I have officially been here too long. The accents are starting to dissappear. I find myself talking to people or listening to the radio and asking myself 'Does this person even have an Irish accent?' because I can't really tell sometimes. I'm even starting to be able to read the accent within an accent. Did you know that just about every town in Ireland has a distinct accent? I haven't gotten so good that I can identify towns, but I've gotten better at identifying regions.
There's something about the way a person talks that lets you know if they're from a different region. After meeting enough people from enough different places, you start to pick up the differences. One of the first areas you'll notice a difference in is Dublin. The Dublin accent is pretty easy to pick out and it's easy enough to find examples of because it's over-exagerated in every skit featuring criminals, thugs, or mischeif makers. To the point where Dublin people actually complain about damage to their reputations because of it. Everyone else just laughs.
One of the funny things you'll notice about the way Irish people speak is that their 'th' becomes a 'd'. It has something to do with 'th' not being a sound in the Irish (Gaelic) language. So a popular phrase 'no bother' becomes 'no bodder', 'tree' becomes a number after two, and 'duh' (as in 'the') becomes more popular than it was in 'Clueless'. It's good fun to pick on friends every once in a while ('Tree' tea bags? I didn't know they made tea out of trees...).
They've also got some fun phrases and popular sayings over here. I'll make a mini list of the most popular or useful:
Craic - (pronounced 'crack') - good fun, good times, good laughs, good company - pretty much anything good. An example would be if a friend called you up at a party and asked 'How's the craic?' to find out if it's worth coming.
Lads - It doesn't actually get used like 'little boy' over here. More like 'guys' in the U.S. So when we're at training and need to set up a drill somebody might address all of the girls 'Come on, lads! Grab a ball!' and they wouldn't be calling us men.
Yer one - Kind of a nice way of saying 'what's his/her face'. When you're talking to fast to remember or just don't know somebody's name you can use it as in 'I was takling to yer one down at the shop and he said...'
Himself/herself - Instead of actually referring top a husband or wife by name 'Where's Herself this evening?' or 'I left the kids with Himself.'
Cop on - Kind of like 'catch on' or 'get with it'. 'Why don't you cop on to yourself?' would be kind of telling you to stop be stupid and get with the times.
No bodder - Really 'no bother' and used if something is no big deal. If you asked someone to do you a favor they might say 'No bodder. I'll pick the milk up on my way'.
Arse - Ass. Yep - pretty much the same use as at home.
Gobshite - One of my favorites. If somebody does something silly or stupid you might call them this.
Cuppa - As in 'cuppa tea' except somebody would ask you 'Would you like a cuppa?' without actually specifying tea. Could turn out to be coffee in some cases, but mostly tea.
Babby - Like baby. They call them babbies though.
Shite - Take off the 'e'. Same meaning but not as offensive. Like in Gobshite.
Fek - Like the other 'f-word' but not as offensive. It's okay to use 'fek' on TV and on the radio and in front of parents here.
So that's my mini-list of fun Irish words and sayings. By no means is that even remotely close to being complete. If you keep reading my blog I'll throw them in now and again so you'll be a pro when you finally get over here to visit. ;-)
There's something about the way a person talks that lets you know if they're from a different region. After meeting enough people from enough different places, you start to pick up the differences. One of the first areas you'll notice a difference in is Dublin. The Dublin accent is pretty easy to pick out and it's easy enough to find examples of because it's over-exagerated in every skit featuring criminals, thugs, or mischeif makers. To the point where Dublin people actually complain about damage to their reputations because of it. Everyone else just laughs.
One of the funny things you'll notice about the way Irish people speak is that their 'th' becomes a 'd'. It has something to do with 'th' not being a sound in the Irish (Gaelic) language. So a popular phrase 'no bother' becomes 'no bodder', 'tree' becomes a number after two, and 'duh' (as in 'the') becomes more popular than it was in 'Clueless'. It's good fun to pick on friends every once in a while ('Tree' tea bags? I didn't know they made tea out of trees...).
They've also got some fun phrases and popular sayings over here. I'll make a mini list of the most popular or useful:
Craic - (pronounced 'crack') - good fun, good times, good laughs, good company - pretty much anything good. An example would be if a friend called you up at a party and asked 'How's the craic?' to find out if it's worth coming.
Lads - It doesn't actually get used like 'little boy' over here. More like 'guys' in the U.S. So when we're at training and need to set up a drill somebody might address all of the girls 'Come on, lads! Grab a ball!' and they wouldn't be calling us men.
Yer one - Kind of a nice way of saying 'what's his/her face'. When you're talking to fast to remember or just don't know somebody's name you can use it as in 'I was takling to yer one down at the shop and he said...'
Himself/herself - Instead of actually referring top a husband or wife by name 'Where's Herself this evening?' or 'I left the kids with Himself.'
Cop on - Kind of like 'catch on' or 'get with it'. 'Why don't you cop on to yourself?' would be kind of telling you to stop be stupid and get with the times.
No bodder - Really 'no bother' and used if something is no big deal. If you asked someone to do you a favor they might say 'No bodder. I'll pick the milk up on my way'.
Arse - Ass. Yep - pretty much the same use as at home.
Gobshite - One of my favorites. If somebody does something silly or stupid you might call them this.
Cuppa - As in 'cuppa tea' except somebody would ask you 'Would you like a cuppa?' without actually specifying tea. Could turn out to be coffee in some cases, but mostly tea.
Babby - Like baby. They call them babbies though.
Shite - Take off the 'e'. Same meaning but not as offensive. Like in Gobshite.
Fek - Like the other 'f-word' but not as offensive. It's okay to use 'fek' on TV and on the radio and in front of parents here.
So that's my mini-list of fun Irish words and sayings. By no means is that even remotely close to being complete. If you keep reading my blog I'll throw them in now and again so you'll be a pro when you finally get over here to visit. ;-)
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