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As an American, I can say that it takes at least two weeks in Ireland before you can understand a damned thing they say.
by c3534l 9y ago
As an American, I can say that it takes at least two weeks in Ireland before you can understand a damned thing they say.
- LoSboccacc 9y agoI've see a drunken guy from Wicklow talk to some more drunken guy from Dublin north, they were talking about two completely different things but the conversation moved forward anyway. At some point I started just talking back in slow but loud italian, and it made no difference in the world.
- patrickk 9y agoIt's because your movies and tv shows move only in one direction across the Atlantic. Also there's dozens of regional Irish accents, quite distinct from each other, some easier to understand than others. You'd probably find Northern Irish accents (or someone from Glasgow) most difficult to understand.
- DoubleCribble 9y agoThe Irish lilt is a bit of an obstacle but my money's on the the accent in the Scottish highlands. There are times when I dunna ken a single word people are saying.
- rimliu 9y agoQuite common problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk
- Supernaut 9y agoI'm honestly curious as to what parts of the country you've been spending your time in? I'm Irish born and bred and I can assure you, no American that I've ever conversed with has had the slightest difficulty in understanding me!
- c3534l 9y agoDublin was fine. But drive 15 minutes outside the city limits and I did a lot of polite nodding and smiling. By the end of my two weeks, though, I could still only catch about 75% of the words being spoken. We spent most of our time around Kilkenny and Cork, though, if I remember correctly.
- rootbear 9y agoI've never been to Ireland, but when in Scotland I had no trouble in Edinburgh, but the Glaswegians were much more difficult to understand.