What's the story with Saoirse Ronan's accent?

Sam Kade

Paramite Pie wrote: »

I'm one of those sponges. I can also 'sound' quite fluent in French as my pronunciation is quite spot on -- only when i run out of vocab do i reveal myself as a tourist.
I also pick up my housemates accents.



Well at a young age, we're far more exposed to BBC and US tv. In rural Ireland, many of us speak with far thicker accents among ourselves but streamline it a bit when in cities -- i'd rather be understood first time thanks very much!
We might think an Irish person has adopted a British accent but I doubt the British hear it the same way -- they'll likely still think it's Irish. An English lad in my school --always thought he had a strong english accent -- had an accent that would get very 'English' when he spoke to his mum on the phone. It came out so much stronger for the next hour whenever he made a phonecall home. It's only then I realised that his accent had adapted but i still wasn't Irish to my ears.

Unless they live in front of the television. There were plenty American and uk programs on rte back in the 70's but it didn't alter anyone's accent.

endofrainbow

Kathryn Thomas doesn't sound like she's from Carlow either ...

dr.fuzzenstein

Mesrine65 wrote: »

Why's everyone hating on Saoirse?

Let her off FFS, she's a youngster with the world in her hands.

Fair fucks to her I say!

Nobody is hating on her. That is impossible. I could no more hate Saoirse than I could kick a kitten, she is utterly magnificent. When she acts this hardened, cynical and world weary man is reduced to a blubbering mess. I could keep going on for hours about her and how much I love everything about her. I really, REALLY want her to win an Oscar. (I can't talk about her without Fangirling)
But I do agree with this thread, her accent is a bit of a strange phenomenon. Nobody says it's bad, but it's like "where did this come from?". of course she is also the Queen of accents, she can make any accent sound her own. Maybe she just adopted it as part of her public persona. I wonder what her accent is in private.
It's a bit like Colin Farrel. His Dublin accent has softened a lot over the years, this somewhat suggests it wasn't entirely his...
Again, nothing against Ms Ronan, she is utterly magnificent. just that the picture doesn't match the sound...

Brendan Bendar

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Nobody is hating on her. That is impossible. I could no more hate Saoirse than I could kick a kitten, she is utterly magnificent. When she acts this hardened, cynical and world weary man is reduced to a blubbering mess. I could keep going on for hours about her and how much I love everything about her. I really, REALLY want her to win an Oscar. (I can't talk about her without Fangirling)
But I do agree with this thread, her accent is a bit of a strange phenomenon. Nobody says it's bad, but it's like "where did this come from?". of course she is also the Queen of accents, she can make any accent sound her own. Maybe she just adopted it as part of her public persona. I wonder what her accent is in private.
It's a bit like Colin Farrel. His Dublin accent has softened a lot over the years, this somewhat suggests it wasn't entirely his...
Again, nothing against Ms Ronan, she is utterly magnificent. just that the picture doesn't match the sound...

:eek:

Jaysus .

dr.fuzzenstein

Brendan Bendar wrote: »

:eek:

Jaysus .

My point is, she is great, the accent is easily forgiven. I'm just curious where it comes from. Maybe she picked it because it would be seen as "typical" Irish abroad. I saw her on TFI Friday and it was the first time I saw her being interviewed. It was a bit of a shock initially.

duchalla

When my 2 and a half year old daughter doesnt want to do something, she says "I caunt" like a member of the member of the british royal family. Drives my wife insane, but thats Ben and Hollys little kingdom for you ;-)

Brendan Bendar

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

My point is, she is great, the accent is easily forgiven. I'm just curious where it comes from. Maybe she picked it because it would be seen as "typical" Irish abroad. I saw her on TFI Friday and it was the first time I saw her being interviewed. It was a bit of a shock initially.

Mmmm.........oooookay:P

dr.fuzzenstein

Brendan Bendar wrote: »

Mmmm.........oooookay:P

You're making all the right noises...

Brendan Bendar

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You're making all the right noises...

Uhhhhmmm...maybe back off a little bit?

Bordering on infatuation here, hey, maybe I'm wrong.

riclad

I think she lived in various area,s of dublin so she has picked up a blend of dublin accents ,she does not too posh or too rough ,
somewhere in the middle .
She sounds pretty good to me .
like some uk actors use a generic basic american accent when acting which is not used
by any american in real life .


some people seem to think any irish person with a refined upper class accent is pretending to be english .
Thats not true .
Some expert said the middle class irish speak better english than the english speak,
eg see anthony clare irish doctor used to appear on uk radio shows .
eg they are easy to understand without sound patronising or posh .

Some irish teens watch too much us tv,
they use too much american slang or have an upward intonation ,
like every sentence is a questian .

do not change saoirse , please do not adopt a bland english accent like madonna ,
stay as your are .

Wibbs

riclad wrote: »

Some people think a middle class southside dublin accent is english ,its not .
it s a accent of no specific origin ,
not a dublin or an accent from any specific county.

No, of course it has an origin and the origins are pretty clear. It's a Dublin accent toned down over the years with more and more of a US influence.

dr.fuzzenstein

Brendan Bendar wrote: »

Uhhhhmmm...maybe back off a little bit?

Bordering on infatuation here, hey, maybe I'm wrong.

I did say I was fangirling in my post. Anyway, bite me.

tabby aspreme

I think she sounds a bit like Clare Daly and Ruth Coppinger, both of whom have a whiny artificial Dublin accent.

recylingbin

D4 bird has fake accent shocker

SimonTemplar

Whatever about her actual accent (which I don't really mind), she has an amazing skill at mimicking other accents based on her roles she's had.

Boards 2016 house rules:

1. If you make any kind of less than glowing observation about an Irish celebrity, you are a begrudger.

2. If you mildly object to something that someone else says/does, you are derided for being 'outraged' and should calm down

Thank you, enjoy your stay

Mr. teddywinkles

con___manx1 wrote: »

Didn't saoisre grow up in Carlow ? Maybe she puts on that Dublin accent to hide her true Carlow accent. it has to be one of the worst accents in Ireland .

Okkkk? Because every other accent is music to the ears

riclad

Yes theres a middle class slightly posh dublin accent,
to americans or some people it might sound like an english dj/presenter type accent
,but its the other side of the spectrum versus to the whats the story bud, working class
inner city dub accent .

S. Goodspeed

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Boards 2016 house rules:

1. If you make any kind of less than glowing observation about an Irish celebrity, you are a begrudger.

A young Irish girl gets an Oscar nomination and appears on two of America's most popular chat shows and someone's only observation relates to her accent then I think it's hard to call it anything but begrudgery.

LordSutch

Reminds me of when I first heard Adele on TV after doing a wonderful job singing 007-SkyFall, she then walked back to her seat to be interviewed, and my jaw dropped as I witnessed this strong Chav-East End-Innit Bruv-Y'know what I mean' street type accent, which I found hard to meld with her beautiful singing voice!

Same with for Saoirse Ronan for me. Her particular type of Irish accent took me by surprise too. Great actress, great voice, great with accents, always looks beautiful too, but for me her natural speaking voice seems different to how people might have perceived it to be. < (not saying that its chav or anything like that, just so different to how she sounds in so many of her screen roles).

degsie

LordSutch wrote: »

Reminds me of when I first heard Adele on TV after doing a wonderful job singing 007-SkyFall, she then walked back to her seat to be interviewed, and my jaw dropped as I witnessed this strong Chav-East End-Innit Bruv-Y'know what I mean' street type accent, which I found hard to meld with her beautiful singing voice!

Same with for Saoirse Ronan for me. Her particular type of Irish accent took me by surprise too. Great actress, great voice, great with accents, always looks beautiful too, but for me her natural speaking voice seems different to how people might have perceived it to be.

So you said, like 4 times....

Canadel

LordSutch wrote: »

Same with for Saoirse Ronan for me. Her particular type of Irish accent took me by surprise too. Great actress, great voice, great with accents, always looks beautiful too, but for me her natural speaking voice seems different to how people might have perceived it to be. < (not saying that its chav or anything like that, just so different to how she sounds in so many of her screen roles).

I think it's quite obvious that she chooses to speak the way she does (including the accent). There is nothing natural about it.

cowboyBuilder

Ninap wrote: »

According to Wikipedia she was born in New York, 'raised briefly' in Carlow, and then moved to Howth. But she's ended up with a particularly unpleasant and grating Dublin accent. Where did she get it? She sounds like a mixture of Joan Burton's monotone drone, and Mary Lou McDonald's fake working-class Dub accent............

It's better then the usual Irish girls from Dublin/Cork/Sligo/Meath/Galway that speak in exactly the same phoney hills accent - meanwhile their brothers speak completely differently.

riclad

Many singers sing in a slight american or neutral accent .
maybe copied from radio or youtube video.s .
Even ones who have never been to america ,especially pod singers .Adele
retains her south london accent .
She says hello completely differently as to how she sings it .
see fallon adele hello video .I like to see a study on womens accent,s in dublin ,
do rural women who work in dublin try and adopt a bland neutral accent ,
or is a natural automatic strategy to fit in with the locals .
i assume the hills accent is a generic american la accent .
AT Least women from dublin have a certain bland accent .
they do,nt drop the cork, kerry accent in a short time .

dr.fuzzenstein

Anyways, best of luck to her and Michael Fassbender, good Irish representation at the Oscars. And don't go saying they're a Yank and a Kraut.
Wonder what accent she'll choose for the acceptance speech.

kupus

i love irish accents. the fact that you can travel five miles north south east west, include your starting point and have 5 different accents is amazing, and something that should be cherished and not slated.

CelticRambler

Hearing Jordanne Wotzername (from Rebellion) on Tubridy yesterday morning being referred to as the next Saoirse Ronan, I couldn't help thinking the 'Mericans will definitely need subtitles when she appears on Ellen! :pac:

S. Goodspeed

S. Goodspeed wrote: »

A young Irish girl gets an Oscar nomination and appears on two of America's most popular chat shows and someone's only observation relates to her accent then I think it's hard to call it anything but begrudgery.

You've interpreted it as begrudgery. I see it as a genuine query about a persons accent.

Azalea

Mr. teddywinkles wrote: »

Okkkk? Because every other accent is music to the ears

Well no, but just preferable to the Carlow accent is what they mean I guess.

Brendan Bendar

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Anyways, best of luck to her and Michael Fassbender, good Irish representation at the Oscars. And don't go saying they're a Yank and a Kraut.
Wonder what accent she'll choose for the acceptance speech.

Stop wondering- no chance.