Comments on Faoiseamh: Home accents

home accents... the integral part of any home.

2008-08-01T07:51:00.000+02:00

home accents... the integral part of any home.

@ConortjeSome of those Flemish dialects too, they ...

2008-07-28T09:23:00.000+02:00

@Conortje
Some of those Flemish dialects too, they are totally incomprehensible. I think Irish people started speaking English so late that there wasn't enough time to develop too many dialects before television and radio came along. Irish dialects on the other hand...
@Nick
After living in Belfast I started saying 'at the minute', 'happy days' and their version of two. I did not start saying 'What about you?'.

People sometimes tell me I've picked up an Irish l...

2008-07-25T19:05:00.000+02:00

People sometimes tell me I've picked up an Irish lilt after 8 years here but I can't say I've noticed it myself. I think it's virtually impossible to pick up a real Irish accent unless you were born and bred here, it's so unique. But I can adopt an Australian accent with no problem at all.

Mine is all over the place too although getting me...

2008-07-25T16:03:00.000+02:00

Mine is all over the place too although getting me talking on the phone to someone form Ireland and it's back in a flash. It's mad how many dialects there are in Dutch for such a wee country. I don't think we have dialects in Ireland so much as accents so I find it strange how it exists so strongly here.

Well Irish people are particularly attuned to pick...

2008-07-25T12:45:00.000+02:00

Well Irish people are particularly attuned to picking up any English accent if you have been living there. English people often thought I was Canadian because I don't have a strong Irish accent.
I think all people do adapt their accent but you would have to hear the two accents that John Barrowman has to really appreciate that he has two totally distinct accents. You really would not think that it was the same guy.

As a kid in Ireland I was accused of having an eng...

2008-07-25T12:18:00.000+02:00

As a kid in Ireland I was accused of having an english accent, but in england I was told I had an Irish accent. I remember my mother getting pissed off about it once, silly cow. Anyway these days I find I pick up accents but tend to return to base. The picking up accents relates to a habit of semi-subconciously picking up on other peoples mannerisms and habits and mimicking them to make them more comfortable when I interact with them.

I think people who have lived in multiple places w...

2008-07-25T12:08:00.000+02:00

I think people who have lived in multiple places will inevitably be more prone to having their accent change depending on circumstance - that ex-pats speak to their parents/family with an accent that is a common manifestation of this.

Allegedly when if I drink whiskey and talk about my youth I have a very strong Irish accent (whereas my normal accent is "mid-antlantic").

I also find that I can very easily, and subconciously, slip into a dialect that fits/is influenced by my circumstance/environment. The use of geordiesms when being with a friend of mine from Newcastle is the easiest example to cite. My logical explanation for this is that because I am used to being a foreigner with a limited linguistic repertoire, I am used to adapting my use of English to make myself more easily understood. When I speak to my friend from Newcastle I adapt to his way of speaking, even though it is untirely uncessary - he can understand my normal English anyway, but I am preconditioned to adapt!