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Irritating American names for things

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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,527 ✭✭✭wandererz


    Considering that so much time has been spent there:

    i-rack
    i-rackee

    i-ran
    i-ranee


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,075 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    riclad wrote: »
    I have never heard any Irish
    person say yard to mean a garden or space behind a house
    I certainly have and it was at least a quite Dublin thing. Folks inside the canals had yards, those outside tended to have gardens. :D Generally a yard was paved and smaller, a garden wasn't and larger.
    I don't like it when people use the C word randomly in podcasts
    I think it's the worst word you can use even if you are joking
    Actually "the C word" is the worst word in American culture and it's likely that's where you've picked that up from. Not nearly so much here(or wasn't) and in Australia it can be a term of endearment. :D
    Young fella comes to the door to make a delivery. Seems a nice fella. We chat for a few seconds and I hear the twang so I go "Where in the States are you from? I lived in [city name] for 20 years."

    "No. I'm Irish."

    "Sorry" sez I "I just thought with the accent..."

    "I watch a lot of TV."

    That was his reason.. and each to their own, I suppose.
    That's a huge part of it. Though I grew up exposed to British telly with a fair smattering of US in the mix and the only time I heard a faux accent of either sort from Irish lips was the occasional DJ on the radio or in a club.
    What really gets my goat is the obssession with US politics. It is causing Irish politics to become Americanized too, which is a step backwards. The Irish people that engage in this utter rubbish are the new West Brits, IMO tipping their caps to war mongers.
    Pretty much. The Irish psyche tends to be an insecure one and tends to look outside to whatever the culture de jour is for acknowledgement. Though the English can have this too. In the early days of rock and roll and popular music, something pretty much invented in the US English singers would ape American singing voices, only changing when the Beatles, Stones, Kinks etc went huge and more to the point huge in America.
    Mum is used a lot in Ireland, along with, Mam and Ma, although I'm beginning to see & hear Mom quite a bit too, never saw or heard 'Mom' growing up here in the 70s & 80s although it might have been out there?
    Apparently it was the norm in some area of West Cork, but yeah beyond it mam, ma, mum were the words. Mum being from England, Ma/Mam being pretty much exclusively Irish. Mom was an alien sound and you will not hear it in any recording of a native Irish voice pre 1990, if not later. These days it's everywhere. Initially replacing mum by the same suburban demographics, but spreading beyond them.

    Again I'd reckon there's some of that same Irish insecurity going on with both loan words/accents. Ireland had one of the highest numbers of elocution teachers in the 50's and 60's. Around the time when more and more rural people were making their way to urban centres there seemed to be a gra for rounding off the "culshie" accents to more "acceptable" ones for their now middle class aspirations. As above the demographic that was first to use "mom" was the the same one that grabbed "mum" for itself. "Ma" and "mam" were too common. Over the same period the Dort accent has gone from a strangulated received English accent to a strangulated mid Atlantic one. I have found the most strangulated to the point of farce will be found among young Irish men, but the accents are more common on average among young Irish women.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 3,133 ✭✭✭Hamsterchops


    Mom.
    Wibbs wrote: »
    Apparently it was the norm in some area of West Cork, but yeah beyond it mam, ma, mum were the words. Mum being from England, Ma/Mam being pretty much exclusively Irish. Mom was an alien sound and you will not hear it in any recording of a native Irish voice pre 1990, if not later. These days it's everywhere. Initially replacing mum by the same suburban demographics, but spreading beyond them.

    Again I'd reckon there's some of that same Irish insecurity going on with both loan words/accents. Ireland had one of the highest numbers of elocution teachers in the 50's and 60's. Around the time when more and more rural people were making their way to urban centres there seemed to be a gra for rounding off the "culshie" accents to more "acceptable" ones for their now middle class aspirations. As above the demographic that was first to use "mom" was the the same one that grabbed "mum" for itself. "Ma" and "mam" were too common. Over the same period the Dort accent has gone from a strangulated received English accent to a strangulated mid Atlantic one. I have found the most strangulated to the point of farce will be found among young Irish men, but the accents are more common on average among young Irish women.

    Sorry Wibbs, (but I get the impression) that Mam is very common in the North of England, probably far more common than Mum, which is very common in the South of England, Scotland & Ireland, and I agree with everything else you say ✓


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,507 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    Wibbs wrote: »

    The Irish psyche tends to be an insecure one and tends to look outside to whatever the culture de jour is for acknowledgement.

    My Irish psyche is different to yours. I do not look outside for acknowledgement. Why are you insecure about your culture?


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,075 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    My Irish psyche is different to yours. I do not look outside for acknowledgement. Why are you insecure about your culture?

    176nlw.jpg

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



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  • Registered Users Posts: 40,155 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Mom.



    Sorry Wibbs, (but I get the impression) that Mam is very common in the North of England, probably far more common than Mum, which is very common in the South of England, Scotland & Ireland, and I agree with everything else you say ✓

    Mam is definitely a thing in the north of england.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,075 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Sorry Wibbs, (but I get the impression) that Mam is very common in the North of England,
    Mam is definitely a thing in the north of england.

    Yeah Duuuuuh on my part. :o I'd completely forgotten about that.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



  • Registered Users Posts: 6,456 ✭✭✭Badly Drunk Boy


    It's pure narrow mindedness and is just a symptom of people having a chip on their shoulder against Americans because they come from a huge rich country or whatever. It's not every Yanks fault you never left Ballybackarseofnowhere, believe it or not, and it may shock you to learn that the dialect of such places is actually not the standard.

    The Irish way of speaking English is practiced by a very small fraction of the English speaking world. So for most people who speak English it's the Irish way that is wrong. But no one gives out about it because the Irish are the cute happy charming drunks. Except if you live here for a while or are on boards and then you realize they are actually quite often seething balls of hate inside, just like any normal person.

    Nobody here have not been advocating for the English-speaking world to adopt Hiberno-English. Rather, they would prefer if Irish people not adopt Americanisms, especially non-sensical or cringeworthy ones. These foreign terms often lack a musicality that we're used.

    Yes, language evolves but so does the death of cultures. If you want to be assimilated, good for you! Some of us want to retain our character, even if it's a losing battle.


  • Posts: 1,263 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    On the flip side (whoops), I see Americans using 'Feck' a lot more these days. When 'feck the begrudgers' becomes standard usage over there, our work will be done. :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 40,155 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Yeah Duuuuuh on my part. :o I'd completely forgotten about that.

    for example, from about 30 seconds in here



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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,527 ✭✭✭wandererz


    wandererz wrote: »
    Considering that so much time has been spent there:

    i-rack
    i-racki

    i-ran
    i-rani

    Apologies, i realised i made a mistake:

    i-rack
    i-rackee

    i-ran
    i-ranee


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,133 ✭✭✭Hamsterchops


    Fanny pack :confused:

    And for the uninitiated among you it has nothing to do with a lady's front bottom. Actually a Fanny pack is what we call a Bum bag. I think in America a fanny is a back bottom? Weird bum confusion.


  • Posts: 1,263 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Fanny pack :confused:

    And for the uninitiated among you it has nothing to do with a lady's front bottom. Actually a Fanny pack is what we call a Bum bag. I think in America a fanny is a back bottom? Weird bum confusion.


    Bummer, dude. :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,292 ✭✭✭✭branie2


    wandererz wrote: »
    Considering that so much time has been spent there:

    i-rack
    i-rackee

    i-ran
    i-ranee

    Moscow
    Mos-Cow


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,907 ✭✭✭trashcan


    Erbs , for herbs. Grrrr


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,292 ✭✭✭✭branie2


    Car boot - trunk


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,388 ✭✭✭NSAman


    MY BAD! = I am a thick yank

    Trunk = boot of a car

    Starbucks = Coffee

    Yeah No = Chicago for No


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,219 ✭✭✭Gaoth Laidir


    Fanny pack :confused:

    And for the uninitiated among you it has nothing to do with a lady's front bottom. Actually a Fanny pack is what we call a Bum bag. I think in America a fanny is a back bottom? Weird bum confusion.

    https://youtu.be/LDsfzJXGAo8


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,440 ✭✭✭✭Deja Boo


    NSAman wrote: »
    MY BAD! = I am a thick yank

    Trunk = boot of a car

    Starbucks = Coffee


    Yeah No = Chicago for No

    and "the opposite of"

    My L.A. friend says it repeatedly: "I am SO not wanting sun, I want the opposite of!" ...ya mean darkness?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,324 ✭✭✭Shebean


    Oregino for Oregano.
    Alumanumb for Aluminum.
    Tush for arse :)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,440 ✭✭✭✭Deja Boo


    Shebean wrote: »
    Oregino for Oregano.
    Alumanumb for Aluminum.
    Tush for arse :)
    I might adopt the last one. Tush beats bahookie! :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 597 ✭✭✭supernova5


    Shebean wrote: »
    Oregino for Oregano.
    Alumanumb for Aluminum.
    Tush for arse :)

    also bunghole for arse


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,507 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    From Spanish orégano (“wild marjoram”)

    In Spanish the general rule is that the second last syllable is stressed in speech. Where the stress is on another syllable that carries an accent, in this case on the second syllable. So the Americans copied the Spanish pronunciation.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,388 ✭✭✭NSAman


    Any good and commonly used swear word.... Irish win hands down... the "C" word is like the nuclear option when used here in the States..;)


  • Registered Users Posts: 597 ✭✭✭supernova5


    NSAman wrote: »
    Any good and commonly used swear word.... Irish win hands down... the "C" word is like the nuclear option when used here in the States..;)

    damn right, I'll swear to that


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,361 ✭✭✭FishOnABike


    NSAman wrote: »
    Any good and commonly used swear word.... Irish win hands down... the "C" word is like the nuclear option when used here in the States..;)

    If it was good enough for Chaucer and Shakespeare it's good enough for me.


  • Registered Users Posts: 20,507 ✭✭✭✭dxhound2005


    If it was good enough for Chaucer and Shakespeare it's good enough for me.

    According to Google, Shakespeare used "my bad" in one of his poems.


  • Registered Users Posts: 40,155 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    According to Google, Shakespeare used "my bad" in one of his poems.

    he certainly used the word "bad" after the word "my" but the meaning was not quite the same.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,189 ✭✭✭Cilldara_2000


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Pretty much. The Irish psyche tends to be an insecure one and tends to look outside to whatever the culture de jour is for acknowledgement. Though the English can have this too. In the early days of rock and roll and popular music, something pretty much invented in the US English singers would ape American singing voices, only changing when the Beatles, Stones, Kinks etc went huge and more to the point huge in America.

    Prolly has already been mentioned in the thread, but when you hear someone singing in an Irish or British accent on the radio now, it’s an unusual and pleasant surprise. Nearly all of them singing in some fake bland American accent that doesn’t actual exist in America and almost always sounds wrong. Apparently it’s also a problem in America:

    http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/08/why-british-singers-lose-their-accent-when-singing/


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,133 ✭✭✭Hamsterchops



    Well done finding that :D


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