway accents. I myself don't have one, but I definately know what it sounds like. It's not shammy like Tuam (that's completely different). It's not a bogger accent (with an extra 'h') thrown in every now and again. People with strong Galway accents tend to talk in a higher pitch. Any of you who went to St. Enda's seconday school in Salthill, just remember the teachers Mary Boyce & Brian Fahy, as they have well defined Galway city accents.

The accent I'm talking about, definately doesn't travel very far. I'd go as far as saying that the only place where the "real" Galway accent exists is in the places I've named above. After that it gets quite neutral.

;-phobos-)

jabberwock · 11-02-2004 3:41am

Just to clarify...

Tuam is a completely different orysta to Galway in the whole accent and language respect.

:ninja:

po0k · 14-02-2004 6:19am

Originally posted by phobos
As a Galwegian myself, I can declare without any doubt that a strong Galway city accent exists. For those of you who live in galway -> 2 words: Claddagh Hackney.

If you've ever rang up Claddagh Hackney, you've no doubt heard your one saying

"...and where ya goin love?"

It's so apt, because people from suburbs like Claddagh (especially), Shantalla, Henry St, Mervue, Riverside, Ballybane etc...I've always found to have very strong Galway accents. I myself don't have one, but I definately know what it sounds like. It's not shammy like Tuam (that's completely different). It's not a bogger accent (with an extra 'h') thrown in every now and again. People with strong Galway accents tend to talk in a higher pitch. Any of you who went to St. Enda's seconday school in Salthill, just remember the teachers Mary Boyce & Brian Fahy, as they have well defined Galway city accents.

The accent I'm talking about, definately doesn't travel very far. I'd go as far as saying that the only place where the "real" Galway accent exists is in the places I've named above. After that it gets quite neutral.

;-phobos-)

Anywhere wesht of Moycullen will bring you crashing back to Reality™ Wes

And as for beure being Corkonian, it's only cos it's a knacker city on par with Limerick and Ennis.

simu · 16-02-2004 11:02pm

I found out that "tome" comes from the Shelta word "tóm" meaning "good". Fascinating, eh?

spongebob · 17-02-2004 11:12pm

Originally posted by phobos
As a Galwegian myself, I can declare without any doubt that a strong Galway city accent exists. For those of you who live in galway -> 2 words: Claddagh Hackney.

If you've ever rang up Claddagh Hackney, you've no doubt heard your one saying

"...and where ya goin love?"

It's so apt, because people from suburbs like Claddagh (especially), Shantalla, Henry St, Mervue, Riverside, Ballybane etc...I've always found to have very strong Galway accents.

The accent I'm talking about, definately doesn't travel very far. I'd go as far as saying that the only place where the "real" Galway accent exists is in the places I've named above. After that it gets quite neutral.

;-phobos-)

Boremore (sic) as well as Corrib Park (Currub PeArk) has the Galway accent.

Women are generally addressed as "Luveens"

Very few people under 30 have it, Fr Griffin Rd tech and Moneen were engine rooms for years but now they all have sham (Castle Park) accents in Moneen .

M

M

po0k · 26-02-2004 6:09am

Motcheens Ted, bloody motcheens.

Agent7249 · 04-03-2004 12:02pm

Sounded like posh irish stoners to me, the galwegians that is. Didnt like the streets in the city, were too small for my likin.

Robbo · 04-03-2004 1:12pm

Originally posted by Agent7249
Didnt like the streets in the city, were too small for my likin.

It helps give the "Pamplona Effect" for the annual "Running of the Sheep"...

LegacyUser · 04-03-2004 5:33pm

Originally posted by simu
Byore for a woman is Cork slang!

Nope .... it comes from Tuam, same as 'feen' (a fella) did. A lot of these words and phrases originate amongst the traveller community and locals in Tuam. In fact, they have their own language in Tuam ... I remember a post about it here before. There was an argument too on Ray Darcy's FixIt Friday, where they eventualy conceded all these words are from Tuam.

And phobos > jesus christ I remember Mary Boyce well ... her Mervue accent would grate on your ears. God, the days of her coming in to school in the mornings on her little Honda 50. Scary ... it was 14 years ago ... seems like a lot less.

po0k · 10-03-2004 2:00am

Originally posted by Agent7249
Sounded like posh irish stoners to me, the galwegians that is.

That's just *some* of the warrick crowd.
Psuedo-hippies who live in great housing conditions off parents' money/grant/both.

Don't hold it against them

swalsh · 11-03-2004 4:12pm

you would find that the strongest accents come from the old parts of galway....bohermore, claddagh, shantalla, mervue..

po0k · 14-03-2004 8:33pm

But they're all Galway City accents.

There's South-East Galway, Tuam-accent, the west Galway accent and the Connies.

spongebob · 14-03-2004 11:59pm

Originally posted by SyxPak
the west Galway accent

Tuam 'lite' apart from that 'Bwarna' accent.

and the Connies.

There are 3 Connemara accents ...if you include the Aran Islands.

M

po0k · 18-03-2004 5:02am

Tuam-lite

Moycullen is becomming more and more built-p.
Full of feckin townies now.
And from what i can make out, Spiddel and Frubo are much the same.

That said, Oughterard is full of blow-ins/blow-backs.

ThrAx · 10-04-2004 5:47am

Originally posted by Anima
Yeah alot of moshers use the word "tome".

Retarded word if you ask me.

Wtf are u on about? Tome is a knacker slang word.

Anima · 10-04-2004 1:49pm

Yeah i know but all of the moshers in my school and their friends in other schools use it also.

ThrAx · 11-04-2004 4:43am

Pure bish boy like.

drusilla · 25-04-2004 1:17am

Originally posted by phobos
As a Galwegian myself, I can declare without any doubt that a strong Galway city accent exists.
Any of you who went to St. Enda's seconday school in Salthill, just remember the teachers Mary Boyce & Brian Fahy, as they have well defined Galway city accents.

The accent I'm talking about, definately doesn't travel very far. I'd go as far as saying that the only place where the "real" Galway accent exists is in the places I've named above. After that it gets quite neutral.

;-phobos-)

Pah! don't believe this guy for a second, he has a posh salthill accent!:D

DRakE · 25-04-2004 5:14am

And he frequents Halo!

The bloody posh artist

phobos · 29-04-2004 1:36pm

Originally posted by drusilla
Pah! don't believe this guy for a second, he has a posh salthill accent!:D

Pffft.....shup neighbour

;-phobos-)

diarmy · 03-05-2004 4:09pm

.

As a native of Kerry, (which has the WORST accent in Ireland, next to maybe Antrim) I've lived in Galway for almost 3 years. I was at home last summer and approached at work by a man and his wife who felt they needed to tell me I had a Galway accent. Much debate (and theorising late into the night - if ya know what I mean ;-) ) has been had about the Galway accent, and yes there is definately one. It's very flat... words sound the same, but different. It's a slight thing. Not as bad as the "d'ya know what I mean bye" that eminates from cork mouths every minute, or the "och sure I know aye" from Donegal accents, but rather a delicate balance of words in motion. Yes it's at a higher pitch maybe, but it is flatter. Galway accents are only really found (as someone said above) in the suburbs (Tirellan being the odd exception, where a rather 'Ballymun' style accent meets a culchie accent and gets lost, is found).

Tuam's accent is completely different. Kinda like a Wexford accent but with less humor. The city's accent is flat though.

Guess you'll have to come and see (or hear) it for yourself. But you'll soon forget it, because it's our little secret!!!!

diarmy

bluehairedfreak · 26-05-2004 11:51am

As someone who lives near Tuam (Belclare) I can clear up a lot of this.

First of all, there are many Galway accents. The same way there are different Cork,Dublin,Donegal accents.

Tuam alone has a few different ones.
There's the real sham accent (Tuam sham, not knack sham).- Talk with your mouth half closed, pronounce boys as bys (not like Cork though, its fast, if said properly it's more like baz).

Tuam has it's own slang. I have discovered over time that it is an accumulation of different slang words from around the country. It was brought to Tuam by the travellors when they were selling poitín, so that the RIC wouldn't know what they were up to.

"Any jils or biore who uses that cant is lakes"

There's the buffer accent with the extra h and all that.
My favourite is my own locate area's accent (which I don't actually have).
It's a slow accent, with a bit of a drone.
There are many expressions that are not unique to here but the combination of them together and the frequency with which they are used is unique to here.
"Tom was making out" means "Tom was saying" (not feeking)
A haggard is a rough field.
A closh is a puddle.
The one that always wrecks my head:
"I seen ya"
"Howyanow"(All one word)
Words are pronounced differently:
Folly - follow
Bastid - Bastard
Smella Cont - Smelly ****
Dine diz aze - dying diseased

The last three are usually used together
"Ya dirta rotin dine dis aze bastid, ya smella cont"

Fungtank · 27-05-2004 3:39pm

Originally posted by Anima
Yeah alot of moshers use the word "tome".

Retarded word if you ask me.

Its not 'tome' its tone!! At least get it right if your going to insult it.

Stark · 27-05-2004 3:40pm

I have noticed a Galway accent. It sounds quite like the "traditional Irish" accent you hear Irish people on tv speaking. I think a well-spoken Galway accent is quite sexy.

jabberwock · 27-05-2004 10:28pm

Its not 'tome' its tone!!

and where did you get that idea out of?

LegacyUser · 31-05-2004 6:24pm

Originally posted by jabberwock
and where did you get that idea out of?

Yep, it's tome.

jabberwock · 31-05-2004 6:38pm

is there many here from Galway and more importantly from the ghettos of Tuam???? :ninja:

Anima · 31-05-2004 6:58pm

Well done Fungtank.

daveathome_16 · 14-06-2004 11:47pm

there is a galway accent........

dunno how to describe it tho

living in galway for last year in college(from kilkenny) and ya would notice it

mostly just words they use tho
like i heard loads men (and a few women) calling women "beurs"

never heard that before i came to galway..........

ThrAx · 15-06-2004 11:21am

They say beure everywhere in the west. Its gammel ain't it?

simu · 16-06-2004 3:10am

To update: I have an idea of what a Galway accent is now as there was a bunch of Galway old-timers doing maintenance work in my apartment block a few weeks back. Plus, there was some film about James Joyce (the one with Ewan McGregor) on RTÉ a few days ago and the woman who played Nora Barnacle seemed to have a pretty good Galway accent.

ThrAx · 16-06-2004 3:48am

Originally posted by Fungtank
Its not 'tome' its tone!! At least get it right if your going to insult it.

What the ****ing hell are you on about? Its tome u thick. Are you even from Galway? Why would knackers go around talking about tones?

spongebob · 19-06-2004 2:45pm

Originally posted by simu
To update: I have an idea of what a Galway accent is now as there was a bunch of Galway old-timers doing maintenance work in my apartment block a few weeks back.

Its a dying accent owing to the growth of Galway in the past 30 years .

Relatively few people under 40 have it and feck all people under 20 from what I can make out.

I still think that its the funniest town accent in Ireland , unlike Limerick say.

M

ThrAx · 20-06-2004 1:07am

Originally posted by Muck
Its a dying accent owing to the growth of Galway in the past 30 years .

Relatively few people under 40 have it and feck all people under 20 from what I can make out.

I still think that its the funniest town accent in Ireland , unlike Limerick say.

M

It sure as hell ain't dying out amongst the knacker youth of Galway though. But it is true that the more upper/middle classes have well lost it by this stage.

Galway accent...

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