Ireland 19

Listen to Ireland 19, a 57-year-old man from Dublin, Ireland. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject. 

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 57

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 05/07/1964

PLACE OF BIRTH: Dublin, Ireland (north side)

GENDER: male

ETHNICITY: White/Irish

OCCUPATION: actor

EDUCATION: education degree

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject lived in Greenwich, southeast London, in 2014 for a year. Other than that, he has lived his entire life on the north side of Dublin.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH: N/A

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: John Burke (V) (subject)

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 08/05/2022

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: 

I’m, eh, I’m an actor. I was born in Dublin, and I’ve lived in Dublin for most of my life, apart from a short, eh, year’s break when I went and lived in London. Em, I’ve moved around. I was born in an area that’s called Clontarf, which is very close to Marino on the north side of Dublin, and then I moved to Drumcondra, another area which is north side as well, and now I’ve been in a place called Stoneybatter, which is also north side [laughs] in Dublin 7; you’ve probably figured out I haven’t crossed the Liffey onto the south side. Ehm, northsiders, eh, are different to southsiders and regarded as not as, as posh, so, em, that’s the way it is! And, eh, it’s just part of the whole culture.

Em, obviously, I’m an actor and, eh, you are very mindful and conscious of your accent, and of course you try and p-put, eh, put on posh voices here and there, but, ultimately, emm, this, this is your kit and this is what you’ve been given. Ahm, I suppose I wouldn’t classify myself as a real, real kind of, eh, hardcore flat Dublin accent; I certainly wouldn’t be posh. Ehm, so I’m kind of middle class: that kind of an accent, em, kind of regular type, I think; eh, those who would be from other areas on the south side would have a far more refined or a posh voice, we’d call it; ehm, so that’s tha, the, th-the, eh, in, in terms of my accent, and of course you’re mindful of it.

Em, now in terms of, eh, idioms and slang, eh, there are many of these. For example, em, “on your Sweeney” or “on your Todd” is alone.  Em, “somebody has a liver” means that person is, is very annoyed. Eh, “somebody’s posin’” or “throwin’ shapes” — they’re starting to show off. Eh, if a young teenage boy is no longer with his, his, eh, his, his mates, eh, they he might be accused of “mothing or mottin’,” which means he’s going out steady with a girlfriend and he’s no time to hang around with groups of boys. Eh, “morto”: to be mortified; eh, “skydiver” is a five-Euro note. Eh, “I’m smashed” means I’ve no money, I’m  broke. Eh, this is a really interesting one: “to have a gooh on ya” is a thirst for more alcohol after after one or two drinks. Ah, somebody could be”wreckin’ your head”: they’re annoying me. And then, em, some person might “tap you for a 20,” which means they asked me for a 20-Euro loan.

So thanks very much for listening to this. I hope it helps. Thank you.

TRANSCRIBED BY: John Burke (V) (subject)

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 15/05/2022

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: 

The expression “mothing” is derived from the image of  a moth flickering around a light; hence a boy will do his best to impress these beautiful young girls (referred to as moths).  “Wreckin” is short for “wrecking.” “Posin’” is a shortened version of the verb “to pose,” as a peacock would. “Throwin’” is short for “throwing.”

COMMENTARY BY: John Burke (V) (subject)

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 15/05/2022

The archive provides:

• Recordings of accent/dialect speakers from the region you select.

• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here, please go to Other Dialect Services.