Is the Irish accent doomed?

Fromthetrees

I don't think a thread has been done on this before.
I don't know if it's just made up in my head or it's common knowledge or what but will the Irish accent turn into a generic American accent in say 40 years time? My cousin from out the country has this really strong American twang to her accent, she also loves Jedward, another example, the one on 3e has an American/Irish accent but she might actually be American, Miriam O'Callaghan has a bit of one. I'm asking is anyone under the age of 20 just being brainwashed by Miley Cyrus and co instead of in my day (I'm not that old) we had the basic 'poverty channels' and I and many others my age were brainwashed by Zig and Zag and Bosco and all that sh1te but at least it was Irish sh1te.

Any thoughts....

holystungun9

Awesome!

amacachi

It'll be fine. My evidence is the times when I hear my voice in an echo on the phone and find out what I actually sound like.

Temptamperu

My American girlfriend is teaching me to say my th's correctly, i sometimes get confused and say im going to make thea :pac:

Amirani

Our vocal chords will evolve anyway.

ronaneire

Ah what a loada shoite.

amacca

like may your right like because like I can barely speak without using the word like like you know like


LIKE!

chughes

Ah fer Jaysis sake, not anudder bleedin' tread about feckin' accents.

The real Dubbelin accent is alive and well and will be around for ages yeh.

wiger toods

Are u surrious like?

Johro

Temptamperu wrote: »

My American girlfriend is teaching me to say my th's correctly, i sometimes get confused and say im going to make thea :pac:

Lol. 'Show us yer thits'. Class.

pragmatic1

amacachi wrote: »

It'll be fine. My evidence is the times when I hear my voice in an echo on the phone and find out what I actually sound like.

Yeah its weird that your real voice sounds nothin like it does in your own head.

mikom

Fromthetrees wrote: »

I don't know if it's just made up in my head or it's common knowledge or what but will the Irish accent turn into a generic American accent in say 40 years time?

I don't think so.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg9jWKiMEOE

Dj Stiggie

Temptamperu wrote: »

My American girlfriend is teaching me to say my th's correctly, i sometimes get confused and say im going to make thea :pac:

I've been trying to do that since I've confused the living shoite out of people when I've lived abroad, so while I've now mastered saying three, I usually ask for the thyme of day.

Glad I'm not the only one.

pconn062

chughes wrote: »

Ah fer Jaysis sake, not anudder bleedin' tread about feckin' accents.

The real Dubbelin accent is alive and well and will be around for ages yeh.

Unfortunately.

Terrontress

There is already a strong American twang throughout young peoples' accent.

I suppose a lot of English speaking Americans are descended from Irish so maybe they have shadowed each other developmentally.

The bottom line is that there is very little Irish made TV worth watching. Irish bands like U2 do their utmost to appear identical to yanks.

The accent is sure to die.

amacachi

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Yeah its weird that your real voice sounds nothin like it does in your own head.

In my head I don't have an accent. People tell me it's a bit nordie but when I hear it it sounds like a strong enough accent from the area I'm from. Which isn't a great accent anyway. :pac:

Aka Ishur

My Belgian girlfriend is here a year and now she has a much worse cork acccent than i do. i think we are safe enough...

The question should be....how long before europe speaks with an irish accent????

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Fromthetrees wrote: »

I'm asking is anyone under the age of 20 just being brainwashed by Miley Cyrus and co

Only the imbeciles amongst us are. Which is a freakishly high number I do admit. Unfortunately.

pragmatic1

amacachi wrote: »

In my head I don't have an accent. People tell me it's a bit nordie but when I hear it it sounds like a strong enough accent from the area I'm from. Which isn't a great accent anyway. :pac:

I didnt think I had one either. Turns out I've the broadest Donegal accent possible.

Herb Powell

I read somewhere recently that a study on accents was done in England and found that regional accents are actually getting stronger.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I was collecting my Godson (6) from school recently and noticed that himself and alot of his little classmates were nattering away to each other in American accents. However as soon as we got into the car he turned back on the North Tipp brogue.

R P McMurphy

pragmatic1 wrote: »

amacachi wrote: »

It'll be fine. My evidence is the times when I hear my voice in an echo on the phone and find out what I actually sound like.

Yeah its weird that your real voice sounds nothin like it does in your own head.

Yeah is true. In my head I sound like Richard Burton, the reality is a cross between Daniel O'Donnell and rodge

Latchy

I have noticed over the last year or so, more and more Irish people with regional irish accents, popping up as local tv reporters or as programme presenters on regional british tv like Granada and also on Sky/C5 news which at one time you would only see on mainstream BBC/ITV ie, Terry Wogan /Louis Walsh . I don't mean with just Dublin accents but mainstream south /west/ midlands accents so this trend suggests more Irish career motivated people , in the absence of similar jobs back home in Ireland are moving into the british market at a growing rate .

GreenWolfe

I had an awful American accent when I was in primary school (and we only had the basic terrestrial Irish and UK channels), but I'm told I have quite a neutral accent now.

That means people don't necessarily know where I'm from when they talk to me. The local accent isn't great.

chughes

pconn062 wrote: »

Unfortunately.

I suppose you have the classic Drawdeh accent. People in glass houses....

Logical Fallacy

What the hell is an Irish accent?

I've only ever heard regional ones...didn't realise we had an umbrella accent.

How do i change to it?...I lost my manual.

Latchy

I do remember meeting this girl in Liverpool a few years ago and on hearing her accent asked how long was she over here now and would she ever go back to Dublin ? She replied '' Oh I'm not from Dublin ,I'm from Liverpool but worked over in Dublin in a bank for 4 years '' ( celtic tiger years ) :eek:

I couldn't believe it because her accent suggested she was from some place like south Dublin .

risteard7

I think thats the fake made up d4 accent you refer to op.But dont worry the celtic tiger is over the accent will eventuall go with it.Nobody spoke like that 20 years ago

Wattle

Fromthetrees wrote: »

I don't think a thread has been done on this before.
I don't know if it's just made up in my head or it's common knowledge or what but will the Irish accent turn into a generic American accent in say 40 years time? My cousin from out the country has this really strong American twang to her accent, she also loves Jedward, another example, the one on 3e has an American/Irish accent but she might actually be American, Miriam O'Callaghan has a bit of one. I'm asking is anyone under the age of 20 just being brainwashed by Miley Cyrus and co instead of in my day (I'm not that old) we had the basic 'poverty channels' and I and many others my age were brainwashed by Zig and Zag and Bosco and all that sh1te but at least it was Irish sh1te.

Any thoughts....

Zig and Zag? They're not even from this planet.

John Doe1

Apparenly i have a scottish accent anyway

pconn062

chughes wrote: »

I suppose you have the classic Drawdeh accent. People in glass houses....

It was a joke dude :rolleyes: and I'm not from Drogheda so...

Dionysus

There is certainly much less linguistic distinctiveness now, and there's a lot of cultural wealth lost in the process. Anybody who appreciates a good turn of phrase will lament the rise of most forms of linguistic uniformity across the anglophone world.

One of the more interesting things I've heard on the radio lately was Diarmaid Ó Muirithe talking about Irish-English/Hiberno-English and phrases and expressions which he went around Ireland recording. What a brilliant job to have.

What have we got now but this seemingly incessant "like, you know, like" used by interviewees and professional interviewers on radio and television every day. Compare that to, say, P.W. Joyce's English as We Speak it in Ireland (1910; entire book available there) and you'll appreciate the rich turn of phrase which has been lost.

amacachi

"Like" has been used in this area at the end of sentences or to avoid stuttering since my mam was a kid and my dad says it was always used up North when he was growing up. Know what I mean like?

bb1234567

yes i'd say so. once the i'd say around 18 year olds of this genration have died off the irish accent will be much less defined but not gone,well always sound atleast somehwat different ot the americans.my little brother and sister particularly my sister of 9 talks exactly like the people on the tv shows on disney channel and nickelodeon.she uses words like candy,soda,chips(crisps)cotton candy,mailman,gas,fries,jelly(jam) and other weird american words and pronounces some words like the americans on the shows...its kind of weird:p. she did it much more when she was younger but still does it just less noticeable, she definitely doesnt sound completely irish and im sure americans would believe us if we said she was american.

Fromthetrees

Dionysus wrote: »

There is certainly much less linguistic distinctiveness now, and there's a lot of cultural wealth lost in the process. Anybody who appreciates a good turn of phrase will lament the rise of most forms of linguistic uniformity across the anglophone world.

One of the more interesting things I've heard on the radio lately was Diarmaid Ó Muirithe talking about Irish-English/Hiberno-English and phrases and expressions which he went around Ireland recording. What a brilliant job to have.

What have we got now but this seemingly incessant "like, you know, like" used by interviewees and professional interviewers on radio and television every day. Compare that to, say, P.W. Joyce's English as We Speak it in Ireland (1910; entire book available there) and you'll appreciate the rich turn of phrase which has been lost.

Absolutely, I remember reading about Hiberno-English a good number of years ago and realising I do probably speak a bit like that, it's really very interesting, so do you think the further away we get from the last 'native' Irish speaker from our lineage, e.g. my great great grandparents and with this saturation in our culture of American tv, music, films, food and everything else do you think the Irish accent is doomed, say in a few generations? Words like blagard and gurrier I only ever heard my grandfather say (probably spelled them wrong) but as you pointed out these words have been destroyed by "standardisation".

Latchy

If we are to believe some statistics which suggest that because of immigrants marrying into the Irish gene pool there will in 50 years time , be less and less irish familys with Irish sounding surnames which also suggests a variation in the accents but maybe not enough to put it in the minority

tonycascarino

Honestly never heard any Irish person speaking in an American accent other than certain parts of Dublin. We're safe though, this latest fad won't catch on in the rest of the country.

Wibbs

Fromthetrees wrote: »

Words like blagard and gurrier I only ever heard my grandfather say (probably spelled them wrong) but as you pointed out these words have been destroyed by "standardisation".

Not by me, I try to keep using them. Just to confuse at times. I certainly use blagard and gurrier and use press instead of cupboard, shore instead of drain and even use bowler instead of dog on occasion. Among other local to me words. I like to hear people from all over the country with their local slang and finding out what they mean. It's like a fossil record of all our backgrounds and would be sad to lose IMHO.

Latchy

I still hear older Irish people say blagard and gurrier .

I still prefer to say wireless over radio or Hi-Fi

Fromthetrees

I always ask for a 'tin' of coke.

aujopimur

David Norris and Rachel Allen, now there is two fine Irish accents.

Latchy

aujopimur wrote: »

David Norris and Rachel Allen, now there is two fine Irish accents.

His might be defined as an Anglo - Irish accent .

Latchy

Wibbs wrote: »

Not by me, I try to keep using them. Just to confuse at times. I certainly use blagard and gurrier and use press instead of cupboard, shore instead of drain and even use bowler instead of dog on occasion. Among other local to me words. I like to hear people from all over the country with their local slang and finding out what they mean. It's like a fossil record of all our backgrounds and would be sad to lose IMHO.

Living in England , if I refer to my dog as bowler or Madra (which I sometimes do) I get funny looks from neighbours

Badgermonkey

I often chuckled at my Grans richly descriptive and oft-surreal turn of phrase and do lament how quickly and how easily much of that folk vernacular which set us apart has been lost.

She'd often speak of her youth and the local characters she'd encounter. There was an itinerant man with a cart 'the Jennet McGuinness', a portly shopkeeper 'Puddin'head Rafter' and a generic nickname for any poor unfortunate with a limp 'Come leg or I'll drag yeh'.

There were so many more subtle Hiberno-English quirks and flourishes which she'd use in her pattern of speech which I should get my Dad to transcribe.

Not long before she passed away, she remarked on Brian Cowens head staring out from the screen one evening "Ah, would ye look at the slutherpooch on him".

IcedOut

Fromthetrees wrote: »

I don't think a thread has been done on this before.
I don't know if it's just made up in my head or it's common knowledge or what but will the Irish accent turn into a generic American accent in say 40 years time? My cousin from out the country has this really strong American twang to her accent, she also loves Jedward, another example, the one on 3e has an American/Irish accent but she might actually be American, Miriam O'Callaghan has a bit of one. I'm asking is anyone under the age of 20 just being brainwashed by Miley Cyrus and co instead of in my day (I'm not that old) we had the basic 'poverty channels' and I and many others my age were brainwashed by Zig and Zag and Bosco and all that sh1te but at least it was Irish sh1te.

Any thoughts....

I'm guessing you've never been to Kerry

ICANN

Languages and accents are things which evolve over time and never stop. That's why if we were to read something written in Irish or English a few hundred years ago we would have trouble understanding it completely. Meanings of words change and accents change. If you listen to peoples accents (Irish, English and American are ones I've heard) from the first half of the 20th century they are very different to now (eg. Radio broadcasts from the war in England, old American films and Irish storytellers).

I do hate the spread of the D4 accent around the country though!!!

Arianna_26

Fromthetrees wrote: »

I don't think a thread has been done on this before.
I don't know if it's just made up in my head or it's common knowledge or what but will the Irish accent turn into a generic American accent in say 40 years time? My cousin from out the country has this really strong American twang to her accent, she also loves Jedward, another example, the one on 3e has an American/Irish accent but she might actually be American, Miriam O'Callaghan has a bit of one. I'm asking is anyone under the age of 20 just being brainwashed by Miley Cyrus and co instead of in my day (I'm not that old) we had the basic 'poverty channels' and I and many others my age were brainwashed by Zig and Zag and Bosco and all that sh1te but at least it was Irish sh1te.

Any thoughts....

We'll always have Irish accents.

landsleaving

Temptamperu wrote: »

My American girlfriend is teaching me to say my th's correctly, i sometimes get confused and say im going to make thea :pac:

Thempthamperu?

sh1tstirrer

ICANN wrote: »

Languages and accents are things which evolve over time and never stop. That's why if we were to read something written in Irish or English a few hundred years ago we would have trouble understanding it completely. Meanings of words change and accents change. If you listen to peoples accents (Irish, English and American are ones I've heard) from the first half of the 20th century they are very different to now (eg. Radio broadcasts from the war in England, old American films and Irish storytellers).

I do hate the spread of the D4 accent around the country though!!!

The D4 accent didn't evolve as it's a false accent they didn't always talk that way They believe it makes them sound more important, in my opinion it makes them sound like idiots.

Paulor94

I'm 17 so i would think i apply to this. I don't sound american (according to family and friends) cause no one ever told me i do. I use alot of local slang and dont use american words. I do listen to some american music and tv shows but i mostly listen to english music etc.... and i have a speech disorder yet my accent is strong. I must sound like a blender cause, cork accent + speech disorder

Stinicker

I'm from Kerry and I can say there is a difference between peoples accents in as little as 20 miles apart. I have cousins who seem to have the twang, one of them I thought was a real yank a few years ago, however he dropped his balls entered puberty and sounded like a broken record for a while and now he's as Kerry as the rest of us!

One of my favourite sayings which really confuses people is the word "peg" instead of "throw", peg me over the car keys there would ya! really confuses americans.