Ireland has 32 counties and about 132 different accents, all of them unique and original. The quirkiest though must be the Derry accent.
I am a born and bred Derry girl and have always known that the accent is somewhat eccentric, with people from far away lands thinking I was from a different universe.
I spent last St Paddy s Day In New York. I was buzzing at being Irish while being surrounded by Yanks, telling their stories of Irish ancestors, relations and how their second cousin once had a pint with a man who had been in Ireland. The only problem was nobody believed I was Irish.
When I was in a pub a woman said to me So you came all the way from Scotland for St Paddy s Day , Naw am not Scottish am Irish I answered
Yeah the whole world is Irish on St Patrick s Day.
But ye don t understand, am Irish every day .
I didn t take this too seriously and passed it of as that woman not knowing her arse from her elbow but I was getting asked similar questions all day.
It is, perhaps, understandable that an American would be confused by such a bizarre accent.
In Dublin however, I thought that my accent would have been easily identifiable.
Again the Scottish question arose and my identity took a huge blow when a Dublin woman asked me what country I was from (and she wasn t trying to find out my religion. She really thought I was from some foreign land).
When I say things like I must smooth my clothes as opposed to iron my clothes, a piece as opposed to a slice of bread and a dippy as opposed to tea made in the cup, I get looked at as if I am lightin the pan .
I feel that I owe my Derry comrades the chance to be understood.
Here is a brief Derry-English glossary:
Yes: Hello
Alright hei mucker: How are you my friend
Give er dixie/ Keep er lit: Remarks made to give someone support
Ya gack: You idiot/fool
Bangin , hoachin , leppin , and hummin : All words for something that is not very nice.
Get back: Stop that nonsense
Waine: Kid
Wan: One
If you ever hear anybody use any of the above words and say hei at the end of every sentence as if it is a vocal full stop then don t ask what planet they are from. They are from planet Derry. Try not to hold it against them hei.
Teresa McGowan