English and Irish accents are very different, but for those unfamiliar it may take a little practice to recognize the differences. After spending some time listening to the different accents, it shouldn't be too difficult to tell them apart. However, you must remember that there are many regional variations within the English and Irish accents. For example, people from County Cork will sound different from people from County Armagh and people from Cornwall will sound different from people from Newcastle, Glasgow, or Cardiff.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Learn the Basic Differences
Step 1. Identify the basic differences in pronunciation
It's easy to overemphasize the consistency of English and Irish accents, but you can look for certain basic differences in the sounds and pronunciation of words. When hearing someone speak, listen carefully and try to identify the following characteristics:
- In Irish English, the "r" is pronounced after vowels, whereas it is often omitted in British English.
- In Irish accents, the "e" sound is more similar to "e" in Spanish rather than "ei", as in the word "bait" ("bait").
- In Irish accents, the "o" sound is more similar to the "oh" sound than the "ou" sound, as in the word "coat".
- The "th" sound in Irish accents tends to be more like the "t" or "d" sound. "Thin" sounds like "tin" and "this" sounds like "dis".
Step 2. Know the differences in the use of words
Irish English often has different word uses and sentence structures than British English. By exposing yourself to different accents, other than word sounds, you will learn to identify key characteristics that indicate the speaker's country of origin. Differences in syntax and diction give accents their unique qualities and metrics.
- The Irish say "be" or "do" instead of "usually". "I do work …" = "I usually work".
- The Irish say "after" for things that just happened. Instead of "I had just drank the beer", "I was after drinking the beer."
- The Irish use "don't be" as an imperative, as in "Don't be worrying about that".
- The Irish omit "if", "that" and "whether", as in the sentence "Tell me did you see the show" ("Tell me if you saw the show").
- The Irish begin sentences with "it is" or "it was", as in "It was Sam had the best wife" ("Sam had the best wife").
- The Irish often use the definite article where the English would not use it. For example, "I'm going to the Malone Road".
Step 3. Recognize common Irish phrases
Just as there are a wide variety of accents across the Great Britain and Ireland regions, there are also many distinctive phrases and sayings that can indicate someone's provenance. It may help if you recognize some of them in case the speaker has just a light accent or one that has faded over time from living elsewhere. While there are countless examples, here are some of the best known to Irish English speakers:
- You will hear the Irish say "What's the craic?" Or explain that they do something "For the craic". "Craic" in essence means "fun" but "What's the craic?" Is another way of saying "How is everything?" or "What's going on?"
- Also, the Irish may ask you "Where's the yoke?" It sounds similar to the English word for yolk ("yolk"), but this has nothing to do with eggs. "Yoke" is a general word for "thing", although it is highly unlikely that you will hear an English person use it that way.
- An Irish person might ask you not to "give out". This, in essence, means "complain." Therefore, if someone is always "giving out", they are always complaining.
Step 4. Identify common English phrases
Aside from recognizing key phrases that may indicate someone is Irish, there are many phrases that are used in Great Britain, but not in Ireland. The only way to really learn them is to expose yourself to lots of movies, TV shows, books, music, and other things written by English. Phrases will often reveal the regional identity of the speaker as well.
- You may hear someone ask "How's tricks?" Which means "How is everything?"
- In case you hear someone say "owt" or "nowt", it is likely that they are from Yorkshire.
- If you hear someone say "You're 'aving a bubble!" They are probably from London. "Having a bubble" is rhyming slang for "having a laugh", because "bubble bath" rhymes with "laugh".
- In case someone says "Ye cannae be serious", as if to say "You can't be serious", it is probably Scottish.
Part 2 of 2: Listening and speaking to practice
Step 1. Listen to examples
It shouldn't take too much exposure to be able to tell the difference between an Irish accent and another accent. However, since there is no such thing as a single English or Irish accent, the best way to get used to variety is to expose yourself to it. Hear lots of accents in online videos, movies, and music.
- Pick your favorite English and Irish celebrities and listen to them speak in their regular accents.
- Just search online for a particular accent and listen to what you find. However, you should always try to listen to a native speaker to get the most authentic accent.
- You can use useful online audio databases to listen to recordings of regional Irish and English accents.
Step 2. Listen for more specific differences
If you really want to focus on the differences, listen to the way the English and the Irish pronounce the same words differently. You can find samples of people with English and Irish accents reading the same words on dialect study websites.
- You can hear English accents on this page of the Dialects Archive.
- You can hear Irish accents on this page from the Dialects Archive.
- On this page, you can find sample voices from all over the British Isles.
- Sometimes a good way to highlight the differences between accents is to listen to how the numbers are pronounced.
- Numbers like "three" ("three"), "seven" ("seven") and "eleven" ("eleven") are pronounced differently in Ireland and Great Britain.
Step 3. Try to mimic the accents
After you've gotten a good idea of the differences in accents, practicing trying to mimic the pitch and specific sounds is a good way to tailor your hearing a bit more. Do this privately to begin with, and avoid the risk of coming across as making fun of someone's accent.
- Practicing playing the distinctive sounds of certain accents can help you understand how sounds are formed in the mouth and more easily recognize them in the future.
- Perhaps the best way to expose yourself to the quirkiness and beauty of a particular accent is through the lyrical uses of language and accents in songs and poetry.