Hiberno-English

Irish English
Spoken in	Ireland
speaker	approx. 4 million (native speakers)
Linguistic ; classification	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic English language Varieties of the English language Irish English ;
Official status
Official language in	Ireland (de facto)

The regional variants of the English language spoken on the Irish island are collectively referred to as Hiberno-English or Irish English .

Irish English differs from English English, among other things, in its pronunciation. What is particularly striking is the frequent lack of distinction between the initial sounds in thin and tin , which may sound like tin to non-Irish people in both cases . Irish English is like American English , but unlike Standard British English , Reddish . There are also differences to standard English in terms of sentence structure and a specific vocabulary for Irish English, mainly due to borrowings from Irish .

About the terminology

In addition to the terms Irish English and Hiberno English , the term Anglo-Irish is occasionally used, especially in older literature . This term is mostly avoided in recent literature because it is also used to refer to the descendants of English immigrants in Ireland as well as their language and literature, whereby Anglo-Irish would only refer to part of the Irish population. In literary studies , the term Anglo-Irish literature is still used for Irish literature in the English language.

The term Hiberno-English was popularized by the linguist TP Dolan and is found mainly in older literature. More recent linguistic literature tends to use the more easily understandable terms Irish English or English in Ireland ; Hiberno-English can still be found here and there.

classification

Irish English, along with other national variants of English, such as American English or New Zealand English , is referred to as a variety of the English language. Irish English is one of the varieties of English that is usually the mother tongue of its speakers. Other varieties, such as Indian English , are official languages of their country and are used in administration and education, but are often the second languages of most speakers.

history

The first language spoken on the island of Ireland was Irish, a Celtic language . There were Viking settlements in Ireland, but in the 12th century, when a large number of speakers of the English language first settled in Ireland, it is safe to assume that the Vikings were so assimilated that their descendants were Irish too languages. The English language spread in Ireland in two main phases. The first main phase begins with the conquest of Ireland in 1169 by a force made up of Anglo-Normans , Middle English- speaking soldiers, Welsh and some Flemings . English is first brought with them by soldiers and later by settlers who followed the Anglo-Norman upper class to Ireland. The resulting dialects were based on the Middle English spoken in England at the time . The settlement of this phase was mainly limited to the southeast and east of Ireland. Most of the new settlers, however, gradually adopted not only the native customs but also the Irish language . This variant of English, which was introduced in Ireland during the first major phase, was ultimately limited to a few areas along the east coast of Ireland. Two of these ancient dialects survived into the 18th and even 19th centuries : in a small area north of Dublin and in the Forth and Bargy region of County Wexford .

The phase of the introduction of English in Ireland, which is far more important from today's perspective, began in the 16th century with the so-called Plantations , a targeted settlement of English and Scottish settlers, especially in the north of Ireland. This led to the permanent settlement of English-speaking families in much of the country. The new settlers brought with them the early New English spoken in the 16th century and not, like the earlier settlers of the same origin, local variants of Middle English. All modern variants of Hiberno-English, with the exception of Ulster Scots , ultimately go back to this early New English . The sixteenth century also saw the development of the two main varieties of Irish English: Southern Irish English and Northern Irish English. Especially in the north-east (in Ulster ), the northern English and Scottish dialects as well as the Scots had a great influence on the development of the English variant there due to the settlement of northern English and Scottish families. This influence is missing in the southern Irish variant.

From the 18th century it can be observed that the number of English-speaking Irish compared to Irish-speakers continued to grow. In the 19th century, Irish finally declined dramatically, partly because up to two million Irish-speaking residents either died of starvation or emigrated during the Great Famine in Ireland (1845–1848). In 1891 there were around 30,000 to 40,000 native Irish speakers left, mostly in western Ireland.

Geographical distribution

English dialects in Ulster

In the literature, two main geographical variants of Irish English are distinguished: Northern Irish English and Southern Irish English. It should be noted that the distribution area of Northern Irish English is not to be equated with the country Northern Ireland , but rather with the historic province of Ulster, which includes a large part of Northern Ireland and part of the Republic of Ireland south of the inner-Irish border. The Northern Irish variant of Irish English is u. a. characterized by a higher proportion of loanwords from the Scots.

Within the two main variants of Irish English, one can further distinguish between different dialects. This is how they speak of Ulster Scots, Mid-Ulster English and South Ulster English.

pronunciation

Irish English differs from standard English pronunciation ( Received Pronunciation ) in the following ways:

'r' is very similar to pronunciation in American English and is always pronounced no matter where it occurs in the word, which makes Hiberno-English a rhotic dialect .

The sounds [θ, ð] in words like thing or that are often spoken like an aspirated or a dental [t]. So this thing sounds more like dis ting to non-Irish people , and the difference between thin and tin is barely audible.

The historical distinction between w [w] and wh [hw] as in wine and whine still exists in Irish English, while it no longer exists in most English dialects.

In many places d / t at the end of the syllable is replaced by [ʃ]: [iʃ] for it , [graʊnʃ] for ground .

grammar

The grammar of Irish English has a number of peculiarities compared to standard English English.

Personal pronouns

The personal pronouns in Irish English differ from standard English:

The pronoun them is often used as a demonstrative or as a subject , as is also the case in British non-standard dialects: ... that time the people were rich that used to live in them houses.

The form yis is often used as the second person plural you (as the subject) . So instead of Are you proud of it? then Are yis proud of it? .

As a second person (as an object ), ye is often used instead of you . So instead of God bless you in Irish English God bless ye .

Sentence structure

In addition, there are sentence structures typical of Irish English that differ significantly from standard English, such as B. the following:

the construction do + V ing to describe repetitive, habitual actions: I do be here every day .
the use of present or past tense instead of present or past perfect in examples such as Did you have lunch yet? instead of standard British English Have you had lunch yet?
the use of will instead of shall in the future tense

vocabulary

Bilingual information signs in Irish and English

The vocabulary of Irish English differs from English English through the influence of Irish, Scots and the retention of some archaic forms that no longer exist in most English dialects. Loan words that come from the Irish are, among other things, from the areas of government and administration: Dáil (the Irish Parliament), Taoiseach (German 'leader', in Ireland the Prime Minister) or Gardaí (German 'Police'). Other Irish words that can be found in public buildings are Ollscoil (dt. 'University') or An Post (dt. 'Post office'). Other Irish Lehnwörter that are still attested in everyday English are about, inexpensive (dt. 'Festival'), Fleadh (a traditional music festival) or Gaeltacht (Irish-language region of Ireland).

In literary Irish English, too, there are examples of a mixture of English with Gaelic-derived expressions: “Henno was looking down at the roll-book, writing really slowly. Kevin clicked his fingers. - Sea? * Said Henno. He didn't look up. Kevin spoke. “ Sea is used in this case instead of the English yes and is an abbreviation of the Irish is ea (dt. '[Ja,] es ist [so]').

The function of Irish loanwords is different for speakers of Irish English: On the one hand, they can strengthen the sense of community between speakers of Irish English. On the other hand, some Irish words cover lexical gaps in the English vocabulary: There are no expressions in English for curragh (small fishing boat from wickerwood) or seanachí (traditional storyteller in Ireland).

Especially in Ulster, which is influenced by the English of Scottish settlers, you will also find a number of Scottish loanwords such as B. wee (Eng. 'Small'). After all, the development of Irish English was long decoupled from the development of English in Great Britain, which is also reflected in the preservation of archaic forms that no longer exist in English. Examples of such archaic forms include a. mad and bold , who have the older meanings of 'eager for' and 'badly behaved, fallen on the frame' in Irish English.

Vocabulary peculiarities that have only developed in Irish English but cannot be found in standard British English include: B .:

Instead of the adjective great (meaning “wonderful”, “great”) the word grand is used. So you can z. B. in Ireland it's a grand day instead of it's a great day as it is said in British standard English.

The word yoke is used instead of the noun thing .

literature

Introductions and overviews

Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English. Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 .
Karen P. Corrigan: Irish English: Volume 1 - Northern Ireland. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2010, ISBN 978-0-7486-3429-3 .
Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 .
Raymond Hickey: Irish English: History and present-day forms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 .
Jeffrey L. Kallen: Irish English: Volume 2 - The Republic of Ireland. Mouton de Gruyter, Boston / Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-1-61451-168-7 .
Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 .
Peter Trudgill, Jean Hannah: International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English. 5th edition. Hodder Education, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-340-97161-1 .
Patrick Weston Joyce: English as We Speak It in Ireland. MH Gill & Son et al., Dublin et al. 1910.

Dictionaries

Terence Patrick Dolan, Tom Paulin (Eds.): A Dictionary of Hiberno-English. The Irish Use of English. Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 1999, ISBN 0-7171-2942-X .

Grammars

Markku Filppula: The Grammar of Irish English. Language in Hibernian Style. Routledge, London et al. 1999, ISBN 0-415-14524-4 ( Routledge Studies in Germanic Linguistics 5).

Texts and literary works in Irish English

Alan Bliss: Spoken English in Ireland, 1600-1740. Twenty-seven Representative Texts. (= Dolmen Texts. 5) Dolmen Press et al., Dublin 1979, ISBN 0-391-01119-7 .
Gisela Zingg: Is there Hiberno-English in modern English literature? - Hiberno-English in modern Irish literature: the use of dialect in Joyce, O'Brien, Shaw and Friel . Peter Lang, Bern 2013, ISBN 978-3-0343-1423-7 .

Web links

http://www.irishabroad.com/Culture/Slang/ - Irish Slang (Engl.)

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 8-9 .
^ Raymond Hickey: Irish English: phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 71 .
↑ Bernd Kortmann, Edgar W. Schneider: General Introduction . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 2-3 .
^ Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 32-33 .
^ Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 30-31 .
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 20-21 .
^ Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 47-48 .
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 11-13, 20-21 .
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 21 .
↑ Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , pp. 89 .
↑ Markku Filppula: Irish English: morphology and syntax . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 348-349 .
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 36 .
↑ ^a ^b Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , pp. 92 .
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 58-59 .
↑ Roddy Doyle : Paddy Clarke, Ha, Ha, Ha. Secker & Warburg, London 1993, ISBN 0-436-20135-6 , p. 180.
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 59-60 .
↑ Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 63 .
^ Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 362 .
^ Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 363 .

[:0-1] A ^b Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 8-9 .

[2] Raymond Hickey: Irish English: phonology . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 71 .

[3] Bernd Kortmann, Edgar W. Schneider: General Introduction . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 2-3 .

[4] Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 32-33 .

[5] Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 30-31 .

[6] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 20-21 .

[7] Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 47-48 .

[8] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 11-13, 20-21 .

[9] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: An Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 21 .

[10] Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , pp. 89 .

[11] Markku Filppula: Irish English: morphology and syntax . In: Bernd Kortmann, Clive Upton (Ed.): Varieties of English 1: The British Isles . Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2008, ISBN 978-3-11-019635-1 , p. 348-349 .

[12] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 36 .

[:1-13] Klaus Hansen, Uwe Carls, Peter Lucko: The differentiation of English into national variants . Erich Schmidt, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-503-03746-2 , pp. 92 .

[14] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 58-59 .

[15] Roddy Doyle : Paddy Clarke, Ha, Ha, Ha. Secker & Warburg, London 1993, ISBN 0-436-20135-6 , p. 180.

[16] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 59-60 .

[17] Carolina P. Amador-Moreno: In Introduction to Irish English . Equinox, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-84553-371-7 , pp. 63 .

[18] Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 362 .

[19] Raymond Hickey: Irish English . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007, ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9 , pp. 363 .