Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • I think Ireland has to get something straight with the rest of the world,

  • or maybe just Hollywood.

  • You see we don't always sound like leprechauns on acid.

  • Thank you Tom Cruise, Gerry Butler, and Jesus have mercy on our soul, Julia Roberts.

  • (Shudders)

  • There's actually a big difference if you're either from the North, South, East, or West of Ireland.

  • Let's breakt it down and set this record correct.

  • Are you listening, Roberts?

  • Dublin is the capital

  • and the accent here was heavily influenced by the British occupation of Ireland for more than 800 years.

  • What's odd is that for such a relatively small city,

  • we have two very distinct accents.

  • Generally assigned to North and South side.

  • (Northern Dublin accent) On the North side you'll hear people talking like this.

  • Here the "d" replaces "th", so you get a lot of dis, dat, dese, and dose.

  • And if there's a "t" at the end of the word, bleedin' forgeh ih!

  • (Southern Dublin accent) Venture South and they'll speak absolutely like this.

  • The South Dublin accent is all about the o's and the oo's.

  • Elongate those vowels like yah yuh, like totally the opposite of the narrow sounds of the Northsider.

  • (Normal accent) Moving to the South (Cork accent) we come to the People's Republic of Cork, boy!

  • For some weird reasons everyone here speaks a few octaves higher than the rest of the country, boy!

  • It's a little bit forlorn and a little bit melodic.

  • And every now and again "boy" is thrown in for the craic.

  • Fair play to ya, boy!

  • (West Cork accent) Now move down a bit and you're into West Cork where it's a bit thicker and a bit faster.

  • Then there's Kerry and that's probably the jewel in the Irish accent crown.

  • Not sure if even Irish people understand this, unless they're from the Kingdom "itshelf".

  • (Kerry accent) Drops fast and furious.

  • "Sh" features in even when it's not there and you know like sure doesn't it "shound" better for it like y'know?

  • (Limerick accent) Limerick is more nasal and south from here, so you can tell you left the Kingdom far behind!

  • You might get called a gowl, if you're acting like a maggot with your langers.

  • (Northern Ireland accent) Now we're going way up North.

  • I tell you it's very different especially in Belfast.

  • Sure the Scottish plantation of Ulster that was so successful that it changed the way they speak forever.

  • "No" is pronounced "Nyh", "ay" means yes, and a wee cracker is a beautiful girasol.

  • So this is how we sound.

  • (Northern Dublin accent) Do you know what I mean, boy?

  • (Southern Dublin accent) And it's totes generalization like...

  • (Cork accent) But sure it is what it is, boy.

  • (Limerick accent) And it's only a broad guide from an Irish gowl like, but sure...

  • we're only having the craic.

I think Ireland has to get something straight with the rest of the world,

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it