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Ending you sentence in a high note and the Americanisation of the Irish accent

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Ending your sentence in a high note seems to be the default phonetic setting these days. Does anyone else notice this when they're talking to people, I've become paranoid that I might be doing it myself without noticing. I originally thought it was some type of insecurity issue that people had but it seems that everyone is doing it. I never considered this to be part of the north American vernacular but how has it become so widespread in Ireland?

Separately, on my way into work last week there were two early twenty college students and I swear they speaking with at 90% American accent. I wasn't sure if they were taking the piss at first but they kept it up, talking about they're class, subjects etc in an American accent!!!

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ohfa6muwtsvkc1

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

It’s a popular saying down in Kerry, derived from the Irish word for mother.

Around most gaeltachts tbh. I didn't grow up in one but within driving distance. Everyone said/says "Mom".

To have someone tell me that it's unIrish is as hilarious as it is tragic.

topper75

Day Lewin wrote: »

And when did the expression "I said..." get replaced by "I'm like..." ???

Probably around the same time as Absolutely replaced Yes.

[Deleted User]

my brother lives in NZ and he speaks the same, it's so infuriating too.. I have to dumb my brain to just tune in....anyone speaking this way literally operates on a different frequency and it's slower!! hence they are too

Grab All Association

Nothing wrong with American accents depending on the region. East coast accents are a huge turn off whereas Nebraska, certain parts of Kansas would just melt you.

Irish girls and twats in Dee Forbes (get it?) putting them on though need a good smack of the back of the hand off the priest

Dufflecoat Fanny

Have ye ever heard susan cahill on the radio? Not a mid Atlantic accent more like a news reader on acid. Make ya want to rip the radio out.

Wibbs

Zayden Nervous Lump wrote: »

Around most gaeltachts tbh. I didn't grow up in one but within driving distance. Everyone said/says "Mom".

To have someone tell me that it's unIrish is as hilarious as it is tragic.

"UnIrish"? That in itself is a Yankism. "UnAmerican" is a popular word in those parts and bloody odd anywhere else(and sounds beyond ridiculous even in its original context). On the "mom" front, ages ago now I set a little challenge for all those out there who said "Mom" was as Irish as spuds* to go and find any Irish person on TV, or film, or radio, or in print using "mom" before the mid nineties. There's plenty of data out there on the interwebs and yet...

Now I have no doubt that it might have been used in some gaeltacht areas - though my memory of it on many visits to same as a kid was it was closer to a broader A than O, more Maom, than mom if you see what I mean. Even the spelling is with an A, as is the more formal spelling for mother. Regardless no way in hell was it as widespread as today. Funny enough John B Keane, as Kerry as you can get used "mam" in his writings. I've heard the occasional elderly born and bred Dub using mom because they picked it up from their grandkids and a long way from Irish speaking they are. On the Dublin front I specifically remember it being an "alien" pronunciation as in my teens in the 80's I knew an American lass who had moved here with her parents in the recent past and she get some gentle slagging when she'd use "mom" and other American pronunciations. Mid Atlantic accents in Irish people were seen as seriously uncool and only reserved for low rent DJs. I even remember reading a book by Billy Connolly of all people who noted it on his travels in the US and made some low wattage joke how it was Wow upside down.

Maybe it was an Irish speaking isolate in one small part of the country, but in the vast majority of the rest of the country it's an almost guaranteed loan word from American cultural influence, just like the increasing mid Atlantic accent and vocal inflection, and not just among young people. And that's fine, accents shift, but at least we can be honest about why.

bodice ripper wrote:

Some of us actually have this accent and are sick to the back teeth of dealing with middle aged men, who believe they are the salt of the earth, thinking they've made some insightful observation when they have you cornered in a pub.

To be fair yeah that's a pain if you are an American/Canadian and it's just your accent.

*that comparison works better actually

Wibbs

Tell me how wrote: »

Whatever about the mid-Atlantic twang spoken about above, what I find really irritating is the vocal fry as practised by the Kardashians and the likes.

The Enbalmer

The Transatlantic Interrogative Inflection is the proper,like,name for it.

Used by airheads,halfwits and D4 wannabies for the past 10 years or so and becoming more,like prevalent.

[Deleted User]

Ariadne

I say mom, I was raised to say mom and most of my friends used ''mom'' too. There were some lads that used to tease us about it because they said mam but otherwise it seemed fairly normal. I've noticed it seems to be a middle class city thing. Like middle class children in Cork city and Dublin city seem to grow up saying mom. It's really only being on boards that makes it obvious to me that most people say mam. Even when I was in Dublin most of my friends that I made in college said mom too. Now though I feel self-conscious saying it in front of people who say mam because I know they probably find it odd.

I don't have a vocal fry but I have this Bonnie Tyler voice like I've been smoking 60 cigarettes a day because of my lung problems

Wibbs

Succubus_ wrote: »

I say mom, I was raised to say mom and most of my friends used ''mom'' too. There were some lads that used to tease us about it because they said mam but otherwise it seemed fairly normal. I've noticed it seems to be a middle class city thing. Like middle class children in Cork city and Dublin city seem to grow up saying mom.

I'm middle class, born and bred in Dublin as are most of my friends I grew up with and not a "mom" user among them, "mam", or "mum" were the variants(though I've noted two of them are using "mom" more, but it's a recent thing). Now I'm older than you, which suggests a generational change and one I'd mark down to circa the 90's, which again strongly suggests no "Irish language" influence and much more a US cultural influence as both the interwebs and more TV channels spread throughout the country.

I'd personally reckon the interwebs and spellcheckers had more of an effect. Why? well being as I said a Dub, as a child in the 70's and 80's we had "piped TV" so more channels than those beyond the Pale and a lot of those TV programmes were American and British. Sesame Street came up in a thread earlier and I adored that show as a kid(picked up some Spanish from it) and grew up and feasted on

Kojak, Starsky and Hutch etc, absorbed US Marvel comics like sunlight(remainder stock in little shop across the road from Eason. Dirt cheap:D) and yet neither me nor my peers had American or British accents. I do recall getting static from an English teacher for using an American spelling in an essay(I remember clearly using "thru" instead of "through". The shame.

), which I almost certainly picked up from Spiderman or whatever. That made me so twitchy then I still use "gaol" instead of "jail", when almost nobody does anymore.

So I can well understand with wall to wall American TV and American interwebs how many, particularly younger folks are picking up the accents and spellings. If I had been born in say 2000 I'd probably be talking like that too. After all look at threads here on Boards over the last only few years, with talk of "cucks" and "liberal" and "SJW" and "alt-right" and all sorts of the dafter American political identity nonsense(when I saw Irish Boardsies use MAGA... Jesus). They didn't hear that in any gaeltacht.

EDIT. I notice S you said it was mostly lads who mostly highlighted you saying "mom". I remember reading somewhere that young women are more likely to absorb accents(and peer slang) than young men and I have noticed the mid Atlantic accent to be much more prevalent in Irish women than in Irish men. A mate of mine has three kids, two girls and a boy, the boy sounds entirely "local", whereas both the girls have the "American" accent thing, the younger being the more accentuated of the two(There's a ten year gap between them). Another mate of mine's parents who are fairly old;

his mother says "mom", his father "mam". It's interesting stuff this accent/language thing.

Mickeroo

I think mom sounds odd, mum or mam is grand though.

bodice ripper

Wibbs wrote:

To be fair yeah that's a pain if you are an American/Canadian and it's just your accent.

Or, to be fair, anyone who spent some of their childhood in international schools. A blanded out accent on a native English speaker is usually interpreted as an American accent. Myself and a number of friends have this background, with minimal time spent in the US. We never get asked are we from the States by Americans.

jiltloop

Zayden Nervous Lump wrote: »

Around most gaeltachts tbh. I didn't grow up in one but within driving distance. Everyone said/says "Mom".

To have someone tell me that it's unIrish is as hilarious as it is tragic.

It's most certainly non Irish when spoken in an American accent by someone from South Dublin.

Wibbs

bodice ripper wrote: »

Or, to be fair, anyone who spent some of their childhood in international schools. A blanded out accent on a native English speaker is usually interpreted as an American accent.

International schools overwhelmingly tend to have a mid Atlantic accent and are more Websters than Oxford in spellings too. A blended out English speaking accent today is far more likely to sound "American", whereas go back a few generations and it would be far more likely to sound "British".

Ariadne

Wibbs wrote: »

I'm middle class, born and bred in Dublin as are most of my friends I grew up with and not a "mom" user among them, "mam", or "mum" were the variants(though I've noted two of them are using "mom" more, but it's a recent thing). Now I'm older than you, which suggests a generational change and one I'd mark down to circa the 90's, which again strongly suggests no "Irish language" influence and much more a US cultural influence as both the interwebs and more TV channels spread throughout the country.

I'd personally reckon the interwebs and spellcheckers had more of an effect. Why? well being as I said a Dub, as a child in the 70's and 80's we had "piped TV" so more channels than those beyond the Pale and a lot of those TV programmes were American and British. Sesame Street came up in a thread earlier and I adored that show as a kid(picked up some Spanish from it) and grew up and feasted on Kojak, Starsky and Hutch etc, absorbed US Marvel comics like sunlight(remainder stock in little shop across the road from Eason. Dirt cheap:D) and yet neither me nor my peers had American or British accents. I do recall getting static from an English teacher for using an American spelling in an essay(I remember clearly using "thru" instead of "through". The shame. ), which I almost certainly picked up from Spiderman or whatever. That made me so twitchy then I still use "gaol" instead of "jail", when almost nobody does anymore.

So I can well understand with wall to wall American TV and American interwebs how many, particularly younger folks are picking up the accents and spellings. If I had been born in say 2000 I'd probably be talking like that too. After all look at threads here on Boards over the last only few years, with talk of "cucks" and "liberal" and "SJW" and "alt-right" and all sorts of the dafter American political identity nonsense(when I saw Irish Boardsies use MAGA... Jesus). They didn't hear that in any gaeltacht.

EDIT. I notice S you said it was mostly lads who mostly highlighted you saying "mom". I remember reading somewhere that young women are more likely to absorb accents(and peer slang) than young men and I have noticed the mid Atlantic accent to be much more prevalent in Irish women than in Irish men. A mate of mine has three kids, two girls and a boy, the boy sounds entirely "local", whereas both the girls have the "American" accent thing, the younger being the more accentuated of the two(There's a ten year gap between them). Another mate of mine's parents who are fairly old; his mother says "mom", his father "mam". It's interesting stuff this accent/language thing.

Oh I'd agree with you that it's a modern thing, the friends that I have who use ''mom'' were born in the early 80s at the earliest and late 80s to 90s mostly. It's odd alright because both of my parents said ''mam'' for their own mothers but I don't remember being encouraged to say it myself, and I spent a lot of my time with my grandparents growing up. Fine thick Cork accents on them and my parents

With friends though, most of us have this neutral Irish accent. In some of my words alright you'd hear that I'm from Cork but it's definitely not as strong as my parents or grandparents. When I lived in Dublin people knew I wasn't a Dub but often couldn't place me, just as a culchie

I think television must have an influence, and the internet as well these days. I grew up watching a lot of American tv shows. We didn't get the internet until I was 12 so I don't think that had as much of an impact. My accent is fecked now anyway having lived in Dublin, the UK and living with a German who has a weird mix of an Irish/German accent. Since I'm a recluse I spent most of my time with her and rarely talk to people on the phone so I've one weird accent now :pac:

Wibbs

bodice ripper wrote: »

We never get asked are we from the States by Americans.

I have found Americans, even well travelled ones aren't generally great at placing other English speaker accents. Much like many non Americans think the "American accent" is a singular one. The Irish accent throws them. They tend to expect a diddly aye accent and if you don't have that they're a tad confused. They're better at it than they were though, what with more Irish accents on famous people showing up on their telly. Back in the 80's I had British, Australian or even Canadian(?) as suggestions put forward by Americans in their native environs. Irish came way down the list.

I've also felt they've not such a great ear with non Americans faking their accent. I found a show like House with Hugh Laurie hard going at times because to me his accent sounded "wrong", even grating at times, yet many Americans were apparently shocked he was a Brit and critics raved about how good his accent was. Yer man Rick outa the Walking Dead another one that can take me "out of the moment".

Wibbs

Succubus_ wrote: »

When I lived in Dublin people knew I wasn't a Dub but often couldn't place me, just as a culchie

That's us Dubs for ya.

Church on Tuesday

sbsquarepants wrote: »

And this one time, in band camp....

I can not stand it, fúck right off you pseudo sceptic, valley girl wannabe shower of dicks!:mad:

I remember years ago being hit on by this fairly hot Calafornian girl and having to actually leave the pub - when single, I'd get up on cracked plate but this girls accent was hurting my very soul, I just couldn't bear it.

If she had of just shut the hell up, there'd have been no problem, but nooo!!!

Wait, what? you were (I assume) single, a hot Californian girl was hitting on you... and you just upped and left?! because of her accent?

That was... not very clever.

kowloon

Deleted User wrote: »

This was just the thing I was thinking of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVjRG7PB_4

Pythagorean

Day Lewin wrote: »

Saw an article once, and the author claimed quite persuasively that it could all be traced to "Friends"

Apparently before 3/4 of the world's teenagers watched that show, the upwards-ending-sentence was not heard in the other English-speaking countries.

Not to mention A B Ceez and X Y Zees.

And when did the expression "I said..." get replaced by "I'm like..." ???

A young lady of my acquaintance spoke with a pronounced American accent, even though Dublin born and bred. I genuinely believed she was from the US, so one day I asked her how long she had spent there. She said she was never there, so I asked about her accent. She replied " Gee, my mom and I spend a lot of time watching American sitcoms, so I guess that's where my accent comes from"

mikemac2

Do the math OP

sbsquarepants

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Wait, what? you were (I assume) single, a hot Californian girl was hitting on you... and you just upped and left?! because of her accent?

That was... not very clever.

Sounds a bit crazy when you say it out loud like that alright:D but she was just too grating, I couldn't hack it.

The accent and the vocal lift thing annoy me at the best of times, but normally I'd just suck it up and get on with it especially if there's some sexy time to be had, but she also had this really high pitched voice and she just would not shut up - I just couldn't take any more. I wasn't an asshole about it or anything I just made my excuses and bounced on!