In this video, you’re going to discover how to have a Northern Irish Accent.
If we’re meeting for the first time, I’m Alister, from Belfast, the capital city of
Northern Ireland.
On this channel you’ll find all types of lessons, tips and advice about English and
accents. If you’re new here, consider subscribing.
If you’re looking to improve your Northern Irish accent, please contact me, I’d love
to help. My contact details are below in the YouTube description.
This is a map of the island of Ireland.
It is made up of the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland and 6 counties of Northern Ireland,
which is part of the UK.
Additionally, there are four provinces - Munster, in the south, Connacht, in the west, Leinster,
in the east, and Ulster, in the north.
We focus on the 9 counties of Ulster in this video, six in Northern Ireland and three in
the Republic of Ireland.
A typical Northern Irish accent is found in 6 counties of Northern Ireland and in County
Donegal.
This one.
That being the case, many locals say that if you simply walk to another street, you
will find people speaking completely differently!
Now, to have any accent you need to know how to pronounce certain sounds.
Here’s one important sound in the Northern Irish accent.
The final plosive /t/ sound at the end of words.
Most British accents pronounce the /t/ sound at the end of words.
That
Bat
Flat
That bat lives in a flat.
You can hear the /t/ sound.
That bat lives in a flat.
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 don’t actually make the /t/ sound.
That
Bat
Flat
That bat lives in a flat.
Listen to the difference.
That bat lives in a flat.
There are differences with other accents as well, Cockney for example, where the mouth
stays open, and a long /a:/ sound is made, the tongue is not lifted to the roof of the
mouth.
To improve in any accent, you must use the local language.
Here are three examples.
Gurn
This means to cry in Northern Ireland. Originally, in Scottish it was used to describe a person
who was always complaining, so you can see the similarity.
“He’s so pathetic, always gurnin’ about everything. He needs to just grow up!”
A reminder that the /ing/ sound in Northern Irish is pronounced as /in/.
Speaking, walking and eating rather than speaking, walking and eating.
You can find out more about this right up here in this video.
Boggin’
This translates as extremely dirty.
“Sammy, take your boots off before you come into the house - they’re absolutely boggin’!”
Another example of the /in/ sound rather than the /ing/ sound.
A funny one I often remember my Mum saying when I was a child, playing in the garden,
perhaps rolling around in the mud.
She would say filthy, dirty, boggin’ black - which is kinda saying the same thing 4 times.
She was advising me that I had to wash my hands before I came in and had dinner.
Filthy, dirty, boggin' black.
Mirror
This one is an absolute Northern Irish classic!
The word mirror is pronounced differently across the whole English-speaking world.
In Northern Ireland, we pronounce it with 1 syllable - /mur/ - 1 syllable - /mur/.
I'm not going to try and say it in any other accents.
Sometimes what Northern Irish people say and what they actually mean are completely different.
I’ll break down four examples for you now.
First
“The tea is wet.”
This means that the tea is ready. Tea, the warm beverage, not tea, the meal.
Number 2.
“I’m just going out to do the messages.”
No, this has nothing to do with post, letters or text messages.
It's about the shopping or the groceries.
“I’m just going out to do the messages.”
Number 3.
“No, I’ll just stay for one sure.”
Be careful here, this is never to be taken literally!
The person who says this will likely stay in your house (or the pub) for many hours,
probably until nearly bedtime, so you'll have them for a while, not just for 1.
Number 4.
“Taps off!”
In clearer language, tops off.
As in, it is warm enough outside to sunbathe.
You know that one day of the year when the thermometer finally hits 20 degrees.
“What’s the craic?”
This is something I’m regularly asked about by people from all over the world.
So, what does it mean?
It is absolutely one of the most important words we use in Northern Ireland.
Everyone knows how to use it, but no one can really explain it.
It's a catch-all word for fun, entertainment, news, gossip, banter, a laugh.
It’s definitely a word you should add to your vocabulary and here a few ways that you
can use it.
Number 1.
As a question
“What’s the craic?” or “Any craic?”
A superb way to start any conversation in Northern Ireland, much better than the boring,
“how are you?”.
It kinda means - how have you been, what's happening, how are things going, something
like this.
Number 2.
To positively describe an event
“See, that concert last night was absolutely exhausting, but it was great craic.”
By the way, this video is part of my Northern Ireland series.
There’s a link to the playlist up here and I’ll also put one in the YouTube description
below.
Make sure to check it out after you’ve watched this video.
Number 3
Before, asking any question
Hey, what’s the craic? You going to the cinema later?
Doesn’t really matter what the question is. It’s just extra words.
And number 4.
As an excuse
If you do something silly and perhaps you're struggling to explain yourself “just for
the craic” is the best excuse available to you.
“Why did you spray paint your car bright pink? That’ll cost hundreds to fix!”
“Sure, why not, I did it just for the craic!”
To know more about the Northern Irish Accent watch one of these videos.
There’s one about Northern Irish words, one about Northern Irish phrases and two that
are similar to this one about how to do the Northern Irish accent.
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