Irish with American accents

eth0

That often havn't even been to the States and if they have it was only for a few weeks. Whats the story with these people, do they put in a concious effort to put on this accent?

The accent would usually be picked up from watching shoite American TV or Youtoob. Worst case the lads actually think and act like they are a character in their favourite American sitcom, these are the most annoying type; absolute insufferable gobsh1tes of the highest order. I have met a few of these, one of them is obsessed with a certain piece of kit called a Pandaboard. He started blathering on about this and using it as a media server sending TCP packets like he was a proper Starbucks-drinking San Francisco nerdhead.

Another lad I used to know seemed to reject anything traditionally Irish so he must have put on the accent for this reason, last time I seen him he was on some anti-religious rant. Went to college with him, one day someone asked him where in the States he was from. The lad was from Knocknaheeney, he should have been saying "c'mere to me boy, you're a tool!" not "Hey Guys check out this awesome CAUW-ffee".
In the same class there was another happy-go-lucky sitcom fella, he was seriously annoying now. Like the pandaboard lad the blood pressure would just start to rise as soon as he opened his mouth.

Pushtrak

Can't really say I've encountered the phenomenon off the top of my head.

eth0 wrote: »

Another lad I used to know seemed to reject anything traditionally Irish

Like what? GAA? Hurling?

Jen Pigs Fly

Cowboys ted! They're nothing but cowboys!

CatFromHue

Sometimes when I'm talking to someone with a strong Dublin accent my Dublin accent gets stronger....so OP what's your accent like?

Conor108

Nice try Pandaboard marketer...

eth0

CatFromHue wrote: »

Sometimes when I'm talking to someone with a strong Dublin accent my Dublin accent gets stronger....so OP what's your accent like?

Cork with a bit of Polish(?) apparently. Don't know where the polish came from, know a few people from there but didn't think I'd be pick up their accent

fitzYOLO

Woah. You are seriously so upset over this. lol get over it dude.

luckyfrank

Graham McDowell

Fooooooooooreeeee

eth0

Conor108 wrote: »

Nice try Pandaboard marketer...

Don't buy a Pandaboard, you might end up like the gobsh1te I mentioned. The fact that this lad has one would put me off buying one in a big way

CatFromHue

eth0 wrote: »

That often havn't even been to the States and if they have it was only for a few weeks. Whats the story with these people, do they put in a concious effort to put on this accent?

eth0 wrote: »

Cork with a bit of Polish(?) apparently. Don't know where the polish came from, know a few people from there but didn't think I'd be pick up their accent

:pac:

NegativeCreep

My friend does this and she's born and bred in Ballymun! She didn't start putting on an American until we finished 6th year there in June. I no longer choose to be anywhere near her. Anyone ashamed to speak in their own accent is a fool IMO. She doesn't want people to know where she comes from when she goes to college which is ridiculous :L

Wacker The Attacker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M

krudler

eth0 wrote: »

That often havn't even been to the States and if they have it was only for a few weeks. Whats the story with these people, do they put in a concious effort to put on this accent?

The accent would usually be picked up from watching shoite American TV or Youtoob. Worst case the lads actually think and act like they are a character in their favourite American sitcom, these are the most annoying type; absolute insufferable gobsh1tes of the highest order. I have met a few of these, one of them is obsessed with a certain piece of kit called a Pandaboard. He started blathering on about this and using it as a media server sending TCP packets like he was a proper Starbucks-drinking San Francisco nerdhead.

Another lad I used to know seemed to reject anything traditionally Irish so he must have put on the accent for this reason, last time I seen him he was on some anti-religious rant. Went to college with him, one day someone asked him where in the States he was from. The lad was from Knocknaheeney, he should have been saying "c'mere to me boy, you're a tool!" not "Hey Guys check out this awesome CAUW-ffee".
In the same class there was another happy-go-lucky sitcom fella, he was seriously annoying now. Like the pandaboard lad the blood pressure would just start to rise as soon as he opened his mouth.

It takes a lot to wish on someone that they would speak with a Cork accent, what'd that guy ever do to you?

Butterface

One of my teenage cousins speaks with American intonations. I don't know where he got it from because he's a middle child and both his brothers have flat Navan accents. He probably watched way too much Nickelodeon channel or whatever when he was a child!

juan.kerr

More begrudgery

dlofnep

Accents are a strange thing alright. My Uncle left Waterford when he was 18, and lived in London ever since. He's bordering 60 now, so he's been there for 40+ years. Despite that, he still has a thick Waterford accent with the occasional English word like 'mate' lobbed in every now and again.

I know another lad who moved to England to get a job, and after a year he had a thick English accent. You see it happen to soccer players a lot too.

Most curious is people who change their accent depending on who they are with. My friend was born in Ireland, to two parents from England. I noticed that his accent changes when speaking to them, and becomes more proper - with an English twang. When he's with us, he speaks in a bog-standard Waterford accent. It's totally not a conscious decision - and happens subconsciously. He acquired two accents by being immersed with two different groups of people. His family (English accent), and his friends/school/society (Irish accent).

But these prats who put on American accents, I have no reasonable explanation for.

Varied

I only realised a while ago that it's because they watch disney channel when they're kids, then MTV when they are teens. They probably hear more American accent than Irish in their childhoods.

Although there are some **** that exaggerate it.

NegativeCreep

Varied wrote: »

I only realised a while ago that it's because they watch disney channel when they're kids, then MTV when they are teens. They probably hear more American accent than Irish in their childhoods.

Although there are some **** that exaggerate it.

Sure anyone who's young watched American shows when they were kids these days :L I did and I still have a scumbag Blanch accent :L

Yamanoto

eth0 wrote: »

"Hey Guys check out this awesome CAUW-ffee".

Check out this American lady teaching the yanks how to say 'Coffee' in a British accent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBXUXqf8FXk

charlemont

An Australian teacher at St John's Cork was telling me he had a pupil whom he thought was American, then one day in conversation he asked him where in America he was from ? The chap was actually from Douglas all along. He just acted like something from the O.C. The teacher couldn't understand what bang he was on.

Varied

NegativeCreep wrote: »

Sure anyone who's young watched American shows when they were kids these days :L I did and I still have a scumbag Blanch accent :L

Aye but we spent most of our lives outdoors. Now kids are listening to everything American and spending life watching TV or listening to awful music.

DjFlin

I spent a few years living in Poland as a child. In the school I went to, most of my teachers spoke with American accents and I picked it up from them.

I've been back in Ireland 6 years now and still speak like an American.

DEFTLEFTHAND

My old man has a friend living and working in Chicago since the early seventies. About 3 months after moving there he returned home to watch Tipp in the 71 AI final. When they met him at arrivals they noticed the twang, the straw that broke the camels back however was when they were paying for pints at the hotel and he pipes up with "Geez guys I can't understand this goddam money".

Doom

I was in Galway recently, got talking to two girls and a guy, thought one of the girls was an American, so I asked her where was she from, here she says.....I started laughing and said aren't all Americans from here, But she actually was Irish, I really started to laugh then, she was totally embarrassed, I kept slagging her about her American accent, she walked away... what a tool.

lolz81

I've been living in Merseyside for the past four and a half years. Whenever I talk to my friends back home they say I've got a bit of a scouse twang when I say certain words (for my sins!!!). Moving back home next week though, and I reckon within a month I'll be "howya hun"-ing it up with the rest of the Wexford crowd!

OneArt

I knew a girl like that. She wasn't trying to be American or anything (she was so Irish she did Irish dancing for God's sake...), she just watched so much television that her voice went that way.

I also knows lots of Germans who have American accents when they speak English. Although I allegedly have a Dutch one when I speak German.

luckyfrank

luckyfrank wrote: »

Graham McDowell

Fooooooooooreeeee

He lives in the US so obviously will pick up bits of the accent.

tonycascarino

I think some people are so insecure that they need to put on a foreign accent because they think it brings importance. There really is no excuse for an Irish person to speak with an American accent unless they actually lived in America for a long period of time.

Sky King

What about those people? Who say every sentence like a question? Even when it isn't a question? Does that annoy you OP?

Because it annoys me?

lolz81

Sky King wrote: »

What about those people? Who say every sentence like a question? Even when it isn't a question? Does that annoy you OP?

Because it annoys me?

In my head I read that like Michelle from American Pie.

eth0

Skadoosh! wrote: »

It takes a lot to wish on someone that they would speak with a Cork accent, what'd that guy ever do to you?

It would be far less annoying than the accent he had, but then my view would be biased. The only cork accent I can't stand is the cork call centre accent some women put on. Just a normal cork accent really but more nasally, with a heightened sense of importance and some fancy wording thrown in.

Sky King wrote: »

What about those people? Who say every sentence like a question? Even when it isn't a question? Does that annoy you OP?

Because it annoys me?

That wouldn't be the best now. Twould seem like they're afraid to actually say anything and always want the option of 'i was only asking'.

Captain Chaos

Sky King wrote: »

What about those people? Who say every sentence like a question? Even when it isn't a question? Does that annoy you OP?

Because it annoys me?

That's that American upward inflection thing, every sentence sounds like a question even when they are stating a fact.

Atomicjuicer

I have this.

We grew up with bog one and bog two (rte for those who don't know!) and only watched tv on the weekends.

I had plenty of friends with different accents growing up (mostly varying Dublin accents).

I think there were a few factors but I can't pin it down to anything specific. When introduced to people over the years they always assume I'm American and I use the "watched too much tv" line to get out of the questions which I can't answer.

When I was 20 I actually visited America for the first time and was curious to see what the locals made of my accent.

You see I believe that I made a sort of subconscious effort over the years to speak as neutrally as possible because I had difficulty understanding very thick accents. I think I also noticed that people who spoke with very strong local accents were often of a different mind set to me. I can go into this if you like but seeing most of the comments on the thread I get the impression that I might just antagonize people.

Funnily enough the Americans didn't think I was Irish at all. I had to show people my passport and speak Irish (weirder I found myself trying to put on a sort of Irish accent to clarify that there were some things I didn't understand about American culture because they just assumed I would know certain things). I asked people what part of America they thought I was from and they all said Boston. I believe Boston has a large Irish community though.

Badly Drunk Boy

I hate when they pronounce 'film' as if it's 'movie'.

Feathers

The Boards ads targeting is getting better, I'm being shown ones for 'London Voice Coaching'

To be honest, the two accents aren't that different in the first place. Some of my cousins in the North almost sound American and they're definitely not posh or trying to impress anyone.

newmug

Atomicjuicer wrote: »

I have this.

We grew up with bog one and bog two (rte for those who don't know!) and only watched tv on the weekends.

You see I believe that I made a sort of subconscious effort over the years to speak as neutrally as possible because I had difficulty understanding very thick accents. I think I also noticed that people who spoke with very strong local accents were often of a different mind set to me. I can go into this if you like but seeing most of the comments on the thread I get the impression that I might just antagonize people.

What? The American accent is the least neutral accent you could possibly use!

I think some of it has to do with people's hearing. I notice deaf people or people who are slightly hard of hearing often have American accents, probably because thats the way they are hearing everybody else speaking. They probably dont even realise they they're slightly deaf. You touched on it there AtomicJuicer when you said you find it hard to understand thick accents - maybe you're not fully hearing bits of it?

4zn76tysfajdxp

eth0 wrote: »

The lad was from Knocknaheeney, he should have been saying "c'mere to me boy, you're a tool!"

Using tool in that context is such an Americanism.

MichaelGUFC

Allot of accents are fading away,my granddad spoke in a thick Galway accent with broken Irish,I speak with more of a general Connacht accent

eth0

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I hate when they pronounce 'film' as if it's 'movie'.

I hate when they leave out the 'u' in 'filum'

Augmerson

I spent a year living in Canada. I picked up the accent. It's a strange thing, for the life of me I cannot imitate any accent, but if I was sent to a location for a few weeks, you'd somehow pick it up. We once on a week holiday to Kerry visiting relations and I ended up sounded like I was from Kerry.

pragmatic1

I've probably met about a hundred of these kinds in Donegal over the years. They were usually middle class, into rock/metal/punk/skating and obsessed with US culture. Usually complete tools but harmless enough.

DaSilva

eth0 wrote: »

CatFromHue wrote: »

Sometimes when I'm talking to someone with a strong Dublin accent my Dublin accent gets stronger....so OP what's your accent like?

Cork with a bit of Polish(?) apparently. Don't know where the polish came from, know a few people from there but didn't think I'd be pick up their accent

I'm going to spell it out for you. If you start a thread complaining about Irish people with American accents even though they've never been there, and then say, people say you have a Polish accent even though you've never been there, you come across a bit dim.

Playboy

Doom wrote: »

I was in Galway recently, got talking to two girls and a guy, thought one of the girls was an American, so I asked her where was she from, here she says.....I started laughing and said aren't all Americans from here, But she actually was Irish, I really started to laugh then, she was totally embarrassed, I kept slagging her about her American accent, she walked away... what a tool.

I think you will find in that situation you were the tool :rolleyes:

guitarzero

Heeey Duuuude, lay off!

eth0

DaSilva wrote: »

I'm going to spell it out for you. If you start a thread complaining about Irish people with American accents even though they've never been there, and then say, people say you have a Polish accent even though you've never been there, you come across a bit dim.

A few people have said that to me but i dunno where they get that idea from. Tis possible that I picked up some from polish people i knew back in the day but most can tell straight away that i'm from cork or around that part of the country anyway

PrincessLola

Everybody's mad.

twistyj

I agree with alot thats being said here but i must admit that i lived in Canada for a year in 2010 but however i didnt pick up any trace of the accent but i did find myself doing that thing where you say something like a question "So i know this person?" "and she's really nice?"

ya like Michelle from American Pie....

I really hate it but i do i realise i do it from time to time.

But i speak with my normal Tipp accent and i am concerned with the loss of Irish identity these days but its funny that i too have asked people where in the states were they from with the answer being actually some city in Ireland.

Anyway to get to my point, i think that some people, naturally, assimilate the environment around them to fit in or progress in life and thats fine if you're in that country.

But having never set foot out of Europe and speaking with a North American accent? No no. No!

Blisterman

My English girlfriend gets irritated when I use phrases she considers to be American like soccer instead of football, apartment instead of flat and college instead of uni.

I personally find the subtle differences in languages and dialects, as a result of different influences to be fascinating. There's no "right" or "wrong" way of speaking.

Barry Barry

This guy; http://www.youtube.com/user/zXNoRegretzzXz

I found it very hard to believe hes from Cork

Feathers

Blisterman wrote: »

My English girlfriend gets irritated when I use phrases she considers to be American like soccer instead of football, apartment instead of flat and college instead of uni.

I personally find the subtle differences in languages and dialects, as a result of different influences to be fascinating. There's no "right" or "wrong" way of speaking.

If she's living in Ireland, she should know that uni is British, rather than college being American. Soccer gets used in Ireland too depending on who you're talking to (making a distinction from GAA and/or rugby). Always thought apartment was just to make your flat sound fancier since flats in Ireland would've been council flats before private ones caught on.