So let's start talking about pronunciation.
Sure!
Many people say that the Irish accent is one of the most
difficult ones in the world, do you agree with that?
-I don't know it... Maybe... -It's easy for him!
Yeah, for me it's really easy. So, for the other people,
it has to be easy too, right? That's the way it works.
No, I don't think it's one of the most difficult ones.
There're certain regionals accents that are a little bit difficult
to understand, different from the standardized American English.
But there's only what? 5 millions people from Ireland so,
people don't have that much exposure to it.
So, people just aren't accustomed to it.
So, let's start talking about the "r" sound.
In British English, people say something like: I PARKED MY CAR.
-Is it the same in Irish English? -No, it certainly isn't.
It's not the same.
I guess Irish English is more like American English.
So, in British English specially... I'm sure you've done like, the tapes,
and the classroom stuff... CAR, FAR... Repeat: CAR, FAR.
In Irish English it'd be CAR, FAR, like American English.
Yeah, I think the vowel would be different here.
CAR, I think it would be a little bit different, right?
Yeah, the "a" is very sharp. So, for example,
PASTA is a good example. Even though it doesn't have an "r", in American English,
people say "PASTA", they are like, they long the "a".
But in Irish English I say "PASTA", it sounds kinda sharp, you know,
"PASTA", "A".
And the second thing is related to the "T" sound.
How would you say "YOUTUBE"?
I would say YOU[tʃ ]UBE.
And in American English, people would say YOU[t]UBE.
Yeah, like [t] and you say [tʃ ].
Another example would be DUE, right? Like, the moment
when you should do something, or have something done.
For example, if the bus is "due", the bus is coming now.
What would that be to you?
Yeah, it would be like "due"
Exactly, "due".
In British English this DUE would be a homophone of the word JEW,
like "judeu", "judaico".
And the third aspect is the [ai] that becomes an [oi].
Oh God, yes! Jesus!
People from Dublin, this is something that happens a lot
in the Dublin accent where [ai] becomes [oi], so, for example...
-What examples do you have? -Five.
And I didn't know about that until I got to the airport,
and the guy asked me like, the police officer, he said:
"When is your fl[oi]ght?"
And I said, "my what?, sorry, excuse-me"...
"You fl[oi]..." Yeah, something like this!
It took me some time to understand he was talking about a "flight"!
The fourth one is too related to the [ai] sound,
but is in very specific words, for example, "MY",
"MY CAR", how would you say that?
I would say "my car", but some people from... a lot, a lot of people,
sometimes I say this, informally, they say "me car".
So, they use the word "me", like the object pronoun "me" instead of
"my" for possessives, instead of "where are my shoes?"
They would say "where are me shoes?" Instead of "she's my mother",
They would say "she's me mother".
-I love it! -"She's me ma."
'Ma" is mother in Dublin.
-"She's me ma"? -Yeah, "she's me ma".
And actually there's a really famous Irish song, I think from the 80s,
maybe the 70s, called "Where is me Jumper?".
-Ah, "me jumper!" -Do you know what's jumper?
A jumper is a sweater right?
Exactly! In British English and the Irish English,
we say "jumper" for "sweater". And the song is called
"Where's me Jumper" and it's about a guy who loses his jumper
at a disco or night club, and he made a whole song...
-About a jumper! -Yeah, it was really popular!
even today everybody knows that song.
And then the "th"sound which so many Brazilians struggle
-to pronounce. -Don't worry! You're not alone!
We also find it difficult.
-Yeah, it is a difficult sound. -Yeah, for sure!
And it will probably disappear in the future.
That's what linguists say.
Because not many people are using it nowadays.
Not even native speakers of the language.
A lot of pleople, they don't learn to do it from an early age.
Like you said, it's gonna disappear, right? It's not that people choose
to do it or choose not do it. It's the people...
...can't do it!
-In about 50 years they say. -Really? Wow, Jesus!
Let's see what happens.
So, a lot of people I know would say [d]is and [d]at instead of
this and that. For example, for "think" some people say "tink"
"I tink tat" for "I think that". Lots of, in many accents...
So, the unvoiced one is [t], I [t]ink and the voiced one is [d].
That's so interesting!
But, English people, a lot are harshing the people,
like to make fun of Irish people for the way that they pronounce their "ths"
and they think that the number 33 is very funny. They ask Irish people
to say "33" because they think that Irish people say "tirty tree"
instead of "thirty three". But, did you notice when you went to London
that they have problems with "th"? They say [f],
-like "free" instead of "three". -Yeah, some of them.
So, like you said it's probably gonna disappear.
I had a friend from London when I was a kid, he used to visit us here
and we used to have big fights over who was worst at "th".
"You guys are so stupid you say [t]" I was like, "you're stupid, you say [f]".
Forget my video about the TH sound, you don't need it!
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's really important!
-You don't need it! -Watch it, watch it!
And then there's another diphthong here, with the "ow".
Okay, "how", like this?
They say "hew", "hew ya".
It's really different. People say it really quickly because
everybody know what it is, right? If I am coming from a different country,
it's gonna be very difficult for me to identify that,
But this is kind of a casual thing, like "WHAT'S UP".
People would say... "what's [a]p". And actually another one that's
very common in Dublin is "what's the story?"
I would say, "which story? Excuse-me?"
"I have some stories here, in my backpack, if you'd like to see it!"
Would like me to read a story for you?
-But then it's like "how are you"? -They say "stAry",
instead of "stOry". So "o" becomes "a".
"Whats the stAry?"
It's very common only in some accents in Dublin.
And now let's talk a little bit about grammar and vocabulary.
Sure! Oh God!
Difficult!
So, the first one is AWESOME. This is something that
Americans say all the time! Everything is awesome, awesome!
-Do you say awesome here? -Never!
There's nothing wrong with saying it.
If I went to the Unites States, I would probably say it,
just because that's the way that they communicate, but here no.
Here "awesome" people would joke it. If I said awesome,
my friends would be like, "hahaha, are you not happy being
-Irish, do you wanna be an American?" -Really?
We have different words, instead of awesome, we'd say "class".
UNREAL, I guess it's like "surreal".
It makes sense.
You could say "DEADLY" which is very common in Dublin.
"ANIMAL" was one of that, like 5 years ago people use to say "animal".
-But not, not anymore. -Not anymore!
5 years ago! You see how language changes,
It's just 5 years and then people don't say it anymore.
I'm not cool anymore! I used to be cool 5 years ago, I knew all the stuff.
And a very common greeting in Ireland is "what's the craic".
I guess "craic" is a noun that means like, "things that are happening" or
or "news", or "stuff", stuff that's going on.
What's up? Yeah.
Exactly like "what's up". So "craic", craic is fun or stuff that's happening.
Then when I say "what's the craic", it's just the same of "what's happening",
"what's going on", "what's up", like you said.
And again, what do you think is the answer to "what's the craic"?
-Hum... "Nothing!" -"Nothing", exactly!
-What's the craic? -Or no[t]ing.
"What's the craic?" "No[t]ing much".
I'm sorry if this is a very stupid question,
-No, no, do it. -But is it a real word
in the English dictionary like "craic"?
-No, it's not. -It was a stupid question then...
No, not at all!
Because I thought I've never seen this word before.
Not, there're a lot of words in the Irish English that come from
Irish, the Irish language. I'm not sure what exactly "craic" is,
but there're a lot of words used commonly in day to day conversation
in Ireland that are not in the dictionary at all.
And what about "cheers"?
God! This "cheers" has made my life difficult sometimes.
Oh, really? Why?
Well, "cheers" we always use it not just to kind of, to toast to drink.
"Cheers" in Ireland and in the UK, in Britsh English, is commonly used
to say "thanks". And I definitely say "cheers" more than I say "thanks".
I guess like "valeu" or informal ways to say "thanks" in Portuguese.
Sometimes "thank you" feels like "muito obrigado, senhor" very formal.
So, I would always say "cheers". If you give me a drink: "cheers!"
If you give me... I don't know... Like...
-Whatever... -Money?
Money! I will definitely say "cheers!" I'd say "thank you very much".
But, when I went to Canada, I worked in Canada during the summer,
-I spent the summer there. -I didn't know that"
3 years ago! Yeah, it was really cool!
And most of the people that I worked with, I worked in like a camp
for teenagers and most of the people there were actually American,
from the United States.
But, I kept saying cheers, all the time, 'cause I'm not gonna lose the habit
in 3 months, you know? And they were like, why do you keep saying cheers?
It's really strange, please stop! We don't know what you mean,
we thing you're talking about alcohol all the time, like
why don't you just say "thanks"?
Sorry, this is the way we communicate.
And, also, a common answer to "cheers" is "no bother".
Like "no problem", the same as "bother"...
Well, "I don't want to bother you". Either comes from the same place.
only in Ireland, we say "no bother" for "you're welcome".
So, instead of "thank you", "you're welcome" it's common
to hear "cheers", "no bother".