What Is Hiberno English?

You are sure to be aware of American and British English. You may even realise that Australian and Canadian English have specific linguistic patterns and traits. But what is Hiberno English and more importantly, how much does it deviate from British English? The English, people speak in Ireland, is officially called Hiberno English. The word Hiberno stems from “Hibernia”, the ancient Roman name for Ireland. Deeply shaped by the Irish language, Hiberno English leaps to the senses even though grammatically few differences exist. Irish English churns out unique words and phrases, colouring expressions and sentences with its culture, history, and identity. This post explores the birth and development of Hiberno English while presenting the origins and usage of distinctly Irish words and phrases.

English learners often feel they need to seek purity by learning the King’s or Oxford/Cambridge English. Little do they know that very few people speak BBC English. In the UK and beyond, local dialects diverge significantly in tone and word usage. Cross the pond to Ireland, and you discover a new take on English and a different way to converse. Travel the seas again to hit the U.S. shores, only to stumble upon a rake of accents, new spellings, and once again new rules of engagement.

Each variety of English speaks of history and the people who’ve journeyed it through its striking traits. When examining Hiberno English more closely, you become aware of the Irish language and the people’s history. Bearing in mind the colonisation and considering how the English language took root in Ireland, it is easy to see how Irish English stands apart. The English spoken in Ireland bears the hallmarks of its history, with words and expressions of different eras sewn into the language.

Language is a living thing, continually evolving, with political and societal stories expanding the popular vocabulary year after year. To understand today’s Irish English, you must go back to the beginning.

How English Came to Be Spoken in Ireland

Before the arrival of the English and Normans in the twelfth century, Irish people only spoke Gaelic. Over the ensuing centuries, the British introduced various laws to ban people from speaking Irish, but English only took a foothold across Ireland in the 1600s.

According to Professor Terence Dolan, author of the Hiberno-English dictionary, Irish people were made to learn English “to get the instruction from their owners…the lords and ladies of the big castles.” He attributes the rise of the English language in Ireland to the foundation of Trinity College, Dublin (1592) and St Patrick’s College Maynooth (1795) and to the establishment of the Irish national school system in 1831. The decline of the Irish language is largely due to the Great Irish Famine when millions of Irish people perished or emigrated. English has been the dominant language in Ireland since the late 19th century, with Hiberno English emerging as a blend of language, history, culture, and identity.

An Irish Take on the English Language

Hiberno English has specific characteristics which set it apart from other English varieties. The pronunciation depends on the region, much like it does across all English-speaking areas. The vocabulary includes hundreds of words originating in Irish.

You can quickly find Iists of Hiberno English words people commonly use. Many of them feature on souvenirs including slainté (cheers), feck, eejit (idiot), fair play (well done), dosser (lazy person), craic (fun), knackered (exhausted), slagging (teasing), sound (nice, solid, reliable), and ye (plural of you).

But let’s see how Irish grammar has reshaped some English grammar and phrases.

Yes and No

As neither ‘yes’ nor ‘no’ exists in Irish, Hiberno English tends to replicate this pattern. Rather than answering questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’, people reply in full affirmatives, e.g. “Did you go to school?” – “I did.”

Repetition

Also originating in Irish, sometimes, you hear some of the following repetitions, all-too-frequently featured in films:

• “I have no time at all, at all.”
• “I’ve brought some cash to be sure, to be sure.”
• “We won the match, so we did.”

Extra Pronouns for Emphasis

Equivalent to the Gaelic sentence structure, the following phrases illustrate how Hiberno English uses pronouns for emphasis:

• “Tis himself that’s leaving now.”
• “Have you cash on you?”
• “Is it just yourself coming to the party?”

The Very Recent Past

Again this grammar pattern exists in Irish and made it into Hiberno English. People use these constructions all the time to speak about something that happened in the immediate past.

• “I am after burning the dinner.”
• “She is after getting a promotion.”

For added emphasis, Irish people also use the following essentially present perfect grammar forms, not to be confused with the passive voice.

• “I have my hair washed.” (I’ve just washed my hair.)

Do Be

The following phrases again illustrate the beauty and influence of Gaelic in Irish English. Emphasis lies at the heart here too.

• “He does be working a lot.”
• “It’s her he does be thinking of.”
• “They do be tired after school.”

Now

The word ‘now’ features dominantly in Hiberno English, with the following phrases popping up frequently.

• “There you go now.” (when giving someone something or as a conversation filler)
• “Ah now!” (expressing shock or dismay)
• “Hold on now.” (literal or to interject in an argument)
• “Now, then.” (seeking attention)
• “Bye now.” (literal)

The above language snippets only represent a fraction of the wealth the Irish language and culture have gifted the English language.

What better way to finish this post than to share one of Ireland’s greatest poets, W.B. Yeats, reciting one of his most stunning poems?