Accents and dialects in UK: Ireland

1. Accents and dialects in
UK
Ireland: Belfast vs Dublin

2. 1. Belfast speech.
Introduction
• In the northern part of Northern Ireland, speech is quite similar to
that of Scotland. Settlers came from Scotland to Ulster. Many of
these settlers would have spoken Scots, and a form of the
language, Ulster Scots, is still spoken in the province today. In the
south of the province, speech derived originally from that of the
West Midland and the south-west of England. Belfast speech
combines features from both north and south.

3. 1.Belfast speech
1. As in Scotland, there is post vocalic /ɹ/. Similar to Word-initial
/ɹ/ in RP, except that the tip of the tongue is pulled back
somewhat further.
2. Intonation of Belfast English is (loosely) characterized by rising
tones on statements, rather than falling ones, as in RP. This is
much the same pattern as can be found in Glasgow English.
3. In some rural areas of the province, /j/ may be found after /k/
and /g/ before front vowels in words like car [kjaɹ].

4. 1. Belfast speech
4. Between vowels /ð/ may be lost, so mother may be [ˈmɔːəɹ]
and another [ənɔːəɹ]
5. –ing is /ɪn/
6. /h/ is present
7. Certain words which have /ʊ/ in RP and other accents may have
/ʌ/ in Belfast speech: eg. wood may be pronounced [wʊd] or
[wʌd].

5. 1. Belfast speech
8. The vowel system is similar to that of Scottish accents: /i/ bee,
seedy; /ɛ/ pet; /ɔː/ Paul, doll, pause; /aʊ/ bout; etc.
9. Vowels are short before /p,t,k,tʃ/ and long before other
consonants or when final.
10.In Belfast speech the actual realization of a vowel may vary
considerably according to the sound which follows it. For
instance, /a/ in daft has a realization not very different from
/aː/ in RP. Otherwise, in bag it may be /ɛ/.
11./e/ is normally realized as a diphthong varying between
[ɛə] and [iə], but in words like bay and say the vowel is a
monophthong [ɛː]

6. 1. Belfast speech
12./ɪ/ is fairly central. Although fir, fur, fern and fair may
sometimes have different vowels, they all tend to be
pronounced with [əɹ].
13./ɔː/ and /ɒ/ contrast only before /p,t,k/ as in caught and cot.
14./aɪ/ is variable, but is often [ɛɪ].
15./aʊ/ is very variable. Typical realizations are [æu] and [ɛi] as in
house or down.

7. 2. Dublin speech
•Introduction
Although there are similarities between the English of the northern
and southern parts of Ireland, the accents of Belfast and Dublin are
very different. One reason for this is that there was no Scottish
influence on the development of Dublin English. It is also worth
noting that in the Republic of Ireland the highest prestige form of
English, and the linguistic model to which many Irish people aspire,
is not a British variety, but is that of Dublin.

8. 2. Dublin speech
1. /a/ pronounced [a] (as in matter), and /ɑː/, pronounced [aː]
(after), are distinct and are distributed much as in RP. In other
parts of Ireland, however, /a/ may not be distinct.
2. /ɒ/ is pronounced [ɑ] (lot) and /ɔː/ is pronounced [ɑː].
3. /aɪ/ has a back first element [ɑɪ -ɒɪ] which is nevertheless
distinct from /ɔɪ/ (eg. while).

9. 2. Dublin speech
4. /eɪ/ and /əʊ/ are mostly monphthongs or narrow diphthongs.
5. There is a strong tendency for /ʊ/ and /ʌ/ not to be distinct in
strongly local Dublin accents, eg. /ʊ/ in government, but /ʌ/
does occur, particularly in more educated speech.
6. /ɜː/ does not occur in lower-status accents. Instead, as in
Scottish English, words such as firm have /ɪɹ/, words such as
Germans have /ɛɹ/ and words such as work have /ʊɹ/.

10. 2. Dublin speech
7. Irish English has /a/ rather than /ɛ/ in any and anyone.
8. /θ/ and /ð/ are often pronounced not as fricatives but as dental
stops. Before /ɹ/, /t/ and /d/ may also be pronounced as dental
stops, so there may be no distinction /θɹ/ - /tɹ/, /ðɹ/ - /dɹ/, eg.
true – through.
9. /h/ is normally pronounced.
10./p,t,k/ tend to be strongly aspirate, eg. it.

11. To conclude with…

12. Bibliography
• Hughes, A. (2005) English accents and dialects :
an introduction to social and regional varieties
of English in the British Isles. British Dialects, 4th
edition. 110-116.

13. And that’s all…