Why do a lot of Dublin accents sound like American accents?

[meegannie]

A question for the ages.

 

[bammo2]

I always figured it was because of the amount of Irish people that emigrated to America in the 'old days'.

I thought maybe the American accent as we know it nowadays evolved in part from an Irish accent?



That's my attempt at an intelligent hypothesis!!

 

[meegannie]

I never thought of that!

 

[Laura M]

I didnt think they sounded like American accents myself


At least Americans can coherently produce a sentence my uncle is from Dublin and sometimes its really hard to make him out.

Im slow though and never pay attention so they could sound very similar and I havent picked up on it yet

 

[mad1]

Ive never picked this up myself.

I think perhaps its easy to 'fall' into a slight American accent

but really you must remember, that when an Irish person speaks, their words sound 'slanted', almost like italic so perhaps as teh American sounds similar it all sounds alike.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

i didn't pick up this at all when i was over there. interesting.

 

[*BOOMCHAA!*]

i picked up a lot of things when I was over there.

 

[DrTeeth]

Nothing antibiotics couldn't cure I hope?

I've never noticed the accent thing

 

[Mrs.Clayton]

Nothing antibiotics couldn't cure I hope?

 

[Laura M]

Nothing antibiotics couldn't cure I hope?

 

[*BOOMCHAA!*]

laugh at DrTeeth,
but I set that comment up for him.
i should get the credit.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

 

[*BOOMCHAA!*]

MVD, you know it's true.
by the way,
how's the fam?

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

MVD, you know it's true.
by the way,
how's the fam?

 

[DiGi]

i do not think there is any similarity what so ever based on the small amount of time I have spent in Dublin.

 

[Laura M]

I think we speak a mile a minute here and the ppl from the south talk even faster - when I meet American ppl they all talk really slowly, maybe they think we dont understand them though I know they never understand us though We say things funnily apparently. Like the way we say eight and ate

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

haha do the american's talk like this to you?

*talk very loud*

HI...MY NAME IS IRIS...I AM FROM THE USA.


hahaha

actually i had a hard time for the first 3 days while i was there understanding anyone.

my friend laughed at me one day because we were in Dingle checking into a bed and breakfast. i went up to the guy who owned the b&b and asked him how much a room for the night would be and this is what i heard:

dingle man: "turty tree euro"
me: "twenty three euro?"
dingle man: "no turty tree euro"
me: "OHHHHHHH Forty three euro"
dingle man holding his laugh back: "NO NO NO TURTY TREE"
my friend wendy: and having a hard time breathing
me: "OH thirty three?"
dingle man: "YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

lmfao!!!!!!!!!!!!! it is a big joke now between my friend and I. i used the lame "i am sorry my ears have yet to pop from the flight." excuse when i could not understand what i was hearing.

 

[Laura M]

Didnt you know they dont pronounce their h's properly?! My cousins cant pronounce the name Heather - they all say Heafer - we tried to teach them how to say it but they couldnt learn

Man from Kilmainham Gaol: In dis jail during *enter random date* der were tousands of tieves and debt-ORRS


I started laughing really loudly it was the way he really shouted the or's on debtors my Dad started laughing and told me to shut up

 

[Laura M]

All Americans say "gee" whenever I meet any of them.

Like I would say: Its down on the right hand side of the street

Gee. I just walked past that building.


They dont shout though they jsut talk quite slowly and I usualy have to repeat myself before they understand me

 

[wavesofregret]

It might be TV. When I first heard u2 talk back in 81 I thought they sounded more American than Irish. But I love their accents.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

i had no idea until we got there that the "h"'s were silent. when we told our friends who live in a small town near the Shannon Airport about this they died laughing at me.

 

[meegannie]

When I was in Northern Ireland, everyone told me I talked too fast, and they couldn't understand anything I said.

DO
YOU
UNDERSTAND
THAT
LARA
MULLEN
?

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

Gee. I just walked past that building.

i am guilty of saying that.

 

[DiGi]

thats cause you are one of dem dare southerners

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

yes sir i am one of those.

 

[Laura M]

U2's accents are quite neutral comapred to other ppl's accents here.

Northern Ireland accents are the worst well certain Belfast and Omagh accents are.

And ballymena (hey!) accents

And I talk even faster than the the average Norn Iron person

A scottish girl I was talking to today said: "I came here just for the accent"

Me: You like our accents?

Her: Aye in Norn Iron the accents are great

and we do talk like that


Belfast accents well some oft hem are awful - a Window is a windy, the name of a shop is always plural for some reason - Safeway is Safeways, Tesco is Tescos, going to town is im going down til tha town liek they all sound like conor from neighbours, Im surprised I didnt get the accent tho everyone from where I used to live sounded like that Nobody knows where I come from someone thought I was English today

 

[Laura M]

i am guilty of saying that.

And Americans also say cool a lot

"that is cool" but it sounds more like kewl than cool to me

 

[meegannie]

Some of the Belfast accents are almost impossible to understand! It's like some of the rural Scottish ones.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

laura, i think you need to provide a wav file of your voice on here.