It is the one thing that every Irish person living in America dreads. No matter where you’re from in Ireland and how strong your accent is, you can’t stop the Americanisms creeping in.
It goes unnoticed by the Irish and Americans over here as it is the status quo and it is only when you call home that you get lambasted for “sounding like the yanks on the television”.
Here are the top ten signs that it may be time to call home to get the dressing down you may require.
1. The first sign for a lot of people is their bridge between thoughts changes. Irish people say ‘emmm’ when they’re thinking of what to say. This may subtly change to the American ‘ummm’ without you even noticing.
2. Instead of saying ‘hello’, ‘howya’ or ‘well’, you begin to say ‘hey’, ‘what’s up’ or ‘what’s goin on’?
3. The answer ‘yes’ or ‘yeah’ becomes elongated and stretched out to the American ‘yaaaa’.
4. If you get really American, then Goddamn replaces your favourite Irish expletives. ‘Freaking’ also comes in instead of the “F word”. I don’t think I’m at that point yet.
Read more top ten stories from IrishCentral here
5. Meeting up with a friend becomes ‘hanging out’, no matter what the setting or Goddamn situation. Oh dear God.
6. The cinema becomes the movies. And yaaa I now like to hang out at the movies.
7. Arse becomes ass.
8. When Irish people ask a question at the end of a sentence they normally change it every time to suit the question. Examples are ‘you’re working tonight, aren’t you?’ and ‘that book is good, isnt it’? This gets obliterated with the Americanism ‘right’ not long after arriving here and is now ‘you’re working tonight, right’? and ‘that book is good, right?’
9. Things are no longer bad, they freaking ‘suck’.
10. When you begin to use the word ‘awesome’ for describing everything that is good or even okay, you are too far gone and there is no cure for you, right?
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.ciaradexy | Dec 16, 2012, 12:59 PM EST
In regards to the first line of this article. Why would every Irish person dread losing their Irish accent? People keep their accent if they really want to. My brother is in NZ five years and he still has a very distinct Dublin accent.
bobby | Dec 12, 2012, 10:40 AM EST
Anglo it is True.........Your in denial.....Maybe you can understand the lingo they speak. I couldn't. Some really stupid people on that show with No dress sense.
anglo-norman | Dec 11, 2012, 09:49 PM EST
bobby- Not true...
bobby | Dec 10, 2012, 09:08 AM EST
Just watched 10 minutes of Trash Tv. Steve Wilkos followed by Maury. @Anglo Norman, I found it very hard to understand the guests & most of them were very inarticulate and uneducated. Are these the American ears you are talking about? LOL. One word. THICK.
Towngate | Dec 09, 2012, 05:18 PM EST
This topic is one of my favourite subjects. How native accents alter and adjust to new locations is fascinating.Basically nobody really considers they have an accent at all; but when they're in a new location amongst new friends,etc, their native accent alters automatically.The speed at which this happens, depends on their desire and willingness to contribute to, and be accepted by their new surroundings. Language is a joyful living thing and we tend to embrace attractive and exotic terms which please us. There have been remarkable changes in British and Irish accents in the last twenty-five years; due mainly to the broadcast medium,particularly satellite tv. During The Celtic Tiger years the Irish accent altered considerably. I asked a youth group if they could explain their new'posh'(London) tone, labelled the "D4" accent, after a snobbish Dublin district: The shocking reply was: "Well, now we're as rich as English, we don't have to sound Irish anymore"! ~~~-~~~ But when an American visitor was asked if she was happy with the Election result,said: "How did you know I was American?" ' By your accent, of course. "Don't be ridiculous - I don't HAVE an accent! - YOU'RE the guys with the accents!"~~~~ ~~~ I rest my case! Btw:Sean, there is no nice way to say it,in any accent - your article is very poor on such a rich subject. Sorry.
anglo-norman | Dec 09, 2012, 04:42 PM EST
Has anyone on here ever heard Tommy Smyth on ESPN?
anglo-norman | Dec 09, 2012, 04:34 PM EST
There must be something awry with ears then...
bobby | Dec 09, 2012, 08:40 AM EST
Are you telling me now? I don't care if you do not believe me. I find it hard to understand some American accents just like i do Scottish.
angrypaddy | Dec 09, 2012, 12:34 AM EST
WoundedKnee you seem to know a lot about the running of Ir. Central,you must be one of the intern's
anglo-norman | Dec 08, 2012, 11:16 PM EST
I don't believe that for one minute bobby and neither do you.
bobby | Dec 08, 2012, 07:41 PM EST
The cultured ones that travel to Europe some maybe, i never said all. Most Americans never leave the States. Fact. I have come across a few Americans in London that i could not understand. Alot of the accents in the states are very strong and hard. Maybe not to you but to us here in Europe it is.
anglo-norman | Dec 08, 2012, 07:25 PM EST
bobby- Not true son. Americans are always understood in Europe & worldwide. The Irish & most english regional accents are not very articulate & the rate of speech is too fast.
bobby | Dec 08, 2012, 07:15 PM EST
@anglo-norman we think the same here in Europe about Americans, alot are also pretty clueless about basic things in the world. If it is not about America they are lost. Can you spot Eyeraq on the map? I have a friend that speaks the Queens english and people in N.Y could not understand her. As i said if it is not American your lost. Sit in a room with someone from N.Y then you will hear people speak very fast. Alot of American accents are very hard to understand also to us Europeans.
anglo-norman | Dec 08, 2012, 06:00 PM EST
In truth most Irish accents are hard to understand & are inarticulate to American ears. The speed of speech is also very rapid.
Seanmor | Dec 08, 2012, 04:04 PM EST
TisEye: I find the word "brogue" demeaning and offensive. Other offensive terms and phrases that I consider objectionable are these: "Top of the mornig to you"; "May the road rise to meet you"; "faith and begorrah", "bejesus and bejapers". During the 18 years I lived in Ireland, I never heard anyone use these idiotic expressions.
TisEyerish | Dec 08, 2012, 09:36 AM EST
I question your use of the word "brogue." I was told by a Vassar professor, whose home town was Galway, that this word was originally an insult to the Irish, as the English would say, "Learn how to talk, you talk as though you have a shoe (brogue) in your mouth." The words used have nothing to do with the wonderful accent, by the way. This is one of the worst articles I've ever read on here.
bobby | Dec 08, 2012, 08:24 AM EST
WoundedKnee Irishcentral biggest dickhead. Nonsense is what come out of your trap. Truth Hurts mate.
WoundedKnee | Dec 08, 2012, 07:39 AM EST
Angrypaddy: "You pay someone to come up with this rubbish". They're interns, they don't get paid. But it still is rubbish.
WoundedKnee | Dec 08, 2012, 07:37 AM EST
bobby; "a country that destroyed the english language". What are you talking about? If you mean the USA, that's nonsense. Oh, and of course you're writing from a country which destroyed the Irish language.
angrypaddy | Dec 08, 2012, 12:48 AM EST
You pay someone to come up with this rubbish
bobby | Dec 07, 2012, 08:58 PM EST
Funny the article and some of the comments from a country that destroyed the english language to suit themselves. Only you will understand.
seamus60 | Dec 07, 2012, 07:03 PM EST
Mc Dowell the golfer is gone
bob40wil | Dec 07, 2012, 01:33 PM EST
I can think of one sure way of not letting it happen.
MaxTiger | Dec 07, 2012, 01:13 PM EST
Emmm, actually we don't go to either the cinema or the movies. It's the freaking pictures.
Ballyphehane1 | Dec 07, 2012, 12:36 PM EST
My kids might go to see a movie, but I still call it going to 'the pictures'.... I actually remember thinking if people in Cork mentioned going to 'the cinema' that they sounded very american, or at the very least, didn't sound like they were 'from Cork' :)
padraiginrua | Dec 07, 2012, 11:49 AM EST
The wording may change but the accent remains.
connemaragirl | Dec 07, 2012, 11:28 AM EST
Well !,there were no bloody cinema s where i came from ,still no cinema unless you go into town which is 30 minutes away, if we did have movies they were held at the dance hall and oh Lord they were few and far between.Now the dance hall is gone lol so its into town for every thing.Bet you can relate Seanmor.
Searlit | Dec 07, 2012, 11:16 AM EST
Very funny article. I like the humorous ones the best.
Seanmor | Dec 07, 2012, 10:02 AM EST
Some Irish natives at this side of the pond seen to use grammatically erroneous phrases such as "I seen" instead of "I saw"; "Where is it at?", instead of "Here is it?"; "I should have went", instead of "I should have gone". But their DNA still remaims the same.