What exactly is English (Ireland) and the way we write?

robp · 24-12-2010 11:32PM #1

Hi,

In Microsoft Word 2010 there is a language option entitled "English (Ireland)". I use it when possible but I have yet to notice any difference from the British option. Is there any difference from English (UK)?

This raises a broader question. Is English written in Ireland different in any way from British English? Is our Hiberno-English tongue purely a spoken (and colloquial) phenomenon?

aidan_walsh · 24-12-2010 11:33PM

IIRC it relates largely to keyboard mappings for things like the euro key and vowel accents.

General General · 24-12-2010 11:37PM

robp wrote: »

Hi,

In Microsoft Word 2010 there is an language option entitled "English (Ireland)". I use when it possible but I have yet to notice any difference to the British option. Is there any real difference from English (UK)?

This raises a broader question. Is written English in Ireland different in any way from British English? Is our Hiberno-English tongue purely a spoken (and colloquial) phenomena?

Too many grammatical errors, didn't correct.

e2e · 24-12-2010 11:47PM

I am from the RS (Bosnia) and I have no idea about the differences mentioned.:)

Cheers & Slainte

kowloon · 24-12-2010 11:56PM

General General wrote: »

Too many grammatical errors,I didn't correct them.

Now someone can correct this post and put me in my place.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 25-12-2010 12:28AM

Whiskey instead of whisky is all I can think of.

dlofnep · 25-12-2010 12:31AM

Aidan is correct. It's for currency, and vowel accents.

Fratton Fred · 25-12-2010 01:05AM

It's a bit like Irish Breakfast tea. There is no difference between the Irish and English versions, but calling them different things stops people whinging.

confusticated · 25-12-2010 01:10AM

aidan_walsh wrote: »

IIRC it relates largely to keyboard mappings for things like the euro key and vowel accents.

But...changing the dictionary to French doesn't change the keyboard to French layout, so this doesn't make any sense to me. Also, there aren't any vowel accents in English words. Am I missing something?

AntiMatter · 25-12-2010 01:16AM

confusticated wrote: »

But...changing the dictionary to French doesn't change the keyboard to French layout, so this doesn't make any sense to me. Also, there aren't any vowel accents in English words. Am I missing something?

I think he means vowel accents as in the Irish fáda and French circonflexe, cedrille, etc.

confusticated · 25-12-2010 01:20AM

AntiMatter wrote: »

I think he means vowel accents as in the Irish fáda and French circonflexe, cedrille, etc.

Yeah, but in English(Ireland), there aren't any accents. I understand changing to Irish cos the spellings are different since the language is different.

AntiMatter · 25-12-2010 01:24AM

confusticated wrote: »

Yeah, but in English(Ireland), there aren't any accents. I understand changing to Irish cos the spellings are different since the language is different.

The only application I could think of would be names and place names.

Skerries · 25-12-2010 01:26AM

in the Irish version certain letters are dropped and picked up
"wha the **** are youse two bleedin' talkin abou'?"

Terry · 25-12-2010 01:31AM

Jaysus, feck and so forth.

robp · 25-12-2010 10:52AM

Interesting. Thanks for all the replies.

enda1 · 25-12-2010 11:11AM

Yea nothing to do with keyboard mapping I'd say, that's on OS setting.
Maybe placenames?

Or else the odd use of Irish words in English, such as "marla" for plasticine or "craic" for fun or "cailín" for girl.

<couldn't be bothered opening word to check the verity of this>

raymann · 25-12-2010 11:26AM

so that people like rebelheart can actually post on here without compromising his beliefs.

pickarooney · 25-12-2010 11:55AM

The grammar checker allows things like 'does be' and 'I'm after doing it' and 'buck eejit'.

Big Ears · 25-12-2010 12:18PM

It includes 'delph' as a word ?

upandcumming · 25-12-2010 12:28PM

It is actually for words like centre where it is spelled center in USA.

Also, if you change the English Ireland to English America, the keyboard will be different. The @ will be where the " is on your keyboard, provided you bought the keyboard in Ireland.

enda1 · 25-12-2010 06:52PM

upandcumming wrote: »

It is actually for words like centre where it is spelled center in USA.

Also, if you change the English Ireland to English America, the keyboard will be different. The @ will be where the " is on your keyboard, provided you bought the keyboard in Ireland.

bollocks

upandcumming · 27-12-2010 02:26AM

enda1 wrote: »

bollocks

Ah shoo will you? You clearly haven't a notion.

Ruu_Old · 27-12-2010 02:29AM

Hold out the pinky if you are using English (UK). Just forget about it with English (Ireland) but make sure to whistle a few tunes from about the rare auld town every once in a while.

starbelgrade · 27-12-2010 02:34AM

enda1 wrote: »

bollocks

If you used the "English (Ireland)" language option, that would have read "bollix".

Star Bingo · 27-12-2010 02:54AM

its a sleight of hand. a distinct twang of the pen

Capt'n Midnight · 27-12-2010 02:55AM

It's so the can charge government depts extra for the "new language"

Hiberno-English is quite different from what they speak over in England.

For a start , especially the start of words, we don't get mixed up with 'f' and 's' and don't drop 'h'

at the other end of the scale we have a lot more Nobel prizes for literature per capita than other English speaking countries

pickarooney · 27-12-2010 10:17AM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

It's so the can charge government depts extra for the "new language"

Hiberno-English is quite different from what they speak over in England.

For a start , especially the start of words, we don't get mixed up with 'f' and 's' and don't drop 'h'

at the other end of the scale we have a lot more Nobel prizes for literature per capita than other English speaking countries

There have only been three, and two of them ****ed off out of Ireland the first chance they got.

Elohim · 27-12-2010 11:10AM

It's actually just a thing thought up by the marketing and pr departments in Microsoft. Nothing to do with keyboard changes or anything like that.
Mystery solved. :cool:

Capt'n Midnight · 27-12-2010 01:17PM

pickarooney wrote: »

There have only been three, and two of them ****ed off out of Ireland the first chance they got.

aren't you forgetting George Bernard Shaw ?

pickarooney · 27-12-2010 01:22PM

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

aren't you forgetting George Bernard Shaw ?

No, I'm including him as he emigrated to London before he started writing. I'm 'forgetting' Seamus Heaney as he's from the UK.

4zn76tysfajdxp · 27-12-2010 01:26PM

Terry wrote: »

Jaysus, feck and so forth.

Pretty sure they say "so forth" in Britain.

What exactly is English (Ireland) and the way we write?

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