Speak My Language

Have you ever been left bemused by the goings-on in Carrickstown? Are you unsure how to respond when you’re greeted at a Dublin bus stop by an individual with a head tilt and a muttered, ‘Staary bud’?

Well, wonder no longer. A group of inner-city Dublin locals are at hand to teach you the ins-and-outs, lilts and rhymes, abbreviations and colloquialosms of this arcane tomgue: stuff, in other words that will never be found in the Oxford English dictionary or uttered by your language teacher. 
Part of the programme for The Fringe Festival 2012, My Fair Mot is a theatrical class in Dublinese, taught by proper experts in the field. In an Animal Farm-like reversal of roles, children aged between 11 and 15 from the Whitefriar Community Centre will be standing in front of blackboards imparting their wisdom to eager students.
The classes are designed with a particular emphasis on giving foreigners residing in the city and people from outside Dublin – those who don’t know their ‘bowsie’ from their ‘floosie’! – a grounding in the local dialect. French native Eleonore Nicolas is the brains behind the classes. “Dublin people are welcome of course,” she explains. “But they may have to learn phrases that they already know! That’s why we are promoting the class primarily for foreigners and people from the country.”
The idea for the lessons came about when Eleonore moved to Dublin and began working with children in the Whitefriar community centre. 
“I was organising events for the children – but I couldn’t understand what they were saying to me! I’d ask them, ‘Sorry, what did you say?’ and then again and usually by the third time they would give up and go, ‘Aahhh!’ So that made me feel that I wasn’t building a relationship with them and because I am French I was an outsider and I just couldn’t fit in.”
Instead of throwing in the towel, Eleonore began asking the children for their help.
“I started to say, ‘So how do you say this?’, and, ‘What does this mean?’” she explains.” Then they started to teach me and we started to have a fun relationship! Oh so you say, ‘Howaya?’ you don’t say, ‘How are you?’”
Abandoning English formalities and embracing Dublinese, Eleonore began to fall in love, “When I first arrived in Dublin I noticed their unusual way of speaking. I really find it is so charming and very funny!”
The lessons take place in a classroom and are conducted by those with the greatest knowledge. 
“If you come you are going to be a student,” Eleonore explains. “It’s like being at the beginners class for Irish or Arabic, It’s really going to be a class where you are learning a language that you may know a little bit about but you’ll still have to repeat things, write down things and be a good student!”
And the teachers won’t be taking any slack. “It’s suprising, there are 11-year-olds that suddenly become like teachers! And they’re like, ‘Now, that’s not good enough!’ or ‘Repeat this!’ They’re really having fun!”
So what nuggets of wisdom have the Whitefriar group bestowed upon her? 
“I’ve learned how to say, ‘You look like the back of the 19A boos!” she laughs. “Hearing me speak, people immediately say, ‘Where did you come from?” and I always joke and say “Oh I’m from Doooblin!” and of course they wouldn’t believe me! So I told those kids that I needed to be able to say I’m from here and have people believe me. Unfortunately, I’m not there yet.”
Organised to celebrate the endearing nature of Dublin slang, Eleonore has found that learning Dublinese has helped her feel more at home. “I feel like I’m planting roots in Ireland since I’m doing this project,” she says. “I’ve been here for 12 years but being part of My Fair Mot for the past few weeks I’ve become known as ‘Ellie’ instead of ‘Eleonore’. I feel like part of the family as well as knowing Dublin expressions that I’ve never heard before!”

My Fair Mot takes place as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival from September 19 – 23 at the Whitefriar Community Centre, Aungier St. Tickets are available from fringefest.com.