What do Sean Bean, Richard Gere, Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee-Jones have in common?
They’re all world-famous actors who struggled to do the Northern Irish accent on screen.
In this video, we’ll look at some of the features of the Northern Irish
accent that Tommy Lee Jones couldn’t perfect in the movie, Blown Away.
“So you found us then, Liam. And on your new country’s birthday as well.”
If this is your first time here, I’m Alister, an English teacher and Northern Irish
dialect coach. To know more about English, languages or accents, consider subscribing.
Should you be an actor looking to master your Northern Irish
accent then contact me using the details in the description below.
Blown Away stars Jeff Bridges as a bomb
disposal cop alongside Tommy Lee Jones as an explosives expert.
Let’s get straight into it with our first clips.
“Now, are you gonna blow my brains out or shoot my finger off?”
“Oh, no, no, no. It’s not for us. It’s for your lovely wife - could be her farewell performance.”
“Don’t wanna mind your feet there Liam, that is a very particular…”
Notice how the character says the CAPITALISED words and listen for
the plosive /t/ sound at the end of these words.
“Now, are you gonna blow my brains OUT or shoot my finger off?”
“Oh, no, no, no. It’s NOT for us. It’s for your lovely wife - could be her farewell performance.”
“Don’t wanna mind your FEET there Liam, that is a very particular…”
Most British accents pronounce the /t/ at the end of words.
OUT NOT FEET
However, in the Northern Irish accent you lift your tongue to the roof of your mouth, as if to
make the /t/ sound, but instead you flatten it out and you don’t actually make the /t/ sound.
OUT NOT FEET
There are differences with other accents, Cockney for example, where the mouth stays wide open,
and a long vowel sound is made, here the tongue is not lifted to the roof of the mouth.
Our next clip, listen for distinctive Northern Irish features, or lack thereof:
“She’s waiting for the rocket’s red glare and the bombs doing you know what.”
You should notice the /ɪn/ sound twice and the key diphthong /eɪ/,
two prominent features in the Northern Irish accent.
“She’s waiting for the rocket’s red glare and the bombs doing you know what.”
This /ɪn/ sound in words ending with -ing is one of the distinguishing factors of the
Northern Irish accent and for me it’s probably the easiest to get right. Try it yourself and see.
To make this sound in most English accents you lift the back of the tongue.
[ɪŋ] WAITING DOING [ɪŋ]
However, in Northern Irish English you lift the front of the tongue.
[ɪn] WAITIN’ DOIN’ [ɪn]
Notice how your tongue moves differently.
[ɪŋ] [ɪn] [ɪŋ] [ɪn]
Simply put, in Northern Irish English we don't make the ‘g’ sound. [ɪŋ] vs. [ɪn].
Here’s the clip again:
“She’s waiting for the rocket’s red glare and the bombs doing you know what.”
WAITING vs. WAITIN’. DOING vs. DOIN’. Can you hear the difference?
Next, consider the diphthong /eɪ/.
Remember a diphthong is two vowel sounds combined
in one syllable and your mouth has to move, that's a diphthong, /eɪ/. WAIT.
In Northern Irish English we don’t do this, we speak too quickly - WAIT.
“She’s waiting for the rocket’s red glare and the bombs doing you know what.”
WAIT vs WAIT. WAIT vs WAIT.
Remember to check out the series up here to see how Brad Pitt,
Richard Gere and Sean Bean got on with the Northern Irish Accent.
Who do you think got on the best and who got on the worst?
Now it’s your turn!
Listen to the following clip and comment below on Tommy Lee Jones and his Northern Irish accent.
Remember to include the following features that are on screen now:
“The real fireworks for Katie and Lizzie will be later. So why don’t you just settle down
there with Betty? Maybe you’ll catch it all on the telly. I wasn’t expecting you so early,
Liam but don’t you know it’s funny how things always work out for the best.”
As Tommy Lee Jones and all the other actors in the series have shown, the Northern Irish
accent is certainly one of the trickiest to learn and it takes lots of time and effort to master.
“We had some good times, didn’t we Liam?”
Yeh, maybe when you weren’t attempting Northern Irish tones and making a mess of it!
If you’re an actor (or anyone) looking to master your Northern Irish accent
then please contact me using the details in the description below.
Next, to see how Sean Bean got on with the Northern
Irish accent watch the video that’s on screen now.