When the Jamaicans came to conquer Ireland and got shipwrecked off Cork

BossArky

A few years ago whilst at Uni a classmate of mine from Cork came out with a theory on how the Cork accent and Jamaican accent can sound similar on particular words. He did gave a few example words, which I cannot remember now. At the time you could see similarities between the two accents.

His story goes that in the past a bunch of Jamaicans were coming to Ireland with the intend of conquering it. A storm blew up just off the coast, the ship goes down and a few who don't drown manage to crawl onto the shore, mingle with the commuity and influence the accent, and hey presto the Cork accent is what it is today.

I told this story to a group in the pub last night, oh how we laughed.

kc66

They look like Jamaicans down there too!

connundrum

I find this story mildly believable. One should wiki it!

kodute

Almost as good as Tommy Tiernans explanation...something about travellers and french.

petes

Try saying beer can without sounding like a Jamican saying "bacon".

BossArky

petes wrote:

Try saying beer can without sounding like a Jamican saying "bacon".

!! haha. I thought about that for a second but couldn't hear it in my head. Just said it aloud and almost fell of my chair, ahah.

scargill

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_English

Pronunciation

Main article: phonemic differentiation.

The most noticeable aspect of Jamaican English for speakers of other varieties of English is the pronunciation or "accent". In many ways, the accent bears great resemblance to that of southern Ireland, particularly Cork, which is possibly a result of the historical influx of Irish immigrants to Jamaica when both were British colonies. Jamaican Standard pronunciation, while it differs greatly from Jamaican Creole pronunciation, is nevertheless recognizably Caribbean. Giveaway features include the characteristic pronunciation of the diphthong in words like "cow", which is more closed and rounded than in Standard British or American English; the pronunciation of the "but" vowel (again, more closed than the SB or AE version, though not as closed as in the Creole); semi-rhoticity, i.e. the dropping of the "-r" in words like "water" (at the end of unstressed syllables) and "market" (before a consonant); but not in words like "car" or "dare" (stressed syllables at the end of the word). Merger of the diphthongs in "fair" and "fear" takes place both in Jamaican Standard and Jamaican Creole, resulting in those two words (and many others, like "bear" and "beer") becoming homophones. (Standard speakers typically pronounce both closer to "air", while Creole speakers render them as "ear"). The short "a" sound (man, hat) is very open, similar to its Irish or Scottish versions.

Tobias Greeshman

kodute wrote:

Almost as good as Tommy Tiernans explanation...something about travellers and french.

Yes apparantly a cork person sounds like a traveller trying to speak French.

JaysusMacfeck

Interesting theory but the Cork accent is a direct decendant of Gaelic. It all makes sense when your a hear a native Irish speaker from Cork!

Black Swan

Why no Jamaican drums in Cork? Raygae music? (sp?) Dreadlocks? "Be happy, don't worry" attitude? Did the invaders leave some of the fun behind?

Terry

no. they just forgot to bring the stereotypes with them.

pickarooney

When I read the first post it was in a perfect alternating blend of Kingston and Queenstown - it's a truth undeniable!

iFight

It sounds plausible anyway. Enjoyed the beer can / bacon thing!!

Black Swan

julep wrote:

no. they just forgot to bring the stereotypes with them.

Good point. I sounded crass. I stayed in Jamaica for a couple of weeks. Oh, I did the tourist thing for half the time, then stayed with a family in the interior for the remainder of the time. What a contrast! There is so much poverty once you leave the tourist traps, but somehow the family I stayed with made the best of it. I miss that Jamaica and its people.

fatherdougalmag

My God. I'm not alone. That's something I've always professed to with many people. The Jamaican accent is very like a slowed down Cork accent.

Loike.

tea and coffee

Zombie thread I know, but its the other way around. there was forced emigration and then voluntary emigration to Jamaica by the Irish from 1600s onwards and a huge amount of Jamaican's claim Irish heritage. So that's why they might sound similar. The same can be said of Montserrat, where the shamrock is also the national emblem. Lots of irish surnames there too.

valoren

My sister booked a cruise in the caribbean last night for me.

Jamaica?

No, she offered to do it.

topper75

Maybe a similar process to a Carribean neighbour, Montserrat.

The whites were the redlegs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_people_in_Jamaica

https://youtu.be/vZNEloGC1oI

Hector Savage

I think there is a community of Argentinians that speak English with a Wexford accent, due to a large group of Wextonians that emigrated there back yonder in the day (code for "I don't know when the ****)

Franz Von Peppercorn

They speak with Waterford accents in Newfoundland.

fatknacker

Oblig Black Irish vid posted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZNEloGC1oI

They was all slaves/indentured servants who what mingled a bit then and whatnot.

SEPT 23 1989

Jamaicans talked alot about invading countrys but nothing really happened

can someone explain then why listening to Michael Holding speak is like having your ears massaged with warm treacle, yet listening to most Cork accents is like having your ears cleaned with a laser cutter.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Aegir wrote: »

can someone explain then why listening to Michael Holding speak is like having your ears massaged with warm treacle, yet listening to most Cork accents is like having your ears cleaned with a laser cutter.

Ill explain. You are biased.