Dublin English Explained

Dublin English is the collection of diverse varieties of Hiberno-English spoken in the metropolitan area of Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. Modern-day Dublin English largely lies on a phonological continuum between two extremes (largely, a broad versus general accent distinction).

The more traditional, lower-prestige, working-class, local urban accent on the one end is known by linguist Raymond Hickey as local Dublin English. As of the 21st century, most speakers from Dublin and its suburbs have accent features falling variously along the entire middle as well as the newer end of the spectrum, which together form what Hickey calls non-local Dublin English, employed by the middle and upper class. On the extreme non-local end, a more recently developing, high-prestige, more widely regional (and even supraregional) accent exists, advanced Dublin English, only first emerging in the late 1980s and 1990s, now spoken by most Dubliners born in the 1990s or later. Advanced Dublic English is also spoken by the same age group all across Ireland (except the north) as it rapidly becomes a new national standard accent, in Hickey's estimation.

Phonology

In the most general terms, all varieties of Dublin English have the following identifying sounds that are often distinct from the other regional accents of Ireland,[1] pronouncing:

All these sounds are also typical of a standard Irish English accent, which developed out of Dublin but now largely transcends regional boundaries among the middle and higher classes throughout the Republic.

Local Dublin English

Local Dublin English (also, known by Hickey as popular Dublin English or conservative Dublin English) refers to a traditional, broad, working-class variety spoken in Dublin. It is the only Irish English variety that in earlier history was fully non-rhotic; however, as of the 21st century it is weakly rhotic,[2] and among the various Dublin accents it uniquely has:[3]

Notable speakers

Non-local Dublin English

Advanced Dublin English

Evolving as a fashionable outgrowth of non-local Dublin English, advanced Dublin English (also, new Dublin English and, formerly, fashionable Dublin English) is a relatively young variety that originally began in the early 1990s among the "avant-garde" and now those aspiring to a non-local "urban sophistication". Advanced Dublin English itself, first associated with affluent and middle-class inhabitants of southside Dublin, is probably now spoken by a majority of Dubliners born since the 1980s.

This "new mainstream" accent of Dublin's youth, rejecting traditional working-class Dublin, has:

Dublin 4 English

Advanced Dublin English largely evolved out of an even more innovative and briefly-fashionable accent, Dublin 4 (or D4) English, which originated around the 1970s or 1980s from middle- or higher-class speakers in South Dublin before spreading outwards and then rapidly disappearing. Also known as DART-speak after the suburban Dublin commuter railway system, or, mockingly, Dortspeak, this accent rejected traditional, conservative, and working-class notions of Irishness, with its speakers instead regarding themselves as more trendy and sophisticated. However, particular aspects of the D4 accent became quickly noticed and ridiculed as sounding affected or elitist by the 1990s, causing its defining features to fall out of fashion within that decade.[9] Still, it originated certain (less salient) other features that continue to be preserved in advanced Dublin English today. The salient defining features that are now out of fashion include pronouncing the and lexical sets with a back, long and rounded vowel, thus a glass in the bar like pronounced as /[ə glɒːs ɪn ðə bɒːɹ]/.[9] Other sounds, however, like the raising of and to pronounced as /[ɒ~ɔ]/ and pronounced as /[ɔː~oː]/, respectively (whereas the two were traditionally merged and low in local Dublin English), have survived from D4 English into advanced Dublin English.

Mainstream Dublin English

The strict centre of the Dublin English continuum is mainstream Dublin English, spoken by the middle class, particularly in the 20th century. Mainstream Dublin English of the early- to mid-20th century was the direct basis for a standard accent of Ireland that is no longer regionally specific, fairly widespread everywhere except in the north of Ireland, where Ulster English persists.[10] However, the majority of Dubliners born since the 1980s (led particularly by females) have shifted towards advanced Dublin English.[11] Advanced Dublin English may be in the process of overtaking mainstream Dublin English as the national prestige variety.[10]

Generally, the vowels of mainstream Dublin fall between the extremes of local Dublin and advanced Dublin accents; for instance, falls somewhere between the wider versus narrower diphthongs of these two accents. However, the low back vowels are of special note in mainstream Dublin, where (in some analyses, a mere subset of) is back, open, rounded, and short: pronounced as /ɒ/, while the vowel in is back, open, rounded, and long, pronounced as /ɒ:/. Thus, is possibly distinct from by height, from by length, and from by roundness, if at all. is less raised than all other Dublin accents, thus: pronounced as /aʊ/. Much variation exists for intervocalic /t/ (as in city or Italy), which can be the slit fricative pronounced as /θ̠/ common throughout Ireland, the glottal stop of local Dublin pronounced as /ʔ/, or a tap pronounced as /ɾ/ reminiscent of Ulster and North American English.[3]

Notable speakers

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Hickey, Raymond (2005). Dublin English: Evolution and Change. J. Benjamins Publishing Company.
  2. Hickey, Raymond. A Sound Atlas of Irish English, Volume 1. Walter de Gruyter: 2004, pp. 57-60.
  3. Hickey, Raymond (2012?). "Variation and Change in Dublin English: Glossary". RaymondHickey.com.
  4. Hickey, Raymond. "Dublin English, Broad". Universität Duisburg-Essen, June 2021.
  5. Reynolds, Deirdre. "Lunch with Damien Dempsey: Ronnie Drew never watered down his accent – why should I?". Independent.ie. 2013.
  6. Web site: WATCH: SNL had a skit about Conor McGregor and the accent is all over the place. JOE.ie. 11 December 2016 .
  7. News: Ian . O'Riordan . Rhasidat Adeleke: 'I just want to work harder, run faster, that's what drives me on'. . April 8, 2023 .
  8. Web site: Tallaght sensation Rhasidat puts area on the map . 31 August 2023 .
  9. Hickey, Raymond. Dublin English: Evolution and Change. John Benjamins Publishing: 2005, pp. 46-48
  10. Hickey, Raymond (2012). "Standard Irish English". Standards of English. Codified Varieties around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 114-115.
  11. Hickey, Raymond (2015). Dublin English Irish English Resource Centre. University of Duisburg and Essen.
  12. Linehan, Hugh (2016). "Saoirse Ronan's accent should not be a talking point". The Irish Times.
  13. Allfree, Claire. "Sherlock actor Andrew Scott: Tenderness is more interesting than blatant sexuality". Metro. 2010.
  14. Web site: Five Things You Didn't Know About Katie McGrath. Aiden. Mason. October 19, 2017. TVOvermind.
  15. Web site: Samantha Mumba . Volcanic . 5 February 2021.

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