Bad language

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We have a county in Ireland called Kerry where they speak such heavily accented English as to be almost unintelligible to the rest of us.

I once went on a Brazilian odyssey with a group of 10 Kerry men and spent three weeks talking to myself. There was one older man who used to spend 10 minutes every morning shouting Tay, Tay at the Brazilian waiters in a desperate attempt to get himself a cup of tea. The waiters, who prided themselves on their excellent language skills, just shook their heads at these unfortunate people from Iceland who obviously had a very poor command of English.

Dublin was a very different place in the 1980s, a time before cheap flights and city breaks, and it was still quite rare to encounter foreigners. There was always a great buzz in town when there was a navy ship in port as the discos would be full of sailors in uniform. I remember a pal of mine got chatting to one of them, and though she knew he was speaking some form of English she was having difficulty understanding him. Are you speaking some nautical language she enquired after listening for some considerable time without recognising more than a few words? Not at all, he replied, I’m from Kerry.

I found this video on tube which will give you some idea what I’m talking about.

Posted in response to @mariannewest's five minute freewrite
The prompt is NAUTICAL LANGUAGE
The image is my own taken at Foz do Iguaçu many moons ago.



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47 comments
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I thought, oh, this isn't that difficult if you just listen closely and then all of a sudden I had no idea what he was saying! Kind of a run-on, but I write that way too. Must be that bit of Scottish/Irish blood ;)

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Same here. I got the first two sentences, then it went into pure gobbledygook. hahahaha. So much fun.

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Ireland wasn't so well known in those days and the Brazilians thought we were from Iceland speaking Icelandic:)

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Different languages and accents are the beauty. And the common language between all is love

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If only that were true. It seems not so many are fluent in that language these days.
Thanks for reading.

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After living in Ireland for a little over 8 years now, I find that if I listen carefully, I can understand everyone. However, there is a thing among ALL farmers in Ireland, whether they're from Kerry, Cork, Roscommon, or Mayo, or elsewhere. They all seem to have their own mumbly language. It doesn't matter where they're from, I don't understand either of them. But if 'normal' citizens speak, from either which place, I can understand it all.

I take great pride in being able to understand the Dublin accent. I remember when Love/Hate was on TV, I read this article once where they said that they had to subtitle the series in the UK because no one could understand. I just didn't get it. I had only been in Ireland for a year or so, and I had no difficulty understanding the series. I guess it totally depends on the person watching. LOL. I guess I am Irish at heart.

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I've no doubt you'd've understood my 10 Kerry men perfectly and indeed, could likely have translated them into Portuguese so that a nice cuppa tea was had by all. I've long suspected that all you Dutchies are born with some sort of inbuilt language app.

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LOL. I'm not too sure about the Portugese part. That language is a different kettle of fish altogether!
And a built-in language app...😂 Wouldn't that be something. We all need one of those! It would make life and travel so much easier.

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hahahahahahaha! I could only understand maybe 5% of his words, forget about getting any meaning out of it. Great use of the prompt. Love this. I'll be back tomorrow with the Tuesday prompt.

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Can't wait! I've challenged myself to write 5 consecutive freewrites this week. It'll never happen:)

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I would have loved to spend time with a group of Kerry men. You were so lucky. 💕

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Ah Kitty m'dear, I'm sure you'd've made a much better fist of understanding what they were saying than I ever could. How many languages is it you speak?

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@deirdyweirdy I do not speak much languages anymore just four but understand more and that includes many dialects we have too.

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Only four! 😆😆😆😆

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😆 That was my reaction to speaking "only" four languages!

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These Dutchies are gas. They all speak multiple languages and can flip between them quick as ya like and think nothing of it.

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Check this out )

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His English accents are pretty good but his Irish ones all sound the same as his Scottish!

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I marveled at this Scottish accent video. It's sooo funny!

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Hahaha, that's funny. I remember I had much the same problem with AI on the phone in Amsterdam when trying to get through to utility companies. They'd say please state your postcode and no matter how many times I said Tien, Twaalf in my best Dutch accent, I couldn't make myself understood.

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Did life in Amsterdam change some of your perspectives about Ireland?

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Yes, it made me want to get back there, quick-smart!;)

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That's it? )))

I wish you'd write a detailed post about it.

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I think I'll pass on that one. I prefer to write comedy than tragedy;)

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Ahahahaha ... you are too funny. :)

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Wow, that was too cute. I was lost the moment he opened his mouth. It's so unique how languages are developed often in the same country.

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Yes, it is. I've always found it strange how language and accents stop at borders.
Thanks for the visit.

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Tay tay tay!! Perfect scene
My father-in-law was from Cork, and although I knew him thirty years after he immigrated to the US, still there were times when I had to politely pretend I knew exactly what he had said. A lovely man, with a gracious temperament, and a really heavy brogue.
What you did with that prompt :))

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Such a funny scene, though it's nigh on thirty years ago I can rerun it like a movie clip.
I do like the Cork accent I have to say, though the way they add and subtract syllables can make some words difficult to recognise as English.

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My mother was from Co, Mayo and never lost her lilting Irish accent. A lot of people couldn’t understand her.

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The accents in the west of the country are at least possible for the rest of us Irish to understand, but I imagine still difficult for foreigners.
Thanks for reading.

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Lol! Holy smokes deirdyweirdy that is crazy! You would need an interpreter if there were anyone who could interpret!

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Only another Kerry man could interpret and sure that'd be just going around in circles:)

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lol...good point! I guess if they want to be understood they would have to take proper speaking lessons.

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HaHa! All I heard is a lot of mumble-jumble. I love the way you used the prompt. LOL!

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I love this so much!
With any movie full of UK, Aussie, or Scotch or Irish English, I'm lost without subtitles. Even American English is hard for me because everyone MUMBLES these days. We who enunciate our words are mistaken for ANGRY, like when the teacher says your full name and enunciates your punishment.
I'm just hard of hearing, not bossy or mean, I swear.

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What's the story Carol? Did you take a wrong turning and get lost in the past?
But yes, I agree. Everyone mumbles these days, perhaps because they're all plugged into some device or other. The art of conversation is dead.

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I was looking for your latest posts, and didn't have to go far to land in the past.
You may not post often but when you do, it's worth the wait!

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Aw, thanks for that. I tend to make 2 or 3 posts on consecutive days and then can't write for a month.

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