English (Irish)

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

31 core words in English (Irish)

Water

water

/ˈwɑːtəɹ/

Fire

fire

/fɑɪəɹ/

Sun

sun

/sʊn/

Moon

moon

/muːn/

Star

star

/stɑːɹ/

Mother

mother

/ˈmʊðəɹ/

Father

father

/ˈfɑːðəɹ/

I

I

/ɑɪ/

You

you

/juː/

Name

name

/neːm/

Eye

eye

/ɑɪ/

Hand

hand

/hand/

Heart

heart

/hɑːɹt/

Love

love

/lʊv/

Tree

tree

/tɹiː/

House

house

/haʊs/

Dog

dog

/dɒɡ/

Cat

cat

/kat/

Eat

eat

/iːt/

Drink

drink

/dɹɪŋk/

One

one

/wʊn/

Two

two

/tˠuː/

Hello

hello

/hɛˈloː/

Thank you

thanks

/taŋks/

Good

good

/ɡʊd/

Cuckoo

cuckoo

/ˈkʊkuː/

Computer

computer

/kəmˈpjuːtəɾ/

Sushi

sushi

/ˈsuːʃiː/

At sign (@)

at

/æt/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-European (Germanic, West) languages

Meaning English (Irish)English (West Country)English (Geordie)English (Welsh)English (Mancunian)EnglishEnglish (South African)
Water water /ˈwɑːtəɹ/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtɐ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ 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 /sʊn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʊn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑː/
Mother mother /ˈmʊðəɹ/ mother /ˈmʌðɚ/ mother /ˈmʊðɐ/ mother /ˈmʌðə/ mother /ˈmʊðɐ/ mother /ˈmʌðə/ mother /ˈmʌðə/
Father father /ˈfɑːðəɹ/ father /ˈvɑːðɚ/ father /ˈfaːðɐ/ father /ˈfɑːðə/ father /ˈfaːðɐ/ father /ˈfɑːðə/ father /ˈfɑːðə/
I I /ɑɪ/ I /aɪ/ I /aɪ/ I /aɪ/ I /aɪ/ I /aɪ/ I /ɑɪ/
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Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

English (Irish)
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
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 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with closely-related languages

English (Irish)
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I want tae try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across frae the hotel
I möcht an Anzug anprobieren den i in am Gschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gsehn hob
I wolde assayen a cote that I saugh ‌in a shoppe over agaynst the hostelrie
Unë dua ta provoj një kostum pashë një dyqan përballë hotelit

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