Hiberno-English is the form of the English language used in Ireland. Hiberno-English is also called Irish English and rarely Anglo-Irish. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

The type of English spoken in Ireland is founded in the types of English and Scots English, that were brought to Ireland during the English and Scottish colonisation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and their change due to the influence of the Irish language on these forms of English. The linguistic interference of the Irish language on the English spoken in Ireland is most clearly seen in those areas where Irish is still spoken as a mother tongue or where it has survived until recently. This is a list of varieties of the English language. ... African American Vernacular English (AAVE), known colloquially as Ebonics, also called Black English, Black Vernacular or Black English Vernacular, is a dialect and ethnolect of American English. ... American English or U.S. English is the form of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Australian English is the form of the English language used in Australia. ... British English is a term primarily used by people outside of the UK to refer to the form of the English language spoken in the British Isles. ... Canadian English is the form of English used in Canada, spoken as a first or second language by over 25 million Canadians (as recorded in the 2001 census [1]). Canadian English spelling is a mixture of American and British, but Canadian speech is much closer to American English, with some... Caribbean English is a dialect of the English language spoken in the Caribbean. ... Commonwealth English is intended as a collective term for the perceived standard English language used in the Commonwealth of Nations1, applying in theory to Australian English, British English, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Hiberno-English (Irish English)2, Hong Kong English, Indian English (includes Pakistani English), New Zealand English, and South... Diagram showing the geographical locations of selected languages and dialects of the British Isles. ... Hawaiian English is the standard of the English language as used in the State of Hawaii, and is — along with the Hawaiian language — an official language of the state. ... Highland English is the variety of Gaelic influenced Scottish English spoken in the Scottish Highlands. ... Hong Kong English is sometimes used to refer to the accent and characteristics of English spoken by some of the ethnic Chinese residents of Hong Kong. ... Indian English is a catch-all phrase for the dialects or varieties of English spoken widely in India (by about 11% of the population, according to the 1991 census) and the Indian subcontinent in general, but also by Desis. ... International English is the concept of the English language as a global means of communication in numerous dialects, and the movement towards an international standard for the language. ... Jamaican English or Jamaican Standard English is a dialect of English encompassing in a very unique way, parts and mergers of both American English and British English dialects. ... Liberian English is the form of English spoken in the African country of Liberia. ... Malawian English is the English language as spoken in Malawi. ... Manglish is the version of the English language as spoken in Malaysia and is similar to Singlish in Singapore. ... Mid Ulster English is the dialect of most people in Ulster, including those in the two main cities. ... Newfoundland English is a dialect of English specific to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, distinct from Canadian English. ... New Zealand English is the dialect of English spoken in New Zealand, occasionally referred to within New Zealand as Newzild. ... Philippingish refers to the English language as it is spoken in the Philippines, where it is one of two official languages, the other being Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. ... Diagram showing the geographical locations of selected languages and dialects of the British Isles. ... Singlish, a portmanteau of the words Singaporean and English, is the English-based creole spoken colloquially in Singapore. ... South African English is a dialect of the dialect of English spoken in South Africa and to some extent, in neighbouring countries with a large number of Anglo Africans living in them, such as Namibia and Zimbabwe. ... Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. ... Welsh English refers to the dialects of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people. ... Scottish English (also known as Scottish Standard English) is the form of the English language used in Scotland. ... Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland were the seizure of land owned by the native Irish and granting of it to colonists from Britain. ... Irish (Gaeilge in Irish) is a Goidelic language spoken in Ireland and constitutionally recognised as the first official language of the Republic of Ireland. ...

The standard spelling and grammar are the same as UK English, but especially in the spoken language, there are some unique characteristics, due to the influence of Irish on pronunciation.

Pronunciation

Hiberno-English retains many phonemic differentiations merged in other accents of English. Phonetic transcriptions are given using IPA. Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet is a phonetic alphabet used by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) the human vocal apparatus can produce. ...

• 'r' is pronounced wherever it occurs in the word, making Irish English a rhotic dialect.
• The distinction of w [w] and wh [ʍ], as in wine vs whine is preserved.
• Merger of the vowels in father and bother in Southern Irish English; /fɑː<eth>ɚ/ and /bɑːðɚ/.
• In some varieties [θ]/ and [t], and [ð] and [d] merger, making thin and tin and then and den homonyms; /tɪn/ and /dɛn/.
• The distinction between /ɔːɹ/ and /oʊɹ/ in horse and hoarse is preserved.
• The distinction between [ɛɹ]-[ɪɹ]-[ʌɹ] in herd-bird-curd is preserved.
• "l" is clear wherever it occurs in a word, as in French
• 'Pure' vowels: "boat", in a traditional accent, is pronounced /boːt/, and cane is pronunced /keːn/
• The "i" in "night" may be pronounced /ɔɪ/.
• The "u" in Dublin may be pronounced /ʊ/.
• In County Cork, some vowel sounds are often altered. An "e" sound becomes an "i" ("well" becomes "will"). Also "Cork" is locally pronounced as /kɑːɹk/.
• An accent unique to Dublin known as the Dublin 4 intonation (referring to the local postal district) is an urban/suburban middle class feature. This is an oft derided posh dialect that renders words such as 'car' as 'core' and 'far' as 'fore'. Dublin 4 speakers often end a sentence with the rising question 'Do you know what I mean?' contracted and pronounced rapidly as 'Dja kneww whad I min?'
• Similarly the working-class Dublin accent is a unique urban feature resembling the blue-collar accents of Manchester and Liverpool in England. This dialect includes phrases such as 'What's the story, Bud?' meaning 'How are you, friend?' pronounced 'Wats de stary bud?' and 'Mad out of it!' pronounced 'Mad ou vih!' meaning drunk or high.
• In some old-fashioned varieties, words spelled with ea and pronounced with [iː] in RP are pronounced with [eː], for example meat, beat.

English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the letter r (equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ... County Cork (Contae Chorcaí in Irish) is the most southwesterly and the largest of the modern counties of Ireland. ... Of all Dublin postal districts, Dublin 4 (D4) is probably the most famous outside the city, due in no small part to it being the location of the national broadcaster RTÉ. The RDS and Lansdowne Road stadium are also located in Dublin 4 where many events and concerts are held... Dublin postal districts are used by Irelands postal service, known as An Post, to sort mail in the Dublin area, This system is similar to that used in London and other UK cities before the advent of the postcode. ... The term posh is used particularly in Britain to describe the somewhat over-the-top luxuries affected by those with social pretensions. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ... Of all Dublin postal districts, Dublin 4 (D4) is probably the most famous outside the city, due in no small part to it being the location of the national broadcaster RTÉ. The RDS and Lansdowne Road stadium are also located in Dublin 4 where many events and concerts are held... The High Rising Terminal (HRT) is a feature of some accents of English where statements have a rising intonation pattern. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... A blue-collar worker is a working class employee who performs manual or technical labor, such as in a factory or in technical maintenance trades, in contrast to a white-collar worker, who does non-manual work generally at a desk. ... Location within the British Isles. ... Liverpools skyline, as seen from the River Mersey. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Drunkenness, in its most common usage, is the state of being intoxicated with alcohol (i. ... High can refer to a number of different things: Physical place above something, in altitude or elevation. ...

Grammar derived from Irish

Irish has no words which directly translate as "yes" or "no", instead the verb in a question is repeated in an answer. People in Ireland have a tendency to use this pattern of avoiding "yes" or "no" when speaking English:

• "Are you finished debugging that software?" "I am."
• "Is your mobile charged?" "It is."

Irish verbs have two present tenses, one indicating what is occurring at this instant and another used for continuous actions. For example, 'you are now' is tá tú anois (literally 'are you now'), but 'you are every day' is bíonn tú gach lá (literally 'be you each day').

Irish speakers of English, especially in rural areas, use a "does be/do be" (or "bes", although less frequently) construction to indicate this latter continuous present:

• "He do(es) be coding every day."
• "They do be talking on their mobiles a lot."
• "They bes doing a lot of work at school." (rare)

Irish has no pluperfect tense: instead the idiom for "I had done X when I did Y" is "I was after doing X when I did Y", modelled on the Irish usage of the compound prepositions i ndiaidh, tar éis, and in éis: bhí mé tar éis/i ndiaidh/in éis X a dhéanamh, nuair a rinne mé Y. This can most commonly be heard used by Dubliners.

• "Why did you hit him?" "He was after insulting me."

A similar construction is seen with the 'hot news perfect', used to express extreme excitement at something which has happened recently:

• "Jaysus, I'm after hitting him with de car!"
• "Would ya look at yer one — she's after losing five stone in five weeks!"

Less explosively, using what might be termed the 'warm news perfect', the Irish perfect can indicate a recent action of less stellar importance:

• "I have the computer rebooted." Tá an ríomhaire atosaithe agam.
• "I have me breakfast eaten." Tá an bricfeasta ite agam.

Mirroring the Irish language and almost every other European language, the plural 'you' is distinguished from the singular, normally by using the otherwise archaic English word 'ye' (the word 'yous' also occurs, but primarily only in Dublin and north Ulster, from Co. Donegal across to Co. Antrim.): Donegal (Dún na nGall in Irish) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. ... County Antrim (Aontroim in Irish) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. ...

• "Did ye all go to see it?"

Also in some areas in South Leinster the hybrid word 'ye-s' pronounced 'yis' may be used.

In rural areas the reflexive version of pronouns is often used for emphasis or to refer indirectly to a particular person, etc., according to context:

• "Was it all of ye or just yourself?"
• "'Tis herself that's coming now." Is í féin atá ag teacht anois.

- where 'herself' might, for example, be the boss or the woman of the house. Note also the indirectness of this construction relative to, for example, 'She's coming now' and the use of "'Tis" rather than the more standard contraction "It's".

It is also common to end sentences with 'no?' or 'yeah?'

• "He's not coming today, no?" Níl sé ag teacht inniú, nach bhfuil?
• "The bank's closed now, yeah?" Tá an banc dúnta anois, an bhfuil?

Irish English also always uses the "light l" sound, and the pronunciation of the letter 'h' as 'haitch' is standard.

When describing something, rural Hiberno-English speakers may describe this as something that is 'in it', which can also be translated into English as 'so it is', or for comical effect 'that it be'.

• The day that is in it. An lá atá ann.
• That's John, so it is. Is Seán é, atá ann.

It ought to be noted that this construction is generally limited to the northern half of the country. This isn't just limited to the verb 'to be': it's also used with 'to have' when used as an auxiliary, and with other verbs the verb 'to do' is used. This is most commonly used for intensification.

• This Wintel box suck, so it does.
• I've finished debugging, so I have.

Similarly, somebody who can speak a language, 'has' a language - a very rural construction.

• She doesn't have Irish. Níl Gaeilge aici.

Another idiom is this thing or that thing described as 'this man here' or 'that man there', which also features in Newfoundland English in Canada. Newfoundland English is a dialect of English specific to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, distinct from Canadian English. ...

• This man here. An fear seo.
• That man there. An fear sin.

The reported clause is also often preserved in its direct form, for example 'John asked me to buy a loaf of bread' becomes 'John asked me would I buy a loaf of bread'.

Preservation of older English usage

In old-fashioned usage, "it is" can be freely abbreviated "'tis", even as a standalone sentence. This also allows the double abbreviation "'tisn't", for "it is not".

The word "ye" or "yous", otherwise archaic, is still used in place of "you" for the second person plural.

The verb "mitch" is common in Ireland indicating playing truant from school. This word appears in Shakespeare, but is seldom heard these days in British English, although pockets of usage persist in some areas (notably South Wales, Devon, and Cornwall). Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... British English is a term primarily used by people outside of the UK to refer to the form of the English language spoken in the British Isles. ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English(100%), Welsh(20. ... Devon is a county in South West England, bordering on Cornwall to the west, Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow or occasionally Curnow) is a county of England, the part of Great Britains south-west peninsula that is west of the River Tamar, often known as the Cornish peninsula or plateau. ...

For influence from Scotland see Ulster Scots. Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... Ulster Scots (also known as Scotch-Irish, Ullans or Hiberno-Scots) refers to varieties of Lowland Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Ireland. ...

Turns of phrase

"Am not" is abbreviated amn't by analogy with "isn't" and "aren't". This can be used as a tag question:

• I'm making a mistake, amn't I?

or as an alternative to "I'm not":

• I amn't joking.

and the double negative is also used:

• I'm not late, amn't I not?

Reduplication is not an especially common feature of Irish; nevertheless in rendering Irish phrases into English it is occasionally used: Reduplication is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word, or part of it, is repeated. ...

• ar bith corresponds to English at all, so the stronger ar chor ar bith gives rise to the form at all at all
  • I've no money at all at all.
• ar eagla go... (lit. on fear that) means in case .... The variant ar eagla na heagla, (lit on fear of fear) implies the circumstances are more unlikely. The corresponding Hiberno-English phrases are to be sure and to be sure to be sure. In this context, these are not, as might be thought, disjuncts meaning 'certainly'; they could better be translated in case and just in case. Nowadays normally spoken with conscious levity.
  • I brought some cash in case I saw a bargain, and my credit card 'to be sure to be sure'.

Casual conversation in many parts of Ireland includes a variety of colourful turns of phrase. Some examples:

• Yer man (your man) and Yer wan (your one) are used in referring to an individual known by the party being addressed, but not being referred to by name. The phrases are an unusual sort of half-translation of a parallel Irish-language phrase, "mo dhuine" (literally 'my person'). The nearest equivalents in colloquial English usage would be "whatsisname" and "whatsername".

• a soft day – referring to a rainy day with that particular soft drizzle, and an overcast sky, but yet relatively bright. This is a translation of the Irish "lá bog".

• Fecking is a mild abusive equivalent in force to "bleeding" or "darned." It is not a parallel of the English word "fucking", despite their similarity, and is generally less offensive. "Feck" is the corresponding expletive. The noun "fecker" is slightly stronger but not vulgar. These terms were lately introduced to Britain by Father Ted. In old Dubliner slang, "to feck' is also slang for "to steal", as in the phrase, "We went to the orchard and fecked some apples." It can also mean "to throw", especially if something is being thrown where it shouldn't, as in "We fecked his schoolbag into the river."

• Yoke is typically used in place of the word "thing", for instance "gimme that yoke there". It's also used as an insult: "you're some yoke".

• Now is often used at the end of sentences or phrases as a semantically empty word, completing an utterance without contributing any apparent meaning. Examples include "Bye now" (= "goodbye"), "There you go now" (= when giving someone something), "Ah now!" (= expressing dismay), "Hold on now" (= "wait a minute"), etc. This usage is universal among English dialects, but occurs more frequently in Hiberno-English.

There are many terms for having consumed a drop too much drink, many are used elsewhere, but the Irish tendency is to attempt to find the most descriptive adjective yet on each occasion. Some examples: "scuttered", "locked", "langered", "mouldy" (pron. mowldy as in "fowl"), "polluted", "flootered", "plastered", "bolloxed", "well out of it", "wankered", "fucked", "binned", "gee-eyed", "buckled", "steaming", "messy", "sloppy", "wasted", "paratic" "full as a boot" "legless". (Phrases in italics are more "colourful") Fuck is among the strongest, most controversial expletives in the modern English language and probably the most well-known vulgarism in the world. ... Father Ted is a 1990s television situation comedy set on the extremely remote fictional Craggy Island off the west coast of Ireland. ...

Some turns of phrase are more localised and their meaning may not be widespread throughout the country, while others are more transient and fall out of use after a number of years.

See also

• The lists at Wiktionary, the free dictionary and Wikipedia's sibling project:
  • list of Irish words
  • list of words of Irish origin
  • list of Scots words
  • list of words of Scots origin
  • list of Scottish Gaelic words
  • list of words of Scottish Gaelic origin
• Regional accents of English speakers
• Ulster Scots
• Mid Ulster English
• English speaking Europe

Wiktionary is a sister project to Wikipedia intended to be a free wiki dictionary (thesaurus, lexicon therein) in every language. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Ulster Scots (also known as Scotch-Irish, Ullans or Hiberno-Scots) refers to varieties of Lowland Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Ireland. ... Mid Ulster English is the dialect of most people in Ulster, including those in the two main cities. ... Introduction English-speaking Europe consists of four nations (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) three former British colonies (Cyprus, Malta and the Republic of Ireland) and a current British colony Gibraltar, plus the Crown dependencies. ...

References

• Dolan, Terence Patrick (Ed.) (1998). A Dictionary of Hiberno-English. Gill & Macmillan (Dublin). ISBN 0-7171-2942-X

• Sammon, Paddy (2002). Greenspeak - Ireland in her own Words. TownHouse (Dublin) ISBN 1-86059-144-2; (N. Am.): 0-684-02015-7

Website (complements the book Greenspeak - Ireland in her own Words) Sammon, Paddy: www.greenspeak.info (2003)