I always thought I could speak English but then, what is it the people here speak?! Irish English sure is different from American English (and obviously from German ;-)).
For example, everything here is grand, gorgeous, lovely, perfect. They say “Oh this soup is gorgeous!” Uhm no, sorry, it’s delicious I’d say.
What’s really cute is, when they say words that have a u in them like bug, stuck, luck, bugger off. They pronounce it more like the u in sugar or as the oo in look. Cute! (which they pronounce the right way though they called my “cute” lunch box a “lovely” lunchbox of course).
The Irish also seem to be fairly friendly. There’s no “thanks so much” “thanks a lot” or “thank you soooo much” but rather they thank you a big deal greater – that being “thanks a million”. I wonder if the equivalent to “thanks” would just be “thanks a hundred”? Hmm!
The bad weather that is so famous here also made them inventive and it’s not just bad weather here, it’s bloody weather, rotten weather, f#cking weather or just simply nusty weather.
A nicer version of f-ing a-hole is bloody eejit and bullpoop could be gobshite. That I know these words alone tells you something about how informal things are at work here (in a good way). 😉
I’m starting to pick up bits and pieces here and there and I fear that when I’m done here I’ll be speaking a weird mix of redneck-yankee-German-Irish English.
Anyways, hope y’all are having a lovely day out there! 😀
On Being Grown-Up-Ish
9 Comments
Hi sweety,
learning more English can’t be too bad. Thanx a million for this first impression of Dublin;) Btw, the weather here suchs as well. So enjoy the Green Island and keep in touch.
oh, and something else… Can I link this site with mine as you conveniently did that as well?
Lovely to hear how well you accustom to Irish culture and language. Hope the nusty weather stops now so that you’ll have a grand weekend for exploring the city!
i remeber meeting a bunch of irish in san fran when i travelled there by myself in 98. they were staying at the same youth hostel and they were fun and sweet and friendly and man, they could party it up like there was no tomorrow. but understanding them? no way josé. it got easier after a few beer but i had to concentrate hard… *sigh* the irish…
Nice new site! Very Cool!
Your accent is going to be all mixed up now! Enjoy your time in Ireland (I’m so jealous). Have lots of fun in Ireland!
Gobshite…I like this one.. 🙂 Their English sounds funny and interesting. At least it won’t get boring at work. Well, it seems a little bit they would have a “nordic” accent or am I wrong? With the u out of sugar for bug, stuck…etc. That reminds me of Ostfriesen or people from Hamburg.
Oh the Irish. Love the place, and the language is funny…
When I was there in 2000 I had some trouble understanding them though.
haha… 😀 that is quite funny. It almost reminds me of the Aussies… when I met my friend from Sydney, I went like “huh? what did you say?”… and then all the funny phrases they used 😉 cracked me up!
have fun!