You say ‘bum a fag’ I say ‘have a cigarette‘-- lost in translation & struggling with Irish English

Hiberno-English is near death, and good riddance too. It was at its height when the transition from Irish to English was taking place. Read Maria Edgeworth or William Carleton, authors who were tryng to capture Hiberno-English at its apogee. Apart from the accent (and even that is transmuting into a kind of Valley Girl speech, especially among young Irish females) and a (very limited) set of dialectal expressions, it's gone. If it is still strong how come none of the Irish posters here use it (except in their obsession with cursing e.g sirpeter, trealach etc.)?

‘Sugar’ also means ‘sweetheart’ in Ireland... I’m a Dub and I’ve visited Cork many times and love the friendliness of the people in that beautiful city. Their accent makes their spoken words more like singing that speaking. Now, Tessie ‘sugar’, listen up: my thinking is that the Cork cashier WAS stupefied, probably aghast!) when you asked for the sugar. Y’see, Corkonians say ‘shoogar’ but Tess would have confounded the cashier in asking for “the shager”.

George Hiberno-English as it is called is distinct from English as spoken in England similar in ways, but different.

Tessa: I like the nature and tone of your post. It might have been better if the Boss had sent you to four different Cities. The comparisons would be interesting. Views based on Cork alone might give a distorted impression of Ireland,as that fine city is unusual even by weird Irish standards. ~~~ as George Dillon reminds you, remember you are speaking in English with various quaint Americanisms, to begin with. Add in English with various quaint Irishisms - and its amazing anybody can understand anybody! Put Accents and local Dialects on top of that and successful verbal communication is nothing short of a miracle! ~ The Key is not to fall into the trap of thinking that the Local term for something is the same as for the whole of Ireland, It will be something different in the next village! Remember too, that most Irish living today have had a lifetime exposure to Hollywood English through the Movies (Fillums) so if they say they don't understand you,call their bluff and offer to pay a dolar on the Euro! That will wake them up! The main thing to remember in Ireland is that although it is an alcholic society, great and wonderful things are waiting to be discovered beyond the meat-market pubs and clubs. Hope this helps! Good Luck, honey!

You casn tell they are Anmericans because of their good teeth.

Just listen to a lengthy Irish conversation and count the number of times the word "LIKE" is used. (example: I headed off, like)..........gorgeous = awesome, lovely = nice, grand = OK.

i done axed him - 'ow was yer troip - tirty toid and turd. some amerikansis

here in Ireland

I never heard the term "your Grand " in England. but it is used all the time.

Another tired old article about so-called "Oirish" English. Don't you people realize that most of those "quaint" phrases are actually just British English?

Bye the bye, what is the local idiom for "sugar?"

Regional differences are common in Mother languages vs those in the diaspora. e.g. in Mexico a bus is "autobus" but in Habana it's called a "waa-waa" (phonetic spelling). Just pronounciation can lead to confusion, too. We asked for directions just outside of Dublin and were told, "Go down to the satilite and turn onto the dual carriageway." We could see the dual carriageway, but did not see any satilites or dishes or the like, just a set of (traffic) lights. We had a good laugh at our misunderstanding for the rest of the trip!

My, my, Tessa — you're just hoovering one thing after another.

Any clues about the sugar thing yet? Ridiculous article.

I am American living in Cork Ireland for last 6 years and I love it. People are like family. Being a songwriter I have written many songs about Ireland. One of my favorite sayings here is "awe c’mon now , your taken the pi$$" lmao almost like taking advantage I guess. There is a lot I learned that you mentioned. That’s the great part of learning about another culture. And take into the fact that the young kids have their own lingo also. Like in cork the young would say "I will yea" as if to say you ain’t got a chance of that happening. Lol ,also @ BrendanDunphy . You are spot on. I was told unless you were born in Ireland you are not Irish. You might have an Irish bloodline to Ireland but you are not Irish. I love it here.