BS: Belfast accents

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: freda underhill
Date: 03 May 07 - 11:57 AM

for a Belfast accent, try this one - click on Northern Ireland Three

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Greg B
Date: 03 May 07 - 11:44 AM

Who sings the lead on the Furey's 'Shipyard Slips?'

Does it sound like a passable Belfast accent, or does it sound
more like a Dubliner trying to sound like he's from Belfast?

Locals opinions?

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: GUEST,Yur Mun
Date: 03 May 07 - 10:28 AM

Uroind Bulfust thuy prunoince "County Down" us "Cointy Doin". Thu oinly uthur vuwul us u U, prunoinced "eeuuuuuuu".

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Little Robyn
Date: 03 May 07 - 09:08 AM

I work with a girl from Belfast - from Hollywood. I guess she was brought up in the protestant area.
The most obvious difference in the way we talk is with words that have an 'air' sound - she pronounces it 'ur':
here:hur, hair:hur, where:whurr, pair:pur, chair:chur, fair:fur, tear:tur, stare:stur.
Get the idea?
I'm used to it now but it did cause a bit of confusion to start with.
Robyn

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Fibula Mattock
Date: 03 May 07 - 05:36 AM

ard macha - Cullybackey hey? Accent hey? :)

'bout ye Seamus! How's it going?

Have yous ever noticed that us Norn Iron people say things like "well now!" as an exclamation from out of nowhere a lot when there's absolutely no reason to speak at all.

Damn, if I'd known I could tell people's religion from their accents it would have saved years of the shifty sizing-up "what's your name? where abouts are you from? Oh yeah, which school was that you went to?" type conversations (which we do automatically, even if we don't give a damn what their religion actually is).

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: ard mhacha
Date: 03 May 07 - 04:20 AM

Tommy Makem is pure Keady quite a way removed from a Belfast accent, Frank Carson`s accent is Belfast sounding seeing he comes from there.
McGrath you are right about telling the difference between a Protestant northern accent and Catholic one, it is easy when the Prod is wearing a Sash,this Site gets crazier.
Daniel Day Lewis made a good fist of the accent, listening to discussion on actors and their various attempts at the accent, they all agreed it was very difficult.
Fibula, what would they do with a Cullybackey accent?,retire I think.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Wolfhound person
Date: 03 May 07 - 04:17 AM

I have a friend, who after many years in England has returned to his native N. Ireland, where his accent is settling back to the native level. He always reckoned that the community of origin of the speaker was immediately apparent to other locals, something to do with the vowels, he said.

So your acting friend needs to know which community their "part" is supposed to be from. And also which area - even to me, an English person, the accent in say N. Antrim (the Paisleys patch) is different to that south of Belfast.

Paws

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 03 May 07 - 03:42 AM

Daniel Day Lewis in "In the Name Of The Father."

'Bout ye, Fibs?

Seamus

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Partridge
Date: 03 May 07 - 12:42 AM

Thanks. I realise that this is a difficult thing to do in writing, I will print this off and give it to Kate.

Ta muchly,

Pat x

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: HuwG
Date: 03 May 07 - 12:12 AM

An old Frank Carson joke:

Two ducks are flying over Belfast. One says, "Quack!". The other says, "I'm flying as quack as I can."

It's the way I tell them.

If you can get a video tape or DVD of Frank, it might help; even though Frank himself usually performs for an English audience and tones down some of the most impenetrable accent and colloquialisms.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Greg B
Date: 02 May 07 - 10:36 PM

This is funny--- it's a distinctive, and very lovely sound, but
everyone is correct: bloody hard to describe. And yes, there
is a distinct difference between the way Ian Paisley sounds
and the way Gerry Adams sounds. Paisley definitely sounds
more British--- though he probably affects that to some
degree.

The other problem, of course, is that as in Australia, women
and men seem to have somewhat different accents.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Fibula Mattock
Date: 02 May 07 - 07:40 PM

She doesn't put her tongue behind her teeth.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 02 May 07 - 07:24 PM

But then the Queen pronounces house and mouse that way too - and yet she doesn't sound too Belfast.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 02 May 07 - 06:13 PM

One mice...two mice. One hice two hises.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Fibula Mattock
Date: 02 May 07 - 06:01 PM

The way I say it, house = hice
:)

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 02 May 07 - 05:34 PM

Get hold of the video or DVD of the film 'Harrys Game' which is about the troubles as they were in Ireland before the peace initiatives.
There are some real and imitated Belfast accents in it. Can buy it on Ebay or if you want the video...free....pm me with name and address to send it to. Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: PoppaGator
Date: 02 May 07 - 05:32 PM

How can this possibly be addressed in writing?

I would argue that it would be impossible to represent the accented pronunciation of even ONE SINGLE WORD (e.g., "house") in textual form.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 02 May 07 - 05:08 PM

The word 'error' is pronounced 'urur'. That's about all I can help with...

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 02 May 07 - 03:37 PM

Is she supposed to be a Catholic or a Protestant? The accents actually do differ a lot of the time.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Greg B
Date: 02 May 07 - 03:20 PM

Where is she located? I know a great dialect coach in the
NY Area (Dan Schatz's brother, in fact).

For self-tutelage, go on the BBC web site and listen to some
of the reports coming out of Northern Ireland. Belfast is
very distinct--- Frank McCourt describes it as 'flat' and
that's about the most apt description. Gerry Adams does
quite a good impersonation of one :-)

So does Tommy Makem.

Ulster folk speak, I think, quite a bit slower and in more
measured fashion than folks from the Republic. I'd describe
it as perhaps trading musicality away for clarity.

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Fibula Mattock
Date: 02 May 07 - 03:20 PM

Oh, and make sure sentences rise in tone at the end rather than fall (which is the 'usual' English speaking way).

Subject: RE: BS: Belfast accents
From: Fibula Mattock
Date: 02 May 07 - 03:19 PM

Yes! tell her you have to put your tongue behind your teeth when you speak. Honestly, try it.

Subject: BS: Belfast accents
From: Partridge
Date: 02 May 07 - 02:58 PM

Hello,

My best mate is doing a play called women on the verge of HRT.
She has to play a lady from Belfast and needs some tuition of that particular accent, Can anyone help?

Pat x