/l/-velarisation

Traditionally, Irish English has an alveolar [l] in all syllable positions. However, the recordings for young female speakers in A Sound Atlas of Irish English overwhelmingly show a definite velarization of /l/ in this position, e.g. field . The development of  , or its adoption from other accents of English, could be seen as a reaction to the traditional alveolar [l] so long a prominent feature of Irish accents.

Apart from the features described above there are others which play a minor role in the sound profile of the New Pronunciation. One obvious feature of local Dublin English which has avoided stigma and hence is found in fashionable speech in the city is the loss of /hw/ [M] in words like whale and while and which leads to mergers of pairs like which and witch. Traditionally, the occurrence of [M] in all words beginning with wh is a prominent feature of Irish English, but if the New Pronunciation establishes itself as the new supraregional form of English in the next generation then this will no longer be the case.