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Irish accent and Irish language

Linguist/ethnographer Madeleine Adkins recommends the following items to fellow linguists.

  • Saoirse Ronan tries to teach Stephen Colbert to speak with an Irish accent in this clip from The Late Show. According to Adkins, “This clip is jam-packed with language ideologies. It might be useful to analyze in class or as an assignment.”

From the National Museum of Ireland description: "The poster depicts two female figures, one representing Éire, the other 'West Britain'. Éire is dressed in a red léine (medieval Irish tunic) with an ionar (medieval Irish jacket) decorated with a scrolling foliage design over the top; she holds a spear in her hand and ribbons that connect her to ships dotted around the coast of Ireland. West Britain, is dressed in the Union Jack and crouches on the east coast of Ireland looking towards England with outstretched palm."

The text reads:

    Éire (over the left-hand image) In Gaelic script. Éire is the Irish name for Ireland
    WEST BRITAIN (over the right hand image) West Briton is an Irish nationalist slur for an Irish person seen as deferential to Great Britain.
    Seaċtṁain na Gaeḋilge (between the images) modern spelling "Seachtain na Gaeilge" ["Week of the Irish language"], a festival run by the Gaelic League
    ON WHICH SIDE ARE YOU? LANGUAGE COLLECTION NOW ON. (underneath the images)
Image: Gaelic League’s 1913 “Seachtain na Gaeilge” event poster