Irish English

Indo-European (Germanic, West)

FamilyIndo-European (Germanic, West) Speakers~5M ScriptLatin CountriesIreland Official inIreland Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3eng

Irish English, often called Hiberno-English, comprises the English varieties spoken in the Republic of Ireland and related varieties on the island. Under Article 8 of Ireland’s Constitution, Irish is the national and first official language, while English is recognized as a second official language; in everyday life, English is used by most of the population. Centuries of contact with Irish and with English and Scots settlement varieties helped shape its regional grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Well-known features include the after-perfect, as in “I’m after eating,” Irish-influenced cleft constructions, and dental or alveolar realizations of English /θ/ and /ð/, though none occurs uniformly everywhere. Dublin, eastern, southern, western, and northern speech differ substantially, and contemporary usage ranges from strongly local forms to supraregional Irish English.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Irish English

Water

water

ˈwɑːtəɹ

Fire

fire

fɑɪəɹ

Sun

sun

sʊn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

stɑːɹ

Night

night

naɪt

Rain

rain

ɾeːn

Snow

snow

snəʊ

Wind

wind

wɪnd

Earth

earth

ɜːɹθ

Stone

stone

stoʊn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmaʊntən

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmʊðəɹ

Father

father

ˈfɑːðəɹ

Daughter

daughter

ˈdɒːtəɹ

I

I

ɑɪ

You

you

juː

We

we

wiː

Name

name

neːm

Person

person

ˈpɜːɹsən

Head

head

hɛd

Eye

eye

ɑɪ

Ear

ear

iːɹ

Nose

nose

noːz

Mouth

mouth

maʊθ

Tooth

tooth

tuːθ

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

hand

Foot

foot

fʊt

Heart

heart

hɑːɹt

Bone

bone

boʊn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poo

puː

Love

love

lʊv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɒɡ

Cat

cat

kat

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɜːd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbʊtəɹflaɪ

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛɹ

Horse

horse

hɔɹs

House

house

haʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɒlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Rice

rice

ɹaɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɒklət

Iron

iron

ˈɑɪəɹn

Wheel

wheel

ʍiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wʊn

Two

two

tˠuː

Three

three

θɹiː

Four

four

foːɹ

Five

five

faɪv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

hello

hɛˈloː

Thank you

thanks

taŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

njuː

Red

red

ɹɛd

White

white

ʍaɪt

Black

black

blak

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɒkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjuːtəɾ

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaɪfaɪ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuːʃiː

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɒfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡəɹ

Orange

orange

ˈɒɹɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdoʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

at

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Germanic, West)

Meaning Irish EnglishWest Country EnglishEnglishMancunian EnglishGeordieWelsh EnglishYorkshire English
Water water /ˈwɑːtəɹ/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtɐ/ water /ˈwɔːtɐ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/
Fire fire /fɑɪəɹ/ fire /faɪɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/
Sun sun /sʊn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʊn/ sun /sʊn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʊn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/
Night night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /ɾeːn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɾeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/
Snow snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Irish English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I möcht an Anzug anprobieren den i in am Gschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gsehn hob
Irish English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I wolde assayen a cote that I saugh ‌in a shoppe over agaynst the hostelrie
I want tae try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across frae the hotel
Je veux essayer un costume que j' ai vu dans un magasin en face de l'hôtel

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