Irish English: phonology

The English language was introduced to Ireland with the coming of the Anglo-Normans from West Wales in the late 12^th century. Among the settlers were English speakers who coexisted with the Norman French in Ireland, settling down in the towns of the east coast of Ireland and providing the cells out of which the English-speaking population of Ireland was later to emerge. Since the late 12^th century, the fate of English has been closely linked with that of the Irish language which it came largely to replace in the late modern period. In addition, the interaction of existing forms of English with the Scots imported in the early 17^th century in the north of the country led to the linguistic separation of Ulster, the most northerly province, from the rest of the country. This state of affairs provides the rationale for the division of English in Ireland into two broad groups as reflected by divisions. For the many varieties of English on the island of Ireland there are different designations.

Anglo-Irish is an established term in the literature to refer to works written in English by authors born in Ireland and is also used in politics. The difficulty with the term is its occurrence in these other spheres. Within the context of other varieties, Canadian English, for instance, the term is still used to refer to English in Ireland.

Hiberno-English is a learned term which is derived from the Latin term Hibernia ‘Ireland’. The term enjoyed a certain currency in the 1970s and 1980s but in the 1990s many authors ceased to employ it, as it often needs explanation to a non-Irish audience or readership. However, not all authors share this opinion.

Irish English is the simplest and most convenient term. It has the advantage that it is parallel to the designations for other varieties, e.g. American, Australian, Welsh English and can be further differentiated where necessary.

In the north of the country terms are used which reflect historical origins, e.g. Ulster Scots for the English stemming from the initial Lowland Scots settlers, Mid-Ulster English for geographically central varieties which are largely of northern English provenance. There is much discussion of the status of Ulster Scots as a possible separate language and similarly the status of Scots is debated.

Contact English is found occasionally to refer globally to varieties spoken in areas where Irish is also spoken (in Donegal, Connemara and Kerry).