I adore the Northern Irish accent. My grandparents who I lived with were from Belfast. I am extremely proud of my Northern Irish background. Even though I was born and raised in Canada, it is a huge part of my identity. I can pick the accent out anywhere - I can tell when someone is from Belfast specifically vs. from somewhere else in N.I. I’ve been working on my accent but it’s a tough one to emulate. Great videos - thanks for sharing!
Hey, and welcome to the channel! I'd be interested to know how you can tell that someone is specifically from Belfast? It definitely is tricky to emulate.
I was born in Belfast and moved to the states when I was 15, i'm 22 now, and even to this day people still comment on my accent and how it doesn't sound like an Irish accent you may hear in a film or tv.
Ever since I visited Belfast a couple of years ago, I have been obsessed with the NI accent! What a great place and amazing people. Thank you for this video, brought back great memories.
My grandpa and his family are from NI, he moved South Africa but never lost his accent. My mom and I grew up in SA and I realised that he is probably the reason why I say about 14 of these words/phrases naturally
I find this fascinating because my dads from NI, but my Mother is from the republic and I live in the south with her, but all of my dads side of the family live in Antrim so it’s interesting and funny when we go up to visit them to hear their accents and how different ours are! My grandmother has a very strong one haha. My friends get me to imitate the accent sometimes too😂 I’m not amazing but I’ve picked up on a lot of their pronunciation and how they say things and all my friends down south are obsessed with the northern Irish accent -they love it!
@@AlsActionEnglish I'm currently rehearsing for a writers workshop performing a Monologue written by a fellow actor. It's based on his NI grandmother and I would love some feedback on my accent 😊
Is the accent Downpatrick direction not quite posh? Lisburn I'd consider to be posh too. You speak very proper Al but I'd imagine you might lay it on a little thicker if you weren't trying to help others around the world understand you
Also, please don't stop or end your site. I studied at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and you way of presenting this material is professional, clear, and 'spot on grand' Always, Jo
Absolutely fascinating!!! First time ever hearing the NI accent. Hope to visit Belfast one day and find out where my great grandmother was coming from... Cheers from Montreal 🇨🇦 Thank you for the video!
I’m from NI but live in England now and I’m just teaching my kids how we speak... it’s quite funny hearing them try and copy it. That’s what brought me to your videos. I said “your wee ma’s a geg so she is” and they thought I said I was gay 😂😂
Love it! My grandmother was born in Glasgow 10/31/1909 and was given to the Salvation Army at birth. Through Ancestry I found her birth parents and they were from Tyrone. It all made sense to me since I have felt Ireland in my soul for decades. I was born and raised in Southern California. I went to see the movie The Commitments on a date and I was doubled-over with laughter throughout it, but my date didn't laugh once. When it finished I asked him if he didn't find it hilarious and his reply was that he couldn't understand what they were saying!
Do N. Irish people still use oxter as a term for the armpit? If someone had imbibed too much alcohol and needed assistance in walking, then a friend on either side would support him by linking his arms; this was known as ' oxter cogging '.
I love that we use the term baltic to mean cold, it's like the use of a regional stereotype that is totally fair and not really meant to be derogatory, just an accurate description, no one from a baltic country is going to argue with that.
Haha, I love this! I’m from England but my ex boyfriend was from Norn Iron. It reminded me of all the times I went to Belfast. It’s a lovely city and I love the accents there. Such nostalgia in watching this. Thanks for the great video :)
The words that really show the distinctive Ulster accent are 'eight, date, great, gate, mate, wait, etc. Also the heavy vowel sounds in 'how, now, brown, cow'. The lilt is also very distinctive with a tendency to 'uptalk'. As most frequently seen with the Scots, many speakers often swap the past participle for the past simple in the common vernacular, e.g. 'I saw' becomes 'I seen' with frequent use of "have went' instead of 'have gone'.
How things are 'meant' to be pronounced is a matter of opinion. There's no correct way to speak - providing communication takes place then that's the most important thing. What do you reckon?
I've traveled to NI on 6 different occasions - mostly Belfast, but also the northern coast, Portaferry/Downpatrick and then to Derry this last summer. So many different accents and sayings from every area! I find Belfast accents the easiest to understand. When I watch Derry Girls, I have to have subtitles on! The word I learned on that show is "wains." I'd never heard that in reference to children before. I'm from Texas, but feel like Northern Ireland is my home away from home ❤
Amazing! Do you have family from Norn Iron? Why do you think you find the Belfast accent easiest? And have you been able to watch my Derry Girls playlist?
If one does something correctly the outcome will be perfect, here is a Norn Irish phrase which says that in a weird way; I remember it being used by snooker players: ' If I had've hit it right it would have went '.
Half of these feed into Scottish and Welsh english, for some reason loads of these phrases have found themselves in the Scouse accent/vocabulary of which I am a native speaker.
Fair enough mate, I really need to go over to Ireland and see the place, both the Republic and Northern Ireland. I hear we scousers get a good rap there hahah
"Banjax" is one of the best words I've ever heard. Here in the deep South of the U.S. the equivalent would be "toe up", as in "this here computer is toe up." (torn up, i.e. broken).
A lot of immigrants arrived in the southern states in the late 19th. Century. I am sure some Irish slang words exist there , even today. By the way. Gob is Irish Gaelic for mouth.
Hello Al. When i was studying in Edinburgh, Scotland i noticed the usage of the word "wee"; like " I'm going out for a wee while". Thank you Al for your channel. Excellent channel. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 I have subscribed to your channel.
I just realized why I am a terrible speller. My Granny was from Belfast. My mom used to say this is how they pronounce this in Belfast. I would spell words as I heard them.
To my ear (when I was working and living in Belfast many years ago), when the locals spoke, it always sounded like they were asking a question (even when they weren't). It seemed there would be an upward inflection at the end of any statement. I always found that interesting. :)
Oh yeah, it's definitely true. I used to joke that it was why my phone calls always lasted so long, it's really hard to finish a call when every statement sounds like a question 😀
Back home a four wheeler made out of old bits of wood and pram wheels was known as a ' guider ', remember? The back wheels were larger and the front were on a central pivot which had the steering rope attached; the driver sat on the main frame and placed one foot either side of the pivot to help control the steering. The American soap box cart is a much more upmarket version but we had some fun on our rudimentary vehicles. I'll bet that kids nowadays would be too embarrassed to be seen on one. Happy days.
Day and daily: heard this on Newsline recently, for the first time in yonks. Usually spoken as day'n'daily it means, obviously, happening every day - but not in a good way, eg, ' I hear that dog barking day'n'daily '.
I’ve been away from Belfast 45 years or so. I’ve maintained my accent but last year in Belfast I was identified as Canadian for the first time ever. I suppose over the years my accent now has a Canadian twang.
My Granddad was from Belfast, we never realized he had an accent, until years later when people starting asking us where we were from, it confused us, but we had adopted his accent, and never noticed, we were born and raised Canadian.
@@AlsActionEnglish sorry for the tardy reply . To be honest the more often I visit the more I realize I have become Canadian and feel like a tourist. All be it one with a sort of native accent.
@@billgregg7671 Was born in canada but both my parents are from Northern ireland and i also moved back here when i was 8, im 18 now and still have my canadian accent, super weird lol
Never heard of Banjax, Beezer or footer, I'm curious to know if you sourced these words from someone actually from NI? But your Belfast accent is quite good tbh
Im from the more agri part of the country and i struggle to understand my own da at times, heard him insult my mate the other day by saying "For all the price of a cabbage"
@T D And on what pray do you base your sweeping statement? Speaking for myself; I have memory second to none, can work out days of the week with their dates, going back hundreds of years, in seconds and can defeat teams on University Challenge; and that's before I start bumming myself up.
I was born in NI, Enniskillen. NI heritage for centuries. Sadly moved to England aged two, so I lost my accent, and sound totally English. I like to think there's another version of me in a parallel universe who grew up there and kept the lovely accent 😊
I am from Spain and I lived there for a year and I got the accent. You are still in time, you'll be grand!! 😂 I was also living in the south in Co. Cork, working with farmers... And god, that was iimpossible...
On Bullseye last night one of the prizes was an electric racing car game: this reminded me that Scalextric in Northern Ireland was pronounced Scalectrix by all my contemporaries, but not by me of course!
I knew a girl that when she was telling someone something she said to someone would start the conversation with "here be's me..." ( instead of saying "I said...)
This question is another way of asking: 'How are you?', 'What's happening in your life?' or something like this. Respond as you normally would to these questions. On occasion, the person responding may not answer the question and ask the person how they are.
@@nutsriket9687 Hello! It's nice to hear from an international audience. Do you mean the Irish accent, the Northern Irish accent or both? it's in all my videos...though not as much nowadays since I moved abroad :/
Al's Action English I honestly love both Irish and Northern Irish accent though sometimes it sounds difficult for me. So where are you living right now?
@@nutsriket9687 Right now, Riga, Latvia. Been a long time since NI was where I lived, though it'll always be home. What about yourself? Living in Thailand? And how did you come across these accents? Many natives not from the island of Ireland also find them rather challenging!
Re snooker: when the object ball is struck against a side cushion then pocketed on the opposite side commentators call this shot a 'double', but in N. Ireland we always called it a 'cross'. If the ball travelled twice then it was a 'double cross'.
I'm a Scottish lass. My man is from norn iron lol.. most of these words are from Scotland. We took them ore and now they norn Irish me came backed and bucked us...
What about slider? Is it still used for an ice cream wafer? I believe in Britain it is used as a term for a small burger in a soft roll , but I can't say that I have ever heard it used as such. Wick: describes something useless or crap. Never heard baltic used in Co.Down or anywhere else.
Greetings from California. We sometimes will use "shut your beak", but it would definitely sound much cooler with the Northern Irish accent. I remember hearing Ulster hooker Rory Best telling the referee once, "he knade 'im" after one of his players got kneed while down. It just sounded much fuller (and slightly satisfying) when I said it like he did. Cheers!
Greetings! Shut your 'beak' or shut your 'bake'? Rory Best is an absolute legend; he's retiring after the World Cup in Japan. Glad to see a US rugby fan!
What about all those agricultural pharses like "Keep 'er in between the hedges", "cooking with gas" or "how's she cutting" - I love all of those. Have lived 10 years in Northern Ireland (Portadown), and also commuted to Belfast every single day, but never in my life I heard the word "banjaxed", but yeah, each day is a new lesson for you :)
I come from Germany and here, too, there are many accents or dialects, even if the schools try to teach and speak "Hochdeutsch=Accent Free German". Where I live, most people speak a Berlin accent, which does not belong to the North German dialect or accent.. There are up to 20 dialects here in Germany, so german is not always german. Every language has its facets. For me, english is sometimes difficult to understand or to translate because there are other idioms or, as you have often said in the videos, many different types of slang. In all languages there are words they can have two or more completely different meanings depending on how you stress it or what context it is in. An example comes to mind when I think of the words "turkey", "Race" or "polish". When it comes to pronunciation, I still have my problems with the words: through, though and squirrel. Struggle is real.
I had a boss once who asked if I wanted to go home early, but I couldn't understand him. Not sure if he was Irish or from Northern Ireland, but he had quite a potty mouth. Dropped F-Bombs every 3 words.
I love Belfast Accent. I like how they finished the sentences, to me it seems some Mexicans do the same too. English is not my native language so probably I don't know what I'm talking about.
Twice today Emma Vardy, the BBC's Ireland correspondent, gave updates on restrictions from Stormaunt, as she pronounced it. Having said that, how many from Belfast call it Stormount?
Bloodlands Series1: Episode 1. A character uses the term " earywigged " but the subtitles couldn't cope with our variation and came up with merely wigged. Some subtitle errors are funny but not so much so for people who depend upon them.
I’m from Canada and worked in a Veterinary clinic in Belfast. An owner came in and explained that their dog had been “booking” all night… I had no idea what they meant. Finally I realized that they meant vomiting! I’m not sure if it’s Northern Irish slang or if “puking” just happens to sound a lot like “booking” to my Canadian ears!
I love your accent, it is wonderful.....But which I cannot understand is the R pronunciation, many teachers say to us, the R is not pronounced. But I love your English teaching manner
Teachers will say this because they use Received Pronunciation which is nothing more than a mode of speech which makes the users think they are superior; rather than talking in a ridiculous manner.
Is there much of a difference in accents just over the other side of the border? Trying to find out for a friend who has relatives from Armagh and Monaghan coming over to Scotland to settle and the surname has several different spellings which I think must have been due to the accent - does Moan sound like Moon more in a Northern Irish or republic Irish accent? This was in the mid to late 1800's so the accent may have been slightly different then?
Suhail says that he heard wee everywhere. In the Miracles' hit I don't blame you at all , there is the phrase "" was just a wee drop of rain "" : I wonder how Smokey thought of that ?
I used to live on Glynn Road millbrook station Road Ballygally BallyVallagh Coast Road all over Larne have they got electricity and running water now....
See, its this, not so much the accent but the vocabulary. As a native English speaker, I get a bit confused with a friend I've recently started chilling with with a Northern accent. If you just had a long video explaining words like this, that'd be great
✔️️ WATCH NEXT ✔️
Northern Irish Accent Coaching | #1 /aʊ/ Diphthong
ua-cam.com/video/Td6J0LxSBhI/v-deo.html
Shut yet Gob I heard a lot
@@GRIMSBONIAN13 Shut yer gub, not gob.
I need not subtitles of understanding your Northern Irish accent though. ’coz Ye ken whaurt Ah’m fer. Matey😂
@@paulweir7122 HAUD YER WHEESHT(Scots)
I still find it funny when my in-laws say do you want a wee poke meaning icecream haha 😄 god love ya all
“Are you from Ireland?”
“Yes”
“What part?”
“All of me”
I heard 'wee' everywhere. Wee man, wee look, wee bag, just a wee about myself.
Do you mean when you've been in Northern Ireland?
@@AlsActionEnglish Yeah i'm studying in Dublin and i went for a road trip to Belfast last time. Lovely place!
@@suhailanwaarahmadshafiai5732 Absolutely! Where are you from? How do you find Dublin?
Wee = little
Not only this - there's so much more to it...
My grandmother was from Belfast. She's been gone a long time so it's a treat to hear you speak.
I am from El Salvador and always found northern Ireland people very mysterious and interesting with their accent. I learned so much today. Thank you!
I LOVE Northern Ireland and the accent is lovely! He’s beautiful too
hes cute
I'm obsessed. This accent is so friendly and beautiful!
Posh
I adore the Northern Irish accent. My grandparents who I lived with were from Belfast. I am extremely proud of my Northern Irish background. Even though I was born and raised in Canada, it is a huge part of my identity.
I can pick the accent out anywhere - I can tell when someone is from Belfast specifically vs. from somewhere else in N.I.
I’ve been working on my accent but it’s a tough one to emulate. Great videos - thanks for sharing!
Hey, and welcome to the channel! I'd be interested to know how you can tell that someone is specifically from Belfast? It definitely is tricky to emulate.
Sarah Kidder that’s fantastic!!! The Belfast accent is fantastic!!!
I had a Belfast accent, even though I’m from Newtownabbey, it’s definitely more broad than anywhere else
My Granny was from Belfast.
@@AlsActionEnglish say Belfast lengthening the Fast
I was born in Belfast and moved to the states when I was 15, i'm 22 now, and even to this day people still comment on my accent and how it doesn't sound like an Irish accent you may hear in a film or tv.
your not from here catfish, your a plastic paddy!
Ever since I visited Belfast a couple of years ago, I have been obsessed with the NI accent! What a great place and amazing people. Thank you for this video, brought back great memories.
My grandpa and his family are from NI, he moved South Africa but never lost his accent. My mom and I grew up in SA and I realised that he is probably the reason why I say about 14 of these words/phrases naturally
I am not from Ireland but used to study in it. So i came here to listen and keep the connection between me and the years I have lived in Dublin
Welcome! Great to have you on board, where are you from?
Dublin, which isn't in Northern Ireland.
What has Dublim got to do with N Ireland accent?
I am confused!!!
I find this fascinating because my dads from NI, but my Mother is from the republic and I live in the south with her, but all of my dads side of the family live in Antrim so it’s interesting and funny when we go up to visit them to hear their accents and how different ours are! My grandmother has a very strong one haha. My friends get me to imitate the accent sometimes too😂 I’m not amazing but I’ve picked up on a lot of their pronunciation and how they say things and all my friends down south are obsessed with the northern Irish accent -they love it!
What do you find are the main differences either side of the border? What about the similarities?
@@AlsActionEnglish I'm currently rehearsing for a writers workshop performing a Monologue written by a fellow actor. It's based on his NI grandmother and I would love some feedback on my accent 😊
I’m from Northern Ireland but I have a “posh” accent and it’s acc so funny watching this
What exactly is a posh NI accent? How do you consider mine?
@@laurahamilton9652We all probably have a cross of some sort. What exactly makes a truly authentic accent?
@@laurahamilton9652 Absolutely! Norn Iron all the way (:
I'm the same, I'm from Antrim, but I'm called posh all the time. Antrim is definitely not posh. Lmao.
Is the accent Downpatrick direction not quite posh? Lisburn I'd consider to be posh too. You speak very proper Al but I'd imagine you might lay it on a little thicker if you weren't trying to help others around the world understand you
Also, please don't stop or end your site. I studied at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and you way of presenting this material is professional, clear, and 'spot on grand'
Always,
Jo
Absolutely fascinating!!! First time ever hearing the NI accent. Hope to visit Belfast one day and find out where my great grandmother was coming from... Cheers from Montreal 🇨🇦 Thank you for the video!
Learnt a few new words, thanks. Surprising amount of crossover with Australian, and more obviously, northern English.
Love the Northern Irish accent I lived in Northern Ireland for 10 years, grand 😀 all the best Paul p England 🇬🇧
Alastair is a quare geg so he is, like
BEEZER!
I’m from NI but live in England now and I’m just teaching my kids how we speak... it’s quite funny hearing them try and copy it. That’s what brought me to your videos. I said “your wee ma’s a geg so she is” and they thought I said I was gay 😂😂
@@FFACanineWelfare OMG! 🤣
Love it! My grandmother was born in Glasgow 10/31/1909 and was given to the Salvation Army at birth. Through Ancestry I found her birth parents and they were from Tyrone. It all made sense to me since I have felt Ireland in my soul for decades. I was born and raised in Southern California.
I went to see the movie The Commitments on a date and I was doubled-over with laughter throughout it, but my date didn't laugh once. When it finished I asked him if he didn't find it hilarious and his reply was that he couldn't understand what they were saying!
I’m from NI but I was wondering What about “ats us nai”
Orla Curran#OC that’s us now
love Belfast ppl, they are the most hospitable friendly ppl in the world. I travelled 50 countries, not a single country can compete.
Beezer! Have you considered working for the NI tourism sector?
@@AlsActionEnglish why not✌
Thank you .please do come back.
@T D Many people it appears. Why the dislike?
@T D From which shitehole do you come ?
Do N. Irish people still use oxter as a term for the armpit? If someone had imbibed too much alcohol and needed assistance in walking, then a friend on either side would support him by linking his arms; this was known as ' oxter cogging '.
I love that we use the term baltic to mean cold, it's like the use of a regional stereotype that is totally fair and not really meant to be derogatory, just an accurate description, no one from a baltic country is going to argue with that.
Having lived in one such country for three years I can vouch for it!
I first learnt it in Geordie land. Great word.
Being mixed and having half of the Irish bloodline its so amazing to learn things about ME😁. I just love it. Thanks
Anytime! What about the other half?
Haha, I love this! I’m from England but my ex boyfriend was from Norn Iron. It reminded me of all the times I went to Belfast. It’s a lovely city and I love the accents there. Such nostalgia in watching this. Thanks for the great video :)
You're welcome! There's an entire series of (now) over 30 videos if you're into nostalgia. Where were you in Belfast?
When I was in Portadown in which it's a half an hour drive from Belfast, there was a shop with a sign saying Norn Iron.
I’m from the South US and we use faff and grand! I find this so fascinating. Thanks Al, your accent is gorgeous!
Seriously!? I thought these were exclusive to NI...
@Heinrich Himmler 100% the same grand, it's island wide as far as I know.
his accent is fake, mines real!
Thank you. I needed this.
The words that really show the distinctive Ulster accent are 'eight, date, great, gate, mate, wait, etc. Also the heavy vowel sounds in 'how, now, brown, cow'. The lilt is also very distinctive with a tendency to 'uptalk'. As most frequently seen with the Scots, many speakers often swap the past participle for the past simple in the common vernacular, e.g. 'I saw' becomes 'I seen' with frequent use of "have went' instead of 'have gone'.
Even before he started into the 20 words I had to listen very carefully to understand everything he is saying. Canadian here from southern Ontario.
I love how most of us are just watching our own accent and sayings and we can definitely already speak English 🤣
Pffft yep
This was really interesting! I actually learned something new!
im from Belfast and it's so funny to have someone point out how things are actually ment to be pronounced
How things are 'meant' to be pronounced is a matter of opinion. There's no correct way to speak - providing communication takes place then that's the most important thing.
What do you reckon?
@@AlsActionEnglish true... funny how words are pronounced by others in comparison to ours is what i meant (ment) lol
Yeh, the Queens English - RP seems to be the way some/people think we're 'meant' to communicate...
I've traveled to NI on 6 different occasions - mostly Belfast, but also the northern coast, Portaferry/Downpatrick and then to Derry this last summer. So many different accents and sayings from every area! I find Belfast accents the easiest to understand. When I watch Derry Girls, I have to have subtitles on! The word I learned on that show is "wains." I'd never heard that in reference to children before. I'm from Texas, but feel like Northern Ireland is my home away from home ❤
Amazing! Do you have family from Norn Iron? Why do you think you find the Belfast accent easiest? And have you been able to watch my Derry Girls playlist?
I just watched Derry Girls and could only understand half of what Aunt Sarah was saying.
@@patarnold4134 You mustn't be from Norn Iron?
@@AlsActionEnglish No, I'm American. I understand Dubliners just fine!
Btw it’s “Wee-Uns”
Dander was one of the words that took me longer to realise what it was about.
Baltic is also used in Glasgow.
Have you grasped it now?
Huv ye goat a hawd o it ! 👍
@@AlsActionEnglish Aye!
@@georgejob7544 Ye, it became clearer as I got used to it :-)
If one does something correctly the outcome will be perfect, here is a Norn Irish phrase which says that in a weird way; I remember it being used by snooker players:
' If I had've hit it right it would have went '.
Yes this is very true I'm northern Irish and am very proud of my country I personally call myself northern Irish 😀 😄
good wee video i allready speak it and i live in the wee county of belfast and im proud
I'm from Northern Ireland. Lots of people say I'm quite posh
...and do you think you are?
He/she doesn't seem to know, Al.
' I'm the coolest and the fruitiest ice lolly you've seen,
And I'm cool and fruity ice with a heart of ice cream '.
Quencher and Joker, 3d each.
I knew
Does my head in
Eejit
Faff
Fegs
Gob
Grand
Grub
Beezer!
Half of these feed into Scottish and Welsh english, for some reason loads of these phrases have found themselves in the Scouse accent/vocabulary of which I am a native speaker.
Hey! Perhaps it's because of the close proximity between Liverpool and N. Ireland. Which ones are commonly used in your neck of the woods?
@@LD-wm7jm Makes complete sense - just slight variations in pronunciation. Very cool indeed; I am a huge fan of regional dialects in the UK!
Fair enough mate, I really need to go over to Ireland and see the place, both the Republic and Northern Ireland. I hear we scousers get a good rap there hahah
@@LD-wm7jm Aye, definitely get yourself over here and see if the rumours are true ;)
@LukePlaysDaXbox I assume that is because of the scottish settlers of long ago
"Banjax" is one of the best words I've ever heard. Here in the deep South of the U.S. the equivalent would be "toe up", as in "this here computer is toe up." (torn up, i.e. broken).
A lot of immigrants arrived in the southern states in the late 19th. Century. I am sure some Irish slang words exist there , even today. By the way. Gob is Irish Gaelic for mouth.
In Australia we use the word “cactus”.
“I heard your computer shat itself.”
“Yeah mate, it’s totally cactus.”
Hello Al. When i was studying in Edinburgh, Scotland i noticed the usage of the word "wee"; like " I'm going out for a wee while". Thank you Al for your channel. Excellent channel. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇
I have subscribed to your channel.
That was grand! Thank you. I'll use it with my Russian student.
Thanks for this lesson. I would like to learn more.
What would you like to learn more about?
I just realized why I am a terrible speller. My Granny was from Belfast. My mom used to say this is how they pronounce this in Belfast. I would spell words as I heard them.
Coming from Northern Ireland this is so true
To my ear (when I was working and living in Belfast many years ago), when the locals spoke, it always sounded like they were asking a question (even when they weren't). It seemed there would be an upward inflection at the end of any statement. I always found that interesting. :)
Oh yeah, it's definitely true. I used to joke that it was why my phone calls always lasted so long, it's really hard to finish a call when every statement sounds like a question 😀
Is that my favorite flag ever? Montreal? :0
Except its the old one.. its okay!!
@@SERGEANTxSTAR Yes, it is. Good eye, my friend. I like the intention of the new version, but I don't like the design.
@zHumanfactor thats fair, and its not hard for me to recognize the flag of my city, it's almost everywhere in older buildings :)
Back home a four wheeler made out of old bits of wood and pram wheels was known as a ' guider ', remember? The back wheels were larger and the front were on a central pivot which had the steering rope attached; the driver sat on the main frame and placed one foot either side of the pivot to help control the steering.
The American soap box cart is a much more upmarket version but we had some fun on our rudimentary vehicles.
I'll bet that kids nowadays would be too embarrassed to be seen on one. Happy days.
Day and daily: heard this on Newsline recently, for the first time in yonks. Usually spoken as day'n'daily it means, obviously, happening every day - but not in a good way, eg, ' I hear that dog barking day'n'daily '.
I’m from Bangor so why am I watching this?? 🤣🤣 I miss Northern Ireland. I left in the 80’s, would love to return!!
I’ve been away from Belfast 45 years or so.
I’ve maintained my accent but last year in Belfast I was identified as Canadian for the first time ever.
I suppose over the years my accent now has a Canadian twang.
How did that feel being identified as a non-native?
My Granddad was from Belfast, we never realized he had an accent, until years later when people starting asking us where we were from, it confused us, but we had adopted his accent, and never noticed, we were born and raised Canadian.
@@AlsActionEnglish sorry for the tardy reply .
To be honest the more often I visit the more I realize I have become Canadian and feel like a tourist.
All be it one with a sort of native accent.
@@billgregg7671 Was born in canada but both my parents are from Northern ireland and i also moved back here when i was 8, im 18 now and still have my canadian accent, super weird lol
Excellent, needs more the Northern ireland accent, miss words sometimes
Let’s go for a walk before the rain comes, I live in Carrick and it is always raining
🎵I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Al's Action English great song
At least you dont live in Larne.
Whatever is the matter with Larne?
Al's Action English it’s like ballymena and Wales had a baby
Never heard of Banjax, Beezer or footer, I'm curious to know if you sourced these words from someone actually from NI? But your Belfast accent is quite good tbh
Im from the more agri part of the country and i struggle to understand my own da at times, heard him insult my mate the other day by saying "For all the price of a cabbage"
Grand work thank you for doing what you do you make such a difference always and sincerely Jo
Can u talk about some northern irish culture, like the lifestyle of people, culture etc
Yes, of course! Watch this space.
Nothing better than the northern Irish spirit
@T D And on what pray do you base your sweeping statement? Speaking for myself; I have memory second to none, can work out days of the week with their dates, going back hundreds of years, in seconds and can defeat teams on University Challenge; and that's before I start bumming myself up.
@T D Your grammar is appalling, you ill educated git. From what craphole were you dragged up?
@T D The plural of sailor is sailors; once again you show your lack of education.
I was born in NI, Enniskillen. NI heritage for centuries. Sadly moved to England aged two, so I lost my accent, and sound totally English. I like to think there's another version of me in a parallel universe who grew up there and kept the lovely accent 😊
I am from Spain and I lived there for a year and I got the accent. You are still in time, you'll be grand!! 😂
I was also living in the south in Co. Cork, working with farmers... And god, that was iimpossible...
On Bullseye last night one of the prizes was an electric racing car game: this reminded me that Scalextric in Northern Ireland was pronounced Scalectrix by all my contemporaries, but not by me of course!
I am From East Belfast and this video is just craic.
I knew a girl that when she was telling someone something she said to someone would start the conversation with "here be's me..."
( instead of saying "I said...)
Family is from northern Ireland proud of it. And also proud of my selkie fae family too
Docken: people in NI used this to refer to dock leaves, do they still?
Good question, I'm not sure?
Anyone out there...
Al's Action English i can confirm that i say this lol
Paul Weir, oh aye we still call them Docken.
Maybe a phrases video too with stuff like "Knock your balix in." 😂
What is the answer when the Irish people ask “What’s the craic?” ?
This question is another way of asking: 'How are you?', 'What's happening in your life?' or something like this. Respond as you normally would to these questions. On occasion, the person responding may not answer the question and ask the person how they are.
Al's Action English Ahh! That’s interesting. Hello from Thailand anyway! I’m a big fan of the Irish accent! Love to hear it all day long!
@@nutsriket9687 Hello! It's nice to hear from an international audience. Do you mean the Irish accent, the Northern Irish accent or both? it's in all my videos...though not as much nowadays since I moved abroad :/
Al's Action English I honestly love both Irish and Northern Irish accent though sometimes it sounds difficult for me. So where are you living right now?
@@nutsriket9687 Right now, Riga, Latvia. Been a long time since NI was where I lived, though it'll always be home. What about yourself? Living in Thailand? And how did you come across these accents? Many natives not from the island of Ireland also find them rather challenging!
I love you.. Here from Leeds learning your accent xx
Hey, what are the differences between the accents?
Bout ye!! This video is absolutely beezer! Up Belfast!!
I'm dead on mate! Think there's more of these ones to come!
Re snooker: when the object ball is struck against a side cushion then pocketed on the opposite side commentators call this shot a 'double', but in N. Ireland we always called it a 'cross'. If the ball travelled twice then it was a 'double cross'.
I'm a Scottish lass. My man is from norn iron lol.. most of these words are from Scotland. We took them ore and now they norn Irish me came backed and bucked us...
Haha, I hope you don't feel aggrieved!
Al's Action English these are from the plantation
@@danielplayfair3596 Could you please expand on what you mean?
Depending the the area you're from, some Irish accents can be mistaken for some Scottish accents and vice versa. Due to human geography .
Today I received a form from the DWP in Belfast addressed to Paul Weird.
What about slider? Is it still used for an ice cream wafer? I believe in Britain it is used as a term for a small burger in a soft roll , but I can't say that I have ever heard it used as such.
Wick: describes something useless or crap.
Never heard baltic used in Co.Down or anywhere else.
I got a question
What does "wee" mean? Does it mean "little" or something like that?
Greetings from California. We sometimes will use "shut your beak", but it would definitely sound much cooler with the Northern Irish accent. I remember hearing Ulster hooker Rory Best telling the referee once, "he knade 'im" after one of his players got kneed while down. It just sounded much fuller (and slightly satisfying) when I said it like he did. Cheers!
Greetings! Shut your 'beak' or shut your 'bake'? Rory Best is an absolute legend; he's retiring after the World Cup in Japan. Glad to see a US rugby fan!
@@AlsActionEnglish I just assumed "bake" is how "beak" is said! Either way, love the accent, it's one of my faves, and so is Ulster rugby. SUFTUM!
@@moegreene1823Not sure, I thought it was legitimately 'bake' Anyway, it's a classic. Stand up indeed! Semi-finals are soon (:
Are you from the Republic of Ireland?
@Heinrich Himmler Yup
What about all those agricultural pharses like "Keep 'er in between the hedges", "cooking with gas" or "how's she cutting" - I love all of those. Have lived 10 years in Northern Ireland (Portadown), and also commuted to Belfast every single day, but never in my life I heard the word "banjaxed", but yeah, each day is a new lesson for you :)
I come from Germany and here, too, there are many accents or dialects, even if the schools try to teach and speak "Hochdeutsch=Accent Free German". Where I live, most people speak a Berlin accent, which does not belong to the North German dialect or accent.. There are up to 20 dialects here in Germany, so german is not always german. Every language has its facets.
For me, english is sometimes difficult to understand or to translate because there are other idioms or, as you have often said in the videos, many different types of slang. In all languages there are words they can have two or more completely different meanings depending on how you stress it or what context it is in. An example comes to mind when I think of the words "turkey", "Race" or "polish".
When it comes to pronunciation, I still have my problems with the words: through, though and squirrel. Struggle is real.
Please visit Tucson, Arizona (in the USA)! We never get Northern Irish tourists. My husband and I love the Northern Irish accent and the slang.
I had a boss once who asked if I wanted to go home early, but I couldn't understand him. Not sure if he was Irish or from Northern Ireland, but he had quite a potty mouth. Dropped F-Bombs every 3 words.
Not understanding is definitely common and not everyone has potty mouths!
Many of these words are spoken in Moray Scotland
A lot of these are common in Australia also
Really?
I love Belfast and the Belfast accent.
I love Belfast Accent. I like how they finished the sentences, to me it seems some Mexicans do the same too. English is not my native language so probably I don't know what I'm talking about.
Thanks for your insight. How would you describe the Belfast Accent as finishing sentences?
@@AlsActionEnglish That tone in the end of most sentences. It's difficult to describe.
@@benamini5701 Agreed! Seeing if you could do a better job than this end.
Twice today Emma Vardy, the BBC's Ireland correspondent, gave updates on restrictions from Stormaunt, as she pronounced it. Having said that, how many from Belfast call it Stormount?
That is stickin’ out, so it is.
Bloodlands Series1: Episode 1. A character uses the term " earywigged " but the subtitles couldn't cope with our variation and came up with merely wigged. Some subtitle errors are funny but not so much so for people who depend upon them.
I'm visiting Northern Ireland, truly a beautiful country with great people ❤️
I’m from Canada and worked in a Veterinary clinic in Belfast. An owner came in and explained that their dog had been “booking” all night… I had no idea what they meant. Finally I realized that they meant vomiting! I’m not sure if it’s Northern Irish slang or if “puking” just happens to sound a lot like “booking” to my Canadian ears!
I have heard people from.Great Britain use that term as well.
Question: What's a Hindu?
Ballymena answer: Cluck, cluck, cluck.
I live your accent.
I love your accent, it is wonderful.....But which I cannot understand is the R pronunciation, many teachers say to us, the R is not pronounced. But I love your English teaching manner
Yes, we call this the 'rhotic' R. We always pronounce in Northern Ireland, some of my other videos in the series explain this and give examples.
Teachers will say this because they use Received Pronunciation which is nothing more than a mode of speech which makes the users think they are superior; rather than talking in a ridiculous manner.
Is there much of a difference in accents just over the other side of the border? Trying to find out for a friend who has relatives from Armagh and Monaghan coming over to Scotland to settle and the surname has several different spellings which I think must have been due to the accent - does Moan sound like Moon more in a Northern Irish or republic Irish accent? This was in the mid to late 1800's so the accent may have been slightly different then?
I was born in Shannon Ireland but my accent sounds Scottish 😫😫
Do you have any idea why this might be?
Suhail says that he heard wee everywhere. In the Miracles' hit I don't blame you at all , there is the phrase
"" was just a wee drop of rain "" : I wonder how Smokey thought of that ?
We all may wonder...
I liked that and understood pretty well.
Aye what's the craic mate your from up the the motorway from me 😂I'm from larne so it's wild here
Beezer down here in the Big Smoke. Wild Larne indeed, ferries and all that!
I used to live on Glynn Road millbrook station Road Ballygally BallyVallagh Coast Road all over Larne have they got electricity and running water now....
See, its this, not so much the accent but the vocabulary. As a native English speaker, I get a bit confused with a friend I've recently started chilling with with a Northern accent. If you just had a long video explaining words like this, that'd be great
Yea, but can you say "H" heheheh😂😂
Of course ;)
That's not how you pronounce "H", mate. You're supposed to pronounce it as: "H".
Aechhh
In Norn Iron, H is pronounced "aych" by our lot and "haych" by that other lot.
I was educated by " that other lot " and have always pronounced it as it should be , aitch . From where did you get the spelling aych ??
Years ago instead of saying ' What about ya?'as a greeting some wags said ' Water boot ya?'. TRUE!
Intentionally, or merely as a by-product of speaking so quickly?
@@AlsActionEnglishYes intentionally, just a wee play on words.