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Irish people talking like US teenagers?

bobbyss

Heard a Martin Kenny TD on the radio last week (never heard of him before) talking about something or other and noticed very clearly an American influence whereby he finishes his sentences with a question kind of tone?
The way some Americans do? Especially teenagers?

I found this surprising as a debate in the Dail last year (where he said something like 'after I done a lot of research...') he showed no evidence of this frailty at all. Does Micheal Martin suffer the same?

Invariably if you listen to the radio or tv across the spectrum this kind of use of language is pervasive. Miriam O'Callaghan is particularly guilty here. Yet strangely in England I note it little used compared to here. What explains this?

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SQ2

T's becoming D's.

Grrrrrrr.

dxhound2005

SQ2 wrote: »

T's becoming D's.

Grrrrrrr.

You do that yourself.

Klinkhammer

The Internet is making irish adults talk like idiots. Describing things they don't like as "garbage" or instead of thinking something they "feel like". Get the boat if you're Irish and talk like that.

DickSwiveller

Klinkhammer wrote: »

The Internet is making irish adults talk like idiots. Describing things they don't like as "garbage" or instead of thinking something they "feel like". Get the boat if you're Irish and talk like that.

The saddest thing about this trend is that eventually the Irish accent will be indistinguishable from American English. I went on a J1 a few years ago and the Americans I worked thought it was very funny when I said 'grand', 'rubbish' etc. It will be a shame if we lose these words.

diomed

jimbis wrote: »

It could be worse, we could be all talking with accents like minister for stepaside Shane Ross :pac:

We all speak like that on the southside.

Wanderer2010

Its definitely a generational thing. Anyone 35 and under definitely are influenced by American culture, music and tv shows. Teenagers especially you can hear saying words like Amazeballs, awesome, or expressions like you suck or that is SO no true all with strange American/Irish twangs.

diomed

rob316 wrote: »

Point is kids are picking it up all over the place. And they watching these brainless reality tv shows where the accents are much more pronounced than in movies.

You did that for a laugh?

donegaLroad

NIMAN wrote: »

There's a girl on The Last Word on TodayFM who reviews TV or music or something, and she has a rising inflection at the end of every sentence.

Its hard to listen to.

The rising inflection, finishing with the word 'right', with a question-like tone. It has also crept into Canadian lingo over the last 10 years.

Stovepipe

Spot on thread...two teenage friends of my teenage daughter are from deepest West Wickla and should sound like Dinny from Glenroe, but they sound like they are from California. One is male, one if female and if you'd never met them before, you'd assume that they were Americans. I asked my daughter where the female friend got her American accent from, as both her parents are native West Wicklow people, with strong local accents. My daughter just shrugged and said "that's her"........At least, the male friend, his parents are not locals......another local girl was sent to a Southside school and came back sounding like Rachel Allen. After a week. Dropped her local accent like a hot rock. Bit sad, really.

Mrs OBumble

diomed wrote: »

You did that for a laugh?

Well none of you can pronounce film correctly, so movies is an improvement.

Billy86

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

It happens in the UK, it was the influx of Australian soaps that were accused back then. The Aussies are far worse than anyone for this particular way of speaking.

It's almost a fine art down there(?), it's almost as if... well it's almost as if(?), as if they can get three or more in a single sentence(?)

Comhrá

"omg.....I was like..."

Those youngsters talking like that should be packed away to the Gaeltacht for a month or so - Rosmuc, Baile na nGall, Ciarrar An Spideal and it would bring them to their senses.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Then there’s the use of that appalling American neologism “OK” for yes, or alright.

What does it even mean? What’s the O and K mean?

Billy86

Comhra wrote: »

"omg.....I was like..."

Those youngsters talking like that should be packed away to the Gaeltacht for a month or so - Rosmuc, Baile na nGall, Ciarrar An Spideal and it would bring them to their senses.

It's a bit head wrecking, but people have been talking like that since I was a kid over 20 years ago. It's not something exclusive to 'youngsters'.

s7ryf3925pivug

This is just bashing southside Dublin people. I'm from southside Dublin and am regularly taken to be American because my accent sounds that way to some people. (It doesn't sound that way to Americans though.) It's not an affectation or me imitating US TV shows. When I grew up we only had a few channels and the content was mainly English or Irish. It's just my accent, get over it.

People from higher status backgrounds have more geographically homogenous accents. People from poorer areas have more regional accents. It's not an American accent, it's a middle class accent some people associate with Americans. So really this boils down to reverse snobbery and bashing people because of where they're from.

[Deleted User]

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Then there’s the use of that appalling American neologism “OK” for yes, or alright.

What does it even mean? What’s the O and K mean?

I could be wrong but I think i read that it stood for "oll korrect", a deliberate bastardisation of all correct from way way back. Some sort of secret messaging system, maybe wartime or anti establishment.

Hoboo

Kohen Green Servant wrote: »

This is just bashing southside Dublin people. I'm from southside Dublin and am regularly taken to be American because my accent sounds that way to some people. (It doesn't sound that way to Americans though.) It's not an affectation or me imitating US TV shows. When I grew up we only had a few channels and the content was mainly English or Irish. It's just my accent, get over it.

People from higher status backgrounds have more geographically homogenous accents. People from poorer areas have more regional accents. It's not an American accent, it's a middle class accent some people associate with Americans. So really this boils down to reverse snobbery and bashing people because of where they're from.

Mid Atlantic accent, have one myself. It comes from my parents speaking without an accent. Born in south Dublin too, but moved at 6 to a Louth town with one of the worst accents imaginable, and my parent ensured I didn't 'staaaat speakin liyk dat so they did'. Only issue Ive ever encountered is from people with inferiority complexes and as you said, regional accents and inverted snobbery.

Klinkhammer

Kohen Green Servant wrote: »

This is just bashing southside Dublin people. I'm from southside Dublin and am regularly taken to be American because my accent sounds that way to some people. (It doesn't sound that way to Americans though.) It's not an affectation or me imitating US TV shows. When I grew up we only had a few channels and the content was mainly English or Irish. It's just my accent, get over it.

People from higher status backgrounds have more geographically homogenous accents. People from poorer areas have more regional accents. It's not an American accent, it's a middle class accent some people associate with Americans. So really this boils down to reverse snobbery and bashing people because of where they're from.

I'm from a middle class area in southside Dublin and some people have the accent you describe. Most picked it up when they went to private secondary schools or UCD. The lads that didn't go to these schools or college still have a normal Dublin accent.

So what I'm saying is that you're talking bollox.

SQ2

dxhound2005 wrote: »

You do that yourself.

I todally do.
Anyone for a wader?

s7ryf3925pivug

Klinkhammer wrote: »

I'm from a middle class area in southside Dublin and some people have the accent you describe. Most picked it up when they went to private secondary schools or UCD. The lads that didn't go to these schools or college still have a normal Dublin accent.

So what I'm saying is that you're talking bollox.

No I'm not. Maybe you know people who copied the accent to fit in. But the people they copied just grew up with the accent. The fact it's in private schools is pretty much my point - it's a middle class accent. You're just bashing them for being middle class.

Klinkhammer

Kohen Green Servant wrote: »

No I'm not. Maybe you know people who deliberately copied the accent to fit in. But the people they copied just grew up with the accent. The fact it's in private schools is pretty much my point - it's a middle class accent. You're just bashing them for being middle class.

I'm middle class and I have a normal Dublin accent from the area I'm from. Most middle class people in Dublin don't speak with the accent in question.

[Deleted User]

Klinkhammer wrote: »

I'm middle class and I have a normal Dublin accent from the area I'm from. Most middle class people in Dublin don't speak with the accent in question.

What exactly constitutes middle class?

NinetyTwoTeam

This thread has been done several times already. Irish people aren't happy unless everyone is drinkin tae and footin turf wit no notions.

i live in a tourist town and have had lots of American friends visit over 10 years living back here, never had a single American visitor think anyone here sounds American, and when i speak to them in person or skype they sound so different to Irish people it still surprises me.

was listening to Saoirse Ronan interview today, have to say it's a lot less cringey listening to her US accent in Ladybird, than to hear all the words woth dropped g's and all the other errors the typical Irish patter is laced with. Even in schools its acceptable to have horrible English, I'd say 50% of the population here don't know there is a difference between being and been and use the latter every time

s7ryf3925pivug

Klinkhammer wrote: »

I'm middle class and I have a normal Dublin accent from the area I'm from. Most middle class people in Dublin don't speak with the accent in question.

Well hurray for social mobility. Go back 60 or 70 years and your family probably weren't middle class.

And I have a normal Dublin accent too ffs. The accent people are slagging off is a normal genuine accent. I know a lot more people who grew up with it and learnt to affect a more traditional Dub accent than the other way around. Don't know if they think it sounds tougher or they just felt the need to ingratiate themselves with tossers who judge others by how they speak.

Klinkhammer

Kohen Green Servant wrote: »

Well hurray for social mobility. Go back 60 or 70 years and your family probably weren't middle class.

No they weren't. Are you saying your grandparents talk with a Mid-atlantic accent because I bet they don't.

Spanish Eyes

Oh and what is this fresh hell of interviewees on radio saying "Thanks for having me" to the interviewer.

Sounds salacious to me and kind of unfinished too.

How can anyone "have you" on radio. I love a good oul rant.

s7ryf3925pivug

Klinkhammer wrote: »

No they weren't. Are you saying your grandparents talk with a Mid-atlantic accent because I bet they don't.

I don't know precisely what that is but yes my grandparents absolutely had the same accent I do.

MonkieSocks

harry Bailey esq wrote: »

Drive me mad on the train. Today it was so bad I was jumped up, and at the top of my voice roared ALRIGHT ALREADY!

Give Samuel Jackson a call, he hates "Yanks On A Train"

demanufactured

freshpopcorn wrote: »

A guy I went to school with used often talk about the shopping cart, parking lot, the trunk and the sidewalk. He just watched to much American TV!

Too.

Klinkhammer

Kohen Green Servant wrote: »

I don't know precisely what that is but yes my grandparents absolutely had the same accent I do.

I think we're talking about the type of accent that Eoghan Murphy has. No one over the age of 50 talks like that.