Features of an Irish Accent

In this lesson, I'm joined by Jo from Dublin, and we explore some of the features of an Irish accent.
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GLASGOW: • Glasgow Accent Example...
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COCKNEY: • British Accents: Cockney
WEST COUNTRY: • British Accents: West ...
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For those of you who are new to this channel, my name is Anna English. I am British, therefore I teach British English, though you will find some videos here that look at the differences between British English and American English. The best way to make use of this channel is to go to the home page, click on the videos tab and browse through the hundreds of available lessons. If you would like to be notified when I broadcast live and release new videos then please turn on notifications by clicking on the bell icon.
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[@NN-er8wg]

When I visited Dublin for the first time, I thought their accent was so familiar and thought they sounded so much more American than I expected

[@anthonym3351]

Dublin yes but the accents gets thicker outside of dublin. The Hollywood version of the Irish accent is not really heard in Ireland

[@JohnnyBooks]

I was impressed with the use of the word “grand” for “I’m grand” instead of “I’m good”

[@laurapavone3513]

In Italian you can say: vado alla grande= I'm doing well

[@StefanoCanepa1970]

Grand is one of those words changing meaning based on how you say it. It's like a word we use a lot in Genoa (where I'm from in Italy), a word I'm not writing as it's quite rude.

[@nigefal]

I believe that comes from when the English upper classes lived in the ‘grand houses’ in Ireland. So the common Irish people would say it in a mocking manner to each other’Arn’t you grand?’ ‘Yes I am grand’ In other words above your position or status. Then over time the ‘grand’ became known as ‘good’.

[@yvettegivens7]

I’m half Irish and here in America our English is by far more like the Irish English than England English. The Irish influenced us a lot! Country music dance language etc

[@daryachorna9532]

thanks for this interesting video. As a Ukrainian, I realized that the Irish English is the most understandable for me. foreigners for whom English is not native have same features in pronunciation as in an Irish accent😯I started to feel interested in Irish

[@CinCee-]

That weird because some Irish accents are very hard to understand

[@purpleowllta7968]

Feeling the same

[@poroshyna]

Yeah, to put a long story short, it's a Ukrainian accent in English😂

[@davidmccormack99]

@@CinCee-Some English, Scottish, and Welsh accents are difficult to understand. Some American accents are difficult to understand. Some Australian accents are difficult to understand. Ireland doesn’t have the monopoly on difficult to understand accents.

[@davidmccormack99]

It is *very* common for non-native speakers to find an Irish accent easier to understand than an RP accent, and I can only assume that the fact it is rhotic is what makes the difference. I’ve lost track of how many times work colleagues from Asia and South America, who perhaps had never spoken with an Irish person before, have told me that they find my accent very easy to understand.

[@samysoliman5799]

The fact that Jo is adorable makes me want to speak Irish now 😂

[@Sagardeep_Das]

I really understood the difference between English and Irish accents but the most interesting thing was her smile. Jo is a natural charm whenever she smiles. Perfect as an Irish person should be. ♥️🇮🇪🇮🇳

[@JimSlim126]

I am not from ireland but am part Irish, the irish accent is quite delightful

[@alexgrishin8294]

Just brilliant dialogue! I love your interviews on different accents, Anna! Thank you

[@RichiEnglish]

I love all accents. Unfortunately, I cannot do the Dublin accent... yet. But working on it.

[@hasanzahidi5875]

First time l learned poor, pour & paw are pronounced in the same way in British English while there’s a difference between the three words in Irish ☘️ I wish I could spend a few days in an Irish city or town 😁 Thanks to you Anna as well as to your adorable guest 🙏

[@StarQueenEstrella]

Also, that slit-T that Jo mentioned - the one where she said it was more like the “sh” in “shower” - can be found outside of Ireland in some Newfoundland accents in Canada. (Like many accents, and especially accents in North America, it was shaped by settlement patterns and points of contact.)

[@marblerye123]

I swear to god, the newfie accent is almost identical to an Irish accent. It's uncanny in so many ways. Even certain stereotypical Irish phrases have stuck around in newfoundland too.

[@StarQueenEstrella]

@@marblerye123 yup! And that’s how accents are made: through contact points and settlement patterns. (The English-speaking people who arrived in Newfoundland, Canada, were predominantly from Ireland.)

[@ec5aca]

Newfoundland is one of few foreign lands with its own irish name, Talámh an éisc, Land of the fish

[@randysandford4033]

Jo said what I have always thought. The American accent is very close to Irish accent. There have been times I have thought a person was American when I finally would hear a giveaway to their Irish. So I think the American accent is mostly Irish.

[@samaval9920]

Many white, EuroAmericans are from Irish immigration, due to the Great Famine & English colonialism in general. However, largest no. of surnames are German since several decades (but perhaps some of those are E Europe Ashkenazi Jewish?)

[@maryloudascoli]

Both are older pronunciations. The modern British English also drops secondary syllables.

[@laurapavoni6507]

Not a bad Idea to go and live in Ireland, and now that I know that the language is some craic I can't wait to go and visit this amazing country with so much spirituality connected to nature. Nice to know you Jo from Dublin.

[@samaval9920]

Then you could visit Highland W coast of Scotland to hear Scottish Gaelic, & (Lowland) Scots variety of English. Other English speaking Celtic regions-Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man. French &Breton speakers in France, Galician & Spanish speakers in Galicia, Spain.

[@MrFearDubh]

Adding the word "like" or the word "so" to the end of a sentence seems to be more common among people from the west of Ireland.

[@StarQueenEstrella]

One thing that wasn’t mentioned is how Irish accents pronounce the START vowel - that’s in words like “cart”, “far”, and “heart”. On top of being rhotic like most things in Irish accents, it’s also very fronted in the mouth as well. In the city of Boston, Massachusetts, which was shaped by a lot of Irish immigration, the START vowel is also fronted but it’s also non-rhotic (although linking-R still exists, much like in British accents). This leads to the stereotypical phonetic pronunciation of “Pak yuh car in Hahvuhd Yahd”. (That’s “park your car in Harvard Yard” for anyone not familiar with Boston accents or New England accents in general.)

[@jeremyemery1438]

Your Irish accent is nearly identical to a Michigan USA accent. Quite incredible to me. My family is Irish/Scottish and has been here since the 1840’s. Thanks for the great interview

[@luizaugustosoaresmoura5426]

Such an amazing video! I am Brazilian, but I teach English. I love hearing different accents and learning new words and expressions. Thanks a million.

[@Sauvageonne]

I wish you could interview the Frostbit Boy for another taste of the Irish accent. Love this video!!!

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you!

[@fabrice9252]

Hi Anna! Hi Jo! And hi to all our wonderful and lovely Irish friends! 😊 🇮🇪 I loved the lesson; it was a fascinating, enlightening and brilliant exchange! I learnt a lot. Thanks so much to the both of you for that wonderful lesson! You are magnificent. Another fantastic interview to your credit, Anna. Bisous. Lots of love from France! 😍🌹🌹💗💗

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you so much, Fabrice!

[@edwardamosbrandwein3583]

@@EnglishLikeANative Excellent video! Thanks! PS: has Australian English been influenced by Irish English?

[@amirkarimi6542]

It's always been fascinating to learn about new accents. Thank you Anna for what you do here as a gifted teacher. I'm proud of watching your videos and learning something new. Well Done Dear Anna.💙💙

[@chadgillis5479]

I'm so glad to see you've resumed your series on accents.

[@juarezalmeida8423]

Hi Anna. I am VERY glad that videos of the accent series seem to be making a glorious come back. This one was just lovely! I just would like to suggest, if possible, and much like the videos from the face to face conversations with native speakers you have already had, that you make available on the screen the symbols of the language's phonetics system in discussion and the words up for pronunciation. It facilitates the accompaniment of the entire session. Other than that, again, lovely, lovely. More videos please. Love.

[@martianwalker31]

Interesting as I'm in Ireland at the moment💚

[@thedonaldo77]

Wow wow so wonderful to have the opportunity to hearing this English accent because to be honest some years ago I had the opportunity to speak face to face with a friend from over there and at the beginning I couldn't understand anything but later I could understand more and step by step...

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Yes, with time and exposure to an accent/language it slowly becomes easier. :)

[@thedonaldo77]

@@EnglishLikeANative you're right about that Teacher and I really appreciate this kinda videos and your amazing job...

[@jannatulferdousaurin4575]

5:02 I really love this feature. This is so Irish and sounds very posh to me. Honestly, this is the thing which made me interested in Irish accent!💙

[@Crisguay]

OMG! I guess my English accent could be a mixture of many other accents... 🤭 Glad to find out! 🤪. However, I love yours Anna, which I think is British Received Pronunciation. Your accent and your charm when speaking. Thanks for everything. 🤗🤗

[@philipmulville8218]

I laughed out loud when you brought up the Irish pronunciation ‘fil-em’ often used for ‘film’. Our father was English, and our mother Irish. This used to drive both him and her mad - in equal measure. He insisted on the word being pronounced correctly, and she was trying her best to raise four young boys who kept repeating ‘fil-em’ and were far too busy to care!

[@jgg59]

Many of these features a leftover from the Irish language. Even the syntax of a sentence when you go out west is different than English because they’re using Irish language rules

[@peternakitch4167]

I am in the UK at present and have met several people from Ireland who live in the UK or are like me are touring. The accent is lovely and so soft, similar, but different to the northern Scottish accent I have encountered.

[@peternakitch4167]

@M OCribin Northern: being northern Scottish compared to southern - most of my relatives are northern or islands Scots. Being a visitor I didn’t know the difference between Irish accents. I am sure like the Australian accent there is variation from person to person. I am told by people here I don’t have a strong Australian accent.

[@davidmccormack99]

@@peternakitch4167Just so you know, in a British context the word ‘northern’ refers to the North of England. It never means Scotland even though Scotland is further north than England.

[@phillipcollins9290]

An enjoyable video, Anna. Just loved it. "Accents" can be quite interesting. It was only during my army training that I realised that even Afrikaans has differenr "accents" depending on where the speaker comes from.

[@gabriellagirardi4741]

Great conversation! You are grand teachers. Thank you very much.

[@cross0128]

thing is with Irish, theres 4 "main" accents/dialects that effect phrases, words used, and pronunciation, You have Jo's Dublin-Irish, and you have the very obvious Northern Irish, but very rarely does North West (The Connaughton, the Donegal and Midwest accent) and Southern (entirety of Munster) Irish get brought up, for example my self being from Connaught, we have a weird quirk with alot of words starting with "S", we always say it with "Sh" instead, so start would be "shtart" or stop would be "shtop" and we speak extremely quickly so it doesnt really get picked up on very easily until you slow us down, this does mean we can say "she shells shea shells on the shea shore"

[@nejmsornejm2973]

I think that a lot of northern Americans go a step further and say "shchweet", "Aushchwalia", "ekshchwemely", "shchwaight". Not sure if it's a German/Yiddish influence or an Irish one. Maybe both.

[@englishstrengthacademy]

I really enjoyed this. Thanks, Anna 🇬🇧 and Jo 🇮🇪

[@erock81487]

These videos are awesome. I love hearing how people talk in the English speaking language as there’s so many different accents and dialects and then comparing them to my PNW accent. Which I assume is a pretty generic American accent ha. Thanks for sharing all these! I wish I could get to chat with you too! Haha

[@akbaruddin3983]

Anna you are an excellent teacher

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you so much, Akbar Uddin!

[@SM-nn7dd]

This is great!! I am headed to Dublin next week so definitely learned some new words :) and ways that words are pronounced that I never would have understood! like “anything” - that one was wild

[@antoniomari2730]

Such a wonderful conversation and video ❤

[@dspursuer]

I was listening to the video while doing something else and caught myself smiling unintentionally quite a few times. I think I smiled throughout the whole video and am still smiling. I really hope I will be able to travel again after all the negative stuff around my country is gone :) been to England two times as a teenager, once to Isle of Wight and once to London and I can't remember if the accent on the Isle was different to any other I've heard before :(

[@ghostalker]

I am planning of moving to Ireland but was afraid of their accent as I am used to hearing at London's or American's. Luckily this video showed up to me and as a Spaniard, I find it easier to understand and either speak.

[@m1lst3r89]

Why would you even change UK for Ireland?

[@cianw2942]

@@m1lst3r89 Because Ireland has nicer ppl, is part of EU, is more stable economically and politically.

[@m1lst3r89]

@@cianw2942 hehe, maybe nicer people to give you that. The rest ...👎

[@cianw2942]

@@m1lst3r89 This didnt age well lad. Ya yer so stable politically and economically hahaha

[@Dreyno]

@@m1lst3r89 This aged like milk. Growth rate 1/3 of Ireland’s and 3 prime ministers in 3 years. And still trying to negotiate a deal signed 3 years ago to settle a vote carried out 7 years ago.

[@paulinafal4505]

As a native spanish speaker her accent is so much more intuitive to what we would sound words out to be, interesting !

[@marietighe6328]

As an Irish person and native English speaker I adore the Spanish language. I really want to learn it. Its so fluid and just beautiful.....

[@johnbauer7234]

I learn a lot of English with your videos thanks teacher😄👐

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you! Share the video with some of your friends who are also learning English. I would really appreciate it.

[@johnbauer7234]

@@EnglishLikeANative of course, I will do it👍

[@jquill6]

Want to hear a rhotic Irish accent ? Come to rural Waterford or South Tipperary 😂

[@emmanuelananda6551]

How does this channel not have more subscribers? Excellent content.

[@diomedestamayo3985]

Thank you Anna . My best teacher

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you for your lovely comment!

[@StefanoCanepa1970]

Most of my youngest colleagues here in Galway use "What's the story?" and "What's the craic?". It took me a while to understand what they were telling me. It's not natural for me to use those phrases.

[@JuanAntonioF]

What’s the story? Morning glory! Amazing album by Oasis.

[@denisobrien4253]

You should check out the accents of Newfoundland and Labrador, especially in St.John's and the Irish loop.

[@monimure2249]

Grazie mille Anna💚

[@EnglishLikeANative]

You're welcome!

[@PTYVisual]

What a lovely video ! thanks !

[@hinajahangir]

Your channel is really superb ❤❤❤ Really helping a lot

[@billTO]

Canadian here. During five years in Cambridge late 60s, I was often assumed to be American 😒 but occasionally asked if I were Irish 🙂. I love the Irish final "split t"!

[@caraosborne5075]

Loved this,very informative and “Craic”!

[@PengRen]

irish accent is so good,i love it.

[@scorpy6331]

Great n fun lesson…thank you!

[@vivianayacar3041]

Happy birthday Anna, have a beautiful day!!!!

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you so much!

[@nishantadas40]

Wonderful session ma'am ❤️😘

[@laurapavone3513]

I like Irish, thanks for the very nice introduction. The 'thing' stuff is 🤯

[@marblerye123]

Great video guys. One quick note. Some of these pronunciations are very Dublin based. Munster folk would pronounce poor and pour the exact same way. And we'd pronounce time differently too. Just some little things that make Irish accents so much fun to learn about.

[@NN-er8wg]

Jo is so lovely

[@barkatullah-kt5ds]

Fantastic

[@t.4443]

I‘m traveling to Ireland in a few months, hopefully this helps me🤓

[@beaglaoich4418]

I would always say what’s the craic to mean what Anna said, Jo is the first person I’ve ever heard saying she doesn’t use it like that

[@robertoponte]

Also the U in Irish they pronunce it like a sort of O. Like Bus is pronunced Bos

[@rebelranger]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned in the video, but the -ar combination sounds much different from the American pronunciation. For example, words like car, park, far sound like they're being pronounced as cair, pairk, and fair. Could you elaborate on that Anna?

[@joelmasamba6762]

Oh my gosh!!! Keep up the good work my amazing teacher i love 💕😘 you too much according to your beauty

[@pickleleeeeee779]

Wow this video was more helpful than all the other ones i tried to watch thanks so much for making it and going through the effort of interviewing an irish person i can now kind of do and irish accent thanks to you

[@slxxpyhollow]

We need a video on the differences between Northern Irish and Irish accents!

[@samaval9920]

Also, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, Scottish Gaelic & Lowland Scots, hopefully!!

[@janmoline]

Mum matriculated from what is now University College, Dublin. Hey elocution training indeed, included marbles in her mouth. I must say, Mum was sought after for public readings, announcements, and even the occasional radio spot in the very small town, where I grew up (USA). Her elocution was beautiful. She was born 1923, so her education was completed late 30s.

[@salimusumareh9466]

Thank you

[@fatimafh977]

Amazinggg

[@josealfonsosilvalatorre1826]

Great video

[@MbisonBalrog]

Do you plan on doing vids on American or Aussie accents? If you want to do American accents, I can point you in the right direction to start. For example, the Philly accent check out, on KZbin, ice hockey player Tony DeAngelo, and for Boston check another hockey player (former) Kevin Stevens. Both have heavy classic accents for each of those cities respectively.

[@nutsriket9687]

The Irish way of pronouncing the /t/ is the sexiest thing on earth!

[@user-fp9ly4nl8b]

I was born in Ireland and my mother was born in Huddersfield

[@vanthieutran8020]

Jo is adorable.

[@hocinetemer1073]

Thanks for the effort you made for this challenge but this irish accent push my English down 😅

[@oswaldoaguirre8634]

Ana habla con muy bonito acento, de qué parte es?

[@MbisonBalrog]

Also for Chicago accent look up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco.

[@parkash9999]

Nice.

[@sean_d]

I think she's wrong about us saying t for the th sound, we just have a much more subtle difference, but we do make a different sound for third and turd. (When I lived in England I was sometimes asked to say thirty-three and a third by someone who actually pronounced it "furee-free and a furd". When you are used to a huge difference a subtle difference is totally missed.

[@maryloudascoli]

‘Girl’ has 2 syllables in the southern accent in the US.

[@carterfotografia8213]

Hi anna! Do you have the full name of joe? Or contact? Because I'm living in ireland ans I would like to have class with irish teachers. Thanks

[@serenityq26]

i would love to hear her say three and tree. if if no th sound, does the three sound like tree?

[@samdoyle3945]

Yes

[@infobyavi8187]

Happy birthday 🎉🎊

[@EnglishLikeANative]

Thank you!

[@davebrowne8252]

Everything can also be said evert'n (with the 't' being the Irish soft 't')

[@AtLinuxTerminal]

Interesting

[@Melvorgazh]

There are so many accents as there are parishes. Eh, this is a video about Irish accents IN ENGLISH! Any chance to see one about Irish accents IN IRISH? Sláinte! 🙂

[@SteveandLizDonaldson]

So on a trip to Ireland (from the US) I paid for a small item with a one euro note. The item cost 0.57, so the clerk handed me back my change and said, what sounded to me, like "Farty Tree." I just pictured in my head an old tree with a knot hole that was closed, but would open up from time to time and eject a foul rotten odor!

[@Leo-ev3dx]

Off the topic, one euro only have coins, no notes 😁

[@suyahatesntr]

I'm from Asia (so obviously, I'm not familiar with different English accent) but my curiosity just keeps bugging me. Liam Neeson and Jim Browning talks the same way. And I researched alot, I asked ChatGPT and it says that the accent they're using is RP? But when I ask it the second time, it says it's Irish.

[@serenityq26]

nuttin' is the most southern black thing i've ever heard come from an irish person

[@stopusinaar]

That's how we say nothing tbh

[@ninelaivz4334]

Beautiful Irish girl.

[@webmasterultra3487]

They both have great hair.

[@ChangeTime1]

First time I heard the Irish accent from "Pierce Brosnan" In the movie "The Foreigner" I fell in love with this dialect... Really English in Britain is music which distorted by the Americans. Unfortunately your guest is not really Irish and she speaks as I speak Chinese..Thank you Anna..I hope to meet you anywhere by chance

[@sean_d]

"Unfortunately our guest is not really Irish"??? She absolutely is. That's a fairly standard Dublin-region accent.

[@ChangeTime1]

thanx@@sean_d

[@_juan.joao_]

Nice video! I thinh irish accent is closer to the standard american accent than the british one.

[@Maestro4759]

In features not in spelling.

[@boston_octopus]

I was shocked by the similarity to some sounds used in New England, where many people are of Irish descent. When I was a kid, instead of "mine," we would say "my-en." Seems like the equivalent of "fil-em" and "ti-em."

[@christopherlins1579]

Irish English ❤

[@MohaMed-AdeL1]

love u , welcome in egypt

[@user-tw3re9hg3j]

As an Irish person the only thing Jo lost me on was "anything "I have never heard anyone pronounce it like that 😂,I thought she was having a stroke 😂

[@AJarOfYams]

17:53 Bad Hollywood movies and Jacksepticeye

[@mail2morin]

Is there any Irish English teacher KZbin channel?

[@franciscojavierveracardena6578]

Is the scottish accent rhotic as well??

[@mayorjoshua]

Yes, it is.

[@Maestro4759]

It is but they use a thrilled R not an Irish or American retroflex R.