Irish with American accents

Captain Chaos · 21-07-2012 10:45PM

Sky King wrote: »

What about those people? Who say every sentence like a question? Even when it isn't a question? Does that annoy you OP?

Because it annoys me?

That's that American upward inflection thing, every sentence sounds like a question even when they are stating a fact.

Atomicjuicer · 22-07-2012 10:35AM

I have this.

We grew up with bog one and bog two (rte for those who don't know!) and only watched tv on the weekends.

I had plenty of friends with different accents growing up (mostly varying Dublin accents).

I think there were a few factors but I can't pin it down to anything specific. When introduced to people over the years they always assume I'm American and I use the "watched too much tv" line to get out of the questions which I can't answer.

When I was 20 I actually visited America for the first time and was curious to see what the locals made of my accent.

You see I believe that I made a sort of subconscious effort over the years to speak as neutrally as possible because I had difficulty understanding very thick accents. I think I also noticed that people who spoke with very strong local accents were often of a different mind set to me. I can go into this if you like but seeing most of the comments on the thread I get the impression that I might just antagonize people.

Funnily enough the Americans didn't think I was Irish at all. I had to show people my passport and speak Irish (weirder I found myself trying to put on a sort of Irish accent to clarify that there were some things I didn't understand about American culture because they just assumed I would know certain things). I asked people what part of America they thought I was from and they all said Boston. I believe Boston has a large Irish community though.

Badly Drunk Boy · 22-07-2012 11:03AM

I hate when they pronounce 'film' as if it's 'movie'.

Feathers · 22-07-2012 11:16AM

The Boards ads targeting is getting better, I'm being shown ones for 'London Voice Coaching'

22-07-2012 11:20AM

To be honest, the two accents aren't that different in the first place. Some of my cousins in the North almost sound American and they're definitely not posh or trying to impress anyone.

newmug · 22-07-2012 11:20AM

Atomicjuicer wrote: »

I have this.

We grew up with bog one and bog two (rte for those who don't know!) and only watched tv on the weekends.

You see I believe that I made a sort of subconscious effort over the years to speak as neutrally as possible because I had difficulty understanding very thick accents. I think I also noticed that people who spoke with very strong local accents were often of a different mind set to me. I can go into this if you like but seeing most of the comments on the thread I get the impression that I might just antagonize people.

What? The American accent is the least neutral accent you could possibly use!

I think some of it has to do with people's hearing. I notice deaf people or people who are slightly hard of hearing often have American accents, probably because thats the way they are hearing everybody else speaking. They probably dont even realise they they're slightly deaf. You touched on it there AtomicJuicer when you said you find it hard to understand thick accents - maybe you're not fully hearing bits of it?

4zn76tysfajdxp · 22-07-2012 11:25AM

eth0 wrote: »

The lad was from Knocknaheeney, he should have been saying "c'mere to me boy, you're a tool!"

Using tool in that context is such an Americanism.

MichaelGUFC · 22-07-2012 01:34PM

Allot of accents are fading away,my granddad spoke in a thick Galway accent with broken Irish,I speak with more of a general Connacht accent

eth0 · 22-07-2012 01:43PM

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I hate when they pronounce 'film' as if it's 'movie'.

I hate when they leave out the 'u' in 'filum'

Augmerson · 22-07-2012 01:44PM

I spent a year living in Canada. I picked up the accent. It's a strange thing, for the life of me I cannot imitate any accent, but if I was sent to a location for a few weeks, you'd somehow pick it up. We once on a week holiday to Kerry visiting relations and I ended up sounded like I was from Kerry.

pragmatic1 · 22-07-2012 02:19PM

I've probably met about a hundred of these kinds in Donegal over the years. They were usually middle class, into rock/metal/punk/skating and obsessed with US culture. Usually complete tools but harmless enough.

DaSilva · 22-07-2012 02:30PM

eth0 wrote: »

CatFromHue wrote: »

Sometimes when I'm talking to someone with a strong Dublin accent my Dublin accent gets stronger....so OP what's your accent like?

Cork with a bit of Polish(?) apparently. Don't know where the polish came from, know a few people from there but didn't think I'd be pick up their accent

I'm going to spell it out for you. If you start a thread complaining about Irish people with American accents even though they've never been there, and then say, people say you have a Polish accent even though you've never been there, you come across a bit dim.

Playboy · 22-07-2012 02:40PM

Doom wrote: »

I was in Galway recently, got talking to two girls and a guy, thought one of the girls was an American, so I asked her where was she from, here she says.....I started laughing and said aren't all Americans from here, But she actually was Irish, I really started to laugh then, she was totally embarrassed, I kept slagging her about her American accent, she walked away... what a tool.

I think you will find in that situation you were the tool :rolleyes:

guitarzero · 22-07-2012 02:44PM

Heeey Duuuude, lay off!

eth0 · 22-07-2012 03:00PM

DaSilva wrote: »

I'm going to spell it out for you. If you start a thread complaining about Irish people with American accents even though they've never been there, and then say, people say you have a Polish accent even though you've never been there, you come across a bit dim.

A few people have said that to me but i dunno where they get that idea from. Tis possible that I picked up some from polish people i knew back in the day but most can tell straight away that i'm from cork or around that part of the country anyway

PrincessLola · 22-07-2012 03:00PM

Everybody's mad.

twistyj · 22-07-2012 03:17PM

I agree with alot thats being said here but i must admit that i lived in Canada for a year in 2010 but however i didnt pick up any trace of the accent but i did find myself doing that thing where you say something like a question "So i know this person?" "and she's really nice?"

ya like Michelle from American Pie....

I really hate it but i do i realise i do it from time to time.

But i speak with my normal Tipp accent and i am concerned with the loss of Irish identity these days but its funny that i too have asked people where in the states were they from with the answer being actually some city in Ireland.

Anyway to get to my point, i think that some people, naturally, assimilate the environment around them to fit in or progress in life and thats fine if you're in that country.

But having never set foot out of Europe and speaking with a North American accent? No no. No!

Blisterman · 22-07-2012 03:26PM

My English girlfriend gets irritated when I use phrases she considers to be American like soccer instead of football, apartment instead of flat and college instead of uni.

I personally find the subtle differences in languages and dialects, as a result of different influences to be fascinating. There's no "right" or "wrong" way of speaking.

Barry Barry · 22-07-2012 03:40PM

This guy; http://www.youtube.com/user/zXNoRegretzzXz

I found it very hard to believe hes from Cork

Feathers · 22-07-2012 07:51PM

Blisterman wrote: »

My English girlfriend gets irritated when I use phrases she considers to be American like soccer instead of football, apartment instead of flat and college instead of uni.

I personally find the subtle differences in languages and dialects, as a result of different influences to be fascinating. There's no "right" or "wrong" way of speaking.

If she's living in Ireland, she should know that uni is British, rather than college being American. Soccer gets used in Ireland too depending on who you're talking to (making a distinction from GAA and/or rugby). Always thought apartment was just to make your flat sound fancier since flats in Ireland would've been council flats before private ones caught on.

Jorah · 22-07-2012 08:38PM

I use an Irish accent in Ireland so I don't get beat up.

Atomicjuicer · 22-07-2012 09:07PM

newmug wrote: »

I think some of it has to do with people's hearing. I notice deaf people or people who are slightly hard of hearing often have American accents, probably because thats the way they are hearing everybody else speaking. They probably dont even realise they they're slightly deaf. You touched on it there AtomicJuicer when you said you find it hard to understand thick accents - maybe you're not fully hearing bits of it?

It's conceivable. Although I have the ability to hear sounds that others miss (or complain when music is too loud) I can struggle to interpret certain quick words in a group chat...

Brokentime · 23-07-2012 01:39AM

eth0 wrote: »

Cork with a bit of Polish(?) apparently.

By way of Drogheda, probably :eek:

Washington Irving · 23-07-2012 01:41AM

I don't know any Irish people with an American accent, thankfully

ElvisChrist6 · 23-07-2012 01:56AM

Hate fake American accents, but I think I hate this more...
I know this American girl, only new over here, and she's started saying things like "Oirish" instead of Irish, so I asked her what that's about... apparently it's from being around Irish people. But no one in Dublin/Kildare says that!! Certainly no one she knows!

Washington Irving · 23-07-2012 02:00AM

ElvisChrist6 wrote: »

Hate fake American accents, but I think I hate this more...
I know this American girl, only new over here, and she's started saying things like "Oirish" instead of Irish, so I asked her what that's about... apparently it's from being around Irish people. But no one in Dublin/Kildare says that!! Certainly no one she knows!

Actually, I believe 90% of the people who say "Oirish" are from the Greater Dublin Area

B.A._Baracus · 23-07-2012 02:04AM

A few years ago I knew someone like what the op exactly describes.

He had a thick "american" accent. Even tho it was widely known he, at best, only spent two years of his life being in the states. And even that was here and there....Not straight. He was born and raised in Ireland.

But yet, walked around talking with an american accent :rolleyes: But the guy was a uber bullshi*ter tho. So you cant really be shocked at his fake accent. Nearly everything he said he did was proved to be a lie.

southcentralts · 23-07-2012 02:09AM

So what poster on boards do you hear an american voice while reading?

Sorry whoopsadaisydoodles unless you are an american, in which case double sorry.

zenno · 23-07-2012 02:12AM

Any Irish person (especially D4 yokes) that hold their nose while talking needs to see a psychiatrist because this is an imbalance of normality and intelligence. They use to hold their noses up at people, now they are holding their noses to fake-talk an american accent, sorry case of human beings i say. Next time you talk to an Irish person especially from D4 watch their upper lip when they talk, it says it all. I feel sorry for them in a way. :pac:

Bobby Baccala · 23-07-2012 02:15AM

I knew a lad who never stepped foot in america, and he behaved like your average, over-dramatic, annoying american, the lad would listen to mo-town music to try and seem more american, the whole shebang, complete arse wipe if you ask me.

I have a nigerian mate who has a proper dublin accent, when he's around his oul one, he suddenly loses the accent and has a strange kind of african accent even though he cant speak a word of his native language.

Recently had a friend that's lived in new zealand for a number of years and completely lost his irish accent, after talking to him for half an hour while he was here we had managed to flush everything new zealand out of him, he was the same old irish lad again, mental how quick people can pick up and drop an accent.

Irish with American accents

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