In almost every country, there is a national understanding of accents that imbue characteristics of low or high prestige social classes. For an island which is geographically very small, Ireland has an incredibly diverse accent culture, which is part due to our very complicated relationship with the English language.
Diverse influences
Scots, Irish Gaelic, 17th century English and Hiberno-English (the variety of English spoken throughout Ireland) have all influenced the development of Northern Irish English, and this mixture explains the very distinctive hybrid that has emerged.
Phonologists today often divide Irish English into four or five overarching dialects or accents: Ulster accents, West and South-West Irish accents (like Cork accents), various Dublin accents, and a non-regional standard accent expanding since only the last quarter of the twentieth century (outside of Northern Ireland).
Well, despite its modest size, Ireland* offers up a cornucopia of local dialects — it'd be improper to talk about a single Irish accent. Indeed, linguists use the term Hiberno-English to refer to the lively bunch of Irish English varieties scattered throughout the island.
The Irish English accent has been influenced by the Irish language itself (Gaelic), the English accent of immigrants from the West country, and to a lesser extent by the Scottish dialect and accent.
Through war and famine, Irish was strongly challenged, but the English hadn't completely eliminated the language by the time Ireland got its independence in 1922. Over the past decade there have been various attempts to resurrect it, and groups like Conradh na Gaeilge have pushed for the teaching of the language.
IPA guide. Other forms: brogues. You may know of a brogue as a thick Irish accent, and that can help you remember another meaning: it's also a thick Irish shoe. Brogues are heavy, sturdy Irish shoes, and they're usually made from untanned hide.
Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language; the United Kingdom has the largest variation of accents of any country in the world, no single "British accent" exists.
“May the road rise up to meet you” is one of the most famous Irish blessings. You can read all about the meaning behind it here.
Donegal – soft, dulcet tones à la Enya
The Donegal accent is commonly described as the sexiest accent in all of the Emerald Isle across numerous surveys, and we couldn't agree more. These sweet, dulcet tones can't be found elsewhere in Ireland.
The Newfoundland accent uncannily recalls the Irish accents of Waterford, Kilkenny, and Cork: This woman's may be the closest match yet. The Newfoundland Irish accent like you've never heard it before!
Donegal has it all. According to research by the hotel chain Jury's Inn, Donegal people have been judged to have the sexiest accents in Ireland. Over 1,000 people were questioned for the survey and a massive 37% felt the dulcet tones from the north-west beat the rest of the country hands down.
On the whole, no. There are a lot of very different Irish accents, and Australian got a fair amount of a blend of them (because quite a lot of Irish were transported to Australia back in the day) but they're not the dominant influence and Australian doesn't sound like any particular one.
brogue. 2 of 2 noun. : a dialect or regional pronunciation. especially : an Irish accent.
While people from Ireland, Britain, or Scotland tend to be genetically similar, genetic clusters show that even within countries, there are distinct regional differences, and this update captures some of that.
Three main varieties of Australian English are spoken according to linguists: broad, general and cultivated. They are part of a continuum, reflecting variations in accent.
Of foreign accents, the British accent is the #1 most liked, chosen by 69% of respondents.
Geordie. People from Newcastle speak a dialect called Geordie, which is one of the strongest and most distinctive accents in England.
Local Dublin English (or Popular Dublin English) refers to a traditional, broad, working-class variety spoken in Dublin. It is the only Irish English variety that in earlier history was non-rhotic; however, it is today weakly rhotic, and it uniquely pronounces: PRICE as raised: [əɪ].
Grand (an iconic bit of Irish slang)
Grand means OK. You'll hear it most commonly used as a response to, 'How's it going'/'How are you feeling? '/'How are you today? '.
Founded a long, long time ago (we're talking 841 A.D), Dublin is Ireland's captivating capital city and is full of pebble-stoned pathways and ancient buildings that have had front-row seats to history for centuries.
The oddly named letter H is usually pronounced 'aitch' /eɪtʃ/ in British English, but in Ireland we tend to aspirate it as 'haitch' /heɪtʃ/. This haitching is a distinctive feature of Hiberno-English, one that may have originated as an a hypercorrection but is now the norm in most Irish dialects.