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Irish English is the variety of English used in Ireland since at least the 16th century. For some observers, the terms Irish English, Anglo-Irish, and Hiberno-English mean much the same; for others, the term Irish English refers to English throughout Ireland, Anglo-Irish refers to a variety that originated among settlers from England (and has been especially associated with a Dublin elite), and Hiberno-English refers to usage markedly influenced by Irish Gaelic. All commentators agree, however, that it is difficult to draw a clear line between the various kinds of Irish English. Northern Irish English is generally regarded as a distinct variety of Irish English (but is not usually contrasted with a "Southern Irish English"). Within Northern Ireland, the variety Ulster Scots derives from the settlement (or as it was called at the time, "plantation") of Scottish Protestants in the North from the early 17th century onward.
In Irish English r is generally pronounced in words such as art, door, and worker, with the tip of the tongue curled back and raised. The wh in words like why and what is pronounced as /hw/, so that whales and Wales are clearly distinguished. Words like three and those are commonly pronounced like "tree" and "dose," and words like leave and tea as "lave" and "tay." There are distinctive grammatical forms influenced by Irish Gaelic. First, forms like these are used for emphasis and increased focus: It's a fine man he is, It was to help her I went, and It's himself was the best player. Second is the use of after and -ing to mark an action just completed: She's after helping them this very morning. The third is the omission of yes and no in answers: Did you come yesterday? - I did; Can you see him now? - We can. Vocabulary adapted from Gaelic includes the now internationally current banshee (from bean sidhe "fairy woman"), colleen ("young woman," from cailin), shillelagh (a thick stick, from the town of the same name); and whiskey or whisky (both originally from Gaelic uisge beatha "water of life").
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