Hi. I was just writing and thought a particular character might have an Irish accent. So I think I'd like to ask how Irishmen talk, and whether anyone here at YWS speaks Gaelic fluently. The project I'm working on is fantasy, but every good story could use a basis in fact... so. Any help?
"The one thing you can't trade for your heart's desire is your heart." Miles Vorkosigan
"You can be an author if you learn to paint pictures with words." Brian Jacques
It might be worth your while to look up the phonology of Irish English. This article seems like a pretty good start. Gives a broad overview of the words, sayings, and pronunciation of Irish English. You'll probably have to look up the international phonetic alphabet and the sounds each of those letters make (YouTube is pretty good for that!) but it'll give you a pretty solid idea.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo
Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
Other sources outside of YouTube exist! Wikipedia has pronunciation for various sounds, but you have to allow something in your browser, which I haven't. I'm not sure where to start, but looking up various linguistic/International Phonetic Alphabet resources is what you're looking for.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo
Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
Well, for the accent part, you have to realise that the country is split into counties, and the accents vary. Like, a lot. Like, I live in Tipperary, and speak with what's called a 'bogeyman's' accent. The name comes from the fact that Tipperary is a very rural place, with a lot of bogs. For the sake of your project, I'd say go with a Dublin accent, because it's the capital city.
The accent isn't the hardest part, to be honest. The speech patterns and idioms should be your main focus. For example, where an American person might say "You're kidding" out of disbelief, I would say "Go away" and turn my head back and forth. It's stuff like that that give the character portrayal that extra bit of realism.
The term 'Gaelic', when used to talk about the Irish language, is outdated. People say 'Irish' or the Irish word for Irish, 'Gaeilge'.
Nobody really speaks fluent Irish any more since it was hammered out of us by the English. There are certain communities in Ireland where everyone speaks Irish, but those are rare. Most people learn Irish through school. It's compulsory from baby infants (kindergarten) up to the last year of second level education. Then you can chose to study it in college or not. Although, most people have a hard time grasping Irish, since it's not very similar to English; due to the fact that Irish is a Celtic language and English comes from Latin. Basically, unless you character is very patriotic (like a lot of middle aged Irish men are btw), the chances of him speaking Irish in every day life is unlikely.
In you need more help with anything, feel free to ask me! I can help you with certain idioms, colloquial language, accent stuff- whatever.
Ó, dia dhuit! Thosaigh mé ag labhairt Gaeilge nuair a bhí mé ach sé mbliana d'aois. Níl an gramadach is fearr sa domhan agam, ach tuigim an teanga, agus, go leor, chultúr agus daoine na hEirinn!
Is it Irish (no Irish person calls it Gaelic, ever, Rule #1, it's Irish or Gaeilge) or Hiberno-English you're after? Because...
Well howya, sure haven't I been speaking Hiberno-English since I was six! I haven't the best grammar in the world now, but you know, I understand the language, the culture of Ireland, and of course the people as well!
(same phrase, different dialects)
Last edited by StellaThomas on Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Stella. You were in my dream the other night. And everyone called you Princess." -Lauren2010
[code][/code]That's something you'd have to look up. I've never seen one, but my county is inland.
I read that article Rosey posted. It's good, for the most part, just be weary of the loan words.
Some other fun tips! -We overuse the word 'literally' - (outside of Dublin and Leinster I think) The letter 't' is not pronounced unless it's at the start of a word. -Th becomes D - To be good at something, like a school subject' is to have it. Eg "I'm good at maths" = "I have maths"
So on and so on.
Honesty, go watch 'Republic of Telly'. You'll get to know what a real Irish accent sounds like, pick up a bit of Irish English, and it's really funny!!
(Stella I'm in TY and haven't seen Irish in about five months. That physically hurt.)
HighTop, I never heard of any of the stuff you're speaking of XD Go away or I have maths is pretty weird to me, which just shows that it seems to be split across the country
Personally here most people seem to just speak normal English without much of an accent. Some do, of course. One thing I noticed in particular is that people with an irish accent horribly overuse the phrase 'you know'. Tis like, "Well, you know, yesterday I had breakfast, you know, and you know, it was good you know." +.-
I think "I have maths" makes sense because that's the phrase in Irish! Like if you know how to swim you say "I have swimming" (in Irish, of course). Tá snamh agam (I think) means "I have swimming" or "There is swimming at me".
All my knowledge comes come three months of beginner's Gaeilge, but I'd like to say I remember some stuff.
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