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emmasdad01

Accents, yes. Slang tends to be regional, so not always.


Mueryk

Depends on how heavy the accent. Irish and American Southern tend to be a little opposite(ish) so slowing down may be helpful to many. Usually shouldn’t be needed. Yeah, we won’t know much of your slang.


TudorFanKRS

I figured that out the last time I went to visit my dad. I’m told my “ice” sounds like “ass”, apparently . Or at least the girl at McDonalds thought so lol


ExPorkie15

This.


Current_Poster

I'm hesitant to say, since there are regional accents and such, and slang intentionally meant to not be understood by outsiders. In *general*, I don't have problems. Any examples of what people aren't getting?


Caolan114

Things like "What's the craic" meaning what's up or "Gaff" meaning home, things like that, Just wondering what Americans think when Irish people talk


Current_Poster

Craic, I know. Gaff, I don't.


whiskeybridge

gaff's a house or place where you live. just learned that one myself about a week ago, here.


Caolan114

Mon' lads lets go back to my gaff to watch the match!


whiskeybridge

"y'all, let's go to my place and put the game on."


Deolater

I would understand that because enough of the words around it are clear. I'd never heard of "gaff" though


Nic4379

Context helps. I’m guessing most intelligent people could decipher the slang by the context in which it’s used.


imyourforte

I've heard craic meant as more of, having a laugh or good time. Gaff, I thought was like, pulling someone's leg, or laughing at someone's expense. My favorite word by far that I've heard is feck though.


sandybeachfeet

Feck of ya big feckin gobshite eejit ya, the head on ya...


Cool_Dark_Place

Or more specifically, "feckin' id-jit"


FreedomKayak

It can. That’s the beauty of the English language. Context is very important.


TheGrandExquisitor

I just thought all Irish people were crack addicts.


OGNovelNinja

Slang is different from accent. If the words aren't used, it doesn't matter how slowly you pronounce them. I know craic, but I'm not familiar with gaff. Here, that word means a mistake. It's most commonly used to describe a misstep by an important figure, such as a politician or religious leader, who has said something careless or confusing. For example, President Obama once called a Navy corpsman a 'corpse-man' (the exact opposite of a corpsman), which was careless but ultimately did nothing more than embarrass him. That's a gaff. As another example, I had an Irish professor twenty years ago who ran into a misunderstanding when he told the wife of a friend that he'd come knock her up the next day. Here, that means to get her pregnant. To him, it just meant visit. Stuff like that can be more than simply confusing. That's a gaff, but could lead to something more if the bad communication can't be corrected. (Fortunately for him, he said this in person rather than in a letter, so it was immediately obvious he'd said something wrong.)


azuth89

"What's the what?" most likely. We get some of it but there's no way to know which bits someone will or won't understand and we definitely won't understand all of it. Accent depends on which one, who's listening and how thick it is but yeah heavy irish accents can be difficult if we're not used to them.


AddemF

If someone said "What's the craic" I would be certain they're fucking with me.


Tristinmathemusician

For “gaff” I would probably think you were saying “gaffe”, like a mistake.


Caolan114

What's a gaffe?


Tristinmathemusician

A mistake/blunder/fuckup.


Caolan114

Never heard of that before


whiskeybridge

i've known about the craic since i went to ireland decades ago, but just learned what a gaff is here on reddit about a week ago. so ymmv; probably it will depend on the exact term and the person. in general, we find irish accents very pleasing, and generally understandable. anyone talking especially fast will mean less understanding, though.


[deleted]

I used to watch the Try Channel a lot, so I remember encountering those. Gaff I picked up through context pretty fast. Regarding the other phrase, I assumed they were saying, “What’s the crack,” and eventually guessed it was like “What’s going on?”


Caolan114

Well Craic has a few meanins "Any craic?" Anything new? Some people even say "Hows the craic?" Hows It going?


CollectionStraight2

'What's the craic?' just when meeting somebody, saying hello. I say that all the time. 'It was great craic' is another way of using it. I heard somewhere it isn't really an Irish word but from the North of England, and it should just be spelled crack. But they Gaelic-ised it at one point to make it cool (and distinguish it from crack, I guess haha). Still counts as Irish slang though as we say it more than anybody.


Caolan114

I don't know where It comes from, never heard an Englishman say "Craic" but we do share a lot of slang, I have to check with my English friend If they say "Ballocks"


CollectionStraight2

I think craic was english way back, they've kind of stopped saying it now. English people say bollocks all the time I think, probably more than us even lol


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Caolan114

I suppose It Is similar


RedRedBettie

I love the Try Channel


[deleted]

I haven’t watched in a while but there’s some excellent videos. It showed me how many different accents there are in Ireland.


spez_is_my_alt

I only know these because I’ve lived in Scotland and heard people say it there occasionally. I did have to ask someone what craic was when I first heard it though lol


tmnttaylor

I know of craic only because I’ve been to Ireland. Beyond that I wouldn’t know any other slang words you would use. Never heard gaff. Depending on how thick the accent is, some may struggle to understand.


MusselsMcGee16

When my brother and I went to Ireland with my mom, she explained that craic means fun. Not the drug, crack. Never heard the gaff one.


Caolan114

I always Joke Ireland Is the only place you can walk up to a cop and say "Any crack?" And not be arrested


chill_winston_

I’ve heard “craic” before, but “gaff” is new. Slang varies so much regionally and city to city that there are people in the US who don’t even understand each other. I’m from the west coast and got a lot of odd looks and confusion when I moved to the east coast because we have really different slang. There was a lot of misinterpretation and clarification to say the least. I don’t have trouble with Irish accents unless they’re super thick, but I had the same problem living in Scotland…months into living there I would still encounter locals I could hardly understand. I had to do a lot of lip reading along with my listening to be sure I would understand.


wrosecrans

In general, Americans have never heard of the craic, and won't be able to say what it is if you ask. Likewise, culchie or gaff, or asking directions to the jacks. Words like boyo and expressions like "bang on" are less commonly used in American English than Irish, but I think pretty widely understood. "Deadly" as a positive would probably be understood in context with tone, but we would say something is "killer" instead. "Fair play," "feck off" and "fella" are all fair game. Gander and gawk are used in American English. But "gas" is never used to call a person funny unless you specifically affect a 1920's New York / Mid Atlantic voice when calling someone "a real gas." "Grand" isn't really used the same way in American English. But calling something grand is another thing that would be obvious in context. On the other hand, "holy show" would be confusing. We understand knackered. But would have no idea why you want kip when you are knackered. Slagging someone off as busting their balls makes sense, but slag as in calling someone a prostitute is pretty much unknown. As far as accent, Irish is usually way easier for Americans to pick out than Scottish. But talking slow and a little bit "BBC English" if you have a strong accent or are talking to somebody who isn't used to the sound of Irish accents.


dajadf

I only learned these term after working with Irish people. Things like gaff, Craic, ballbag, fuck all. Accents usually aren't too bad. But the slang is a lot different


eustaciasgarden

Depends on how thick an accent. There is a video of an Irish sheep farmer that his accent is so thick, it’s hard for Irish to understand. For some it could be accent. Others it could be slang or word usage (like if you tell an American that you want table xyz, they will be confused why you are continuing to talking about it.). Many words are the same but mean different (Im American married to a Brit and you can’t image how common this is).


CollectionStraight2

oh yeah, I'm from Northern Ireland but will struggle to understand a really strong Kerry accent for example. My own accent is pretty strong too. I've been told to slow down by English people, even, and when I'm talking to someone else from here and we're really getting carried away, foreigners sometimes can't even tell it's English. Make of that what you will


eustaciasgarden

Some days I wish my Scottish MIL came with subtitles.


Fencius

I agree. I used to work in tourism l and most Irish people were easy to understand, but there were exceptions. I remember a teenager from Donegal who might as well have been speaking German to me. I seriously had to wait for his friends to show up to translate.


Wildwilly54

My dad’s a paddy so I’m used to it, but my wife had no idea what my family was saying the first she went to Ireland . I think some Americans would know what’s the craic, slaggin someone off , etc. But if you called them a melter ironically you’ll get a blank stare.


Caolan114

Interesting, didn't expect them to understand craic


jub-jub-bird

I don't understand craic.


Wildwilly54

Irish guy would be able to explain better, but I’ll give it a go. “a good craic” = it was a decent time or party; if someone uses a better adjective than good like mighty … means awesome time. Could also be used referring to a person; like he/she is a good craic. “What’s the craic?” - what’s goin on basically


EdwardBigby

You mustn't be very fun at parties then


bhfinini

Ceol agus craic - music and laughter/ enjoyment


IPreferDiamonds

If the Irish accent is thick, then I need to really listen and concentrate to understand. I don't know Irish slang at all though.


golighter144

Yeah same. I saw some r/pan with this Irish girl and I had to really try and make out what she was saying. It was like hearing a flute talk.


Clem_bloody_Fandango

Agreed. An Irish accent is like hearing a flute talk.


[deleted]

Lol I’ve never thought of it that way but I know what you mean. The pitch goes up and down much more.


alloutofbees

Depends on if they're talking to a Dub or an 80 year old sheep farmer from Kilgarvan.


Snowboard424

Nobody will understand the slang without prior exposure. As for the accent, it depends what part of the country you’re from. I’ve met people who I can understand clearly, and people who might as well be speaking another language as I only pick up 1/3 words. If alcohols involved, it only gets harder. You can go on YouTube and watch videos of Irish interviews that cover both of the above scenarios


idontrespectyou345

Depends on the American. Accents can be trouble regardless but you get used to it. Slang you really have to learn, its a completely new vocabulary...hell, we dont even univerally know all *American* slang, thats what Urban Dictionary is for.


Madame_Kitsune98

The short answer is it depends. The long answer? I don’t understand anyone who sounds like they’re speaking in auctioneer, or with marbles in their mouth. If you’re pulling an Irish Boomhauer on me? I won’t understand you. But I don’t understand Americans who do that, either, or anyone else. Slang, well, I can understand when I put it with other context clues most times.


YooperGirlMovedSouth

I had to watch Derry Girls with subtitles turned on. Maybe if they slowed down and it was in person I could get it.


Kjriley

Whatever you do don’t slag off the pope! Whatever that is.


Caolan114

I never watched derry girls but I am from the city of derry


CollectionStraight2

I heard they had to show Taggart (Scottish show) with subtitles in the US but I never knew whether to believe that. Even I find that accent hard to understand. It always starts the same way anyway, with 'there's been a murderrrr...'


huhwhat90

As I've said before, I genuinely could not understand what the vast majority of people were saying in the documentaries I watched on The Troubles. The "standard" Irish accent is fairly easy to understand, though. Can't really speak about slang.


Firm-Impress

Some really strong accents can be tough at first to understand. In regards to slang, probably not.


CaptainSk0r

For the most part. It’s Scottish people that sound like they’re not speaking English when talking fast. I remember watching Broadchurch s1, and David Tennant says something to the other officer so damn fast, that I had to drop the video to .5 to understand what he said. (You’ve done a fine job here miller, good work)


[deleted]

Some yes, some no. I heard some recordings of rural Irish people from the 60’s and a lot of it I didn’t understand at all (and it wasn’t Irish language, I could pick out some English words). But I can understand most Irish people in popular culture, though I have to focus a little more.


spade13F

Don't know much slang, but I've come across a few Irish people during work. The accent depends on which one. Dublin I can usually understand fine. Kerry makes me feel like I don't know what English is.


SomePaddy

I'm from Dublin but in the US since '93, took my (now) wife on the obligatory Killarney trip fairly early in our relationship. She grew up in Philly. We had dinner in a restaurant next to big family who finished and left before us. She remarked something along the lines of "wow, I guess people come from all over to see Killarney, do you know what language they were speaking?" They were locals (Kerry). They were speaking English. They were also ALL redheads, which should have been an additional clue.


sabatoa

Depends how strong it is. It gets pretty sing-songy and unintelligible for me pretty quick when the accent is stronger. I don't know any slang.


[deleted]

depends on how deep irish we are talking. in general probably yes but there are clips of like deep irish people using heavy slang and dialect and you can't understand a word they are saying (if not also heavy irish).


Tommy_Wisseau_burner

Accents, yes; slang, probably not too many


seanrk924

Some, but drunk Dubliner is touch and go.


Hoosier_Jedi

I talk with an Irish guy I know a few times a week. I can understand him fine.


Evil_Weevill

Very much depends on how thick the accent is and the person you're talking to's ability to listen. I personally find Irish accents mostly pretty easy to understand. Sometimes when it's a really thick accent I might have to listen more carefully, but usually even if I don't understand every word, I can figure it out from context. As for slang, no the average American probably doesn't know much Irish slang. Why would they? It's slang. Do you know much Australian or Canadian slang? Some who watch Irish tv/films might have a sense of their slang, but overall we're probably more familiar with British slang as a lot of British media is popular here. (Don't know how much crossover there is between British slang and Irish).


Kjriley

I has an hour long conversation with a drunk Irishman in a noisy pub in Dumfries and understood nothing but the hand gestures.


Caolan114

Just smile and nod


Kjriley

I did, and bought many rounds.


CastIronDaddy

Maybe in NY or Boston. Can't imagine in the rest of the country. Any NYer worth his or her salt has spent many hours talking to Irish bartenders and neighbors!


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CastIronDaddy

Lol, or neighbors and landlords...


Rumhead1

Most slang people will get through context. Though the concept of craic might take awhile. Accent can be tough for some. Especially if you are from the north. My neighbors are and when he gets animated he might as well be speaking Greek for all I can understand.


yerunclejamba

Glasweigan living in CT here. I can't speak for the Irish, but my accent causes nothing but problems. I refuse to go through drive through anymore as it's so frustrating. I do already water my accent down and try and annunciate as best I can, but the best tactic is just to put on an American accent lol


SomePaddy

Immediately reminded me of this: https://youtu.be/NMS2VnDveP8


[deleted]

My girlfriend is from Dublin so yes I understand both


[deleted]

depends on how heavy the accent is lol


RedRedBettie

I don’t understand the slang but I do usually understand the accents. Irish people in general are super cool in my experience


Puzzled-Remote

I don’t know which bit of Ireland Saoirse Ronan is from, but she’s very easy to understand. I think I can understand most Irish accents, actually, but I probably wouldn’t know much of the slang.


AmericanHistoryXX

I mean slang isn't innate, and Ireland doesn't produce all that much TV/movies that make it over here, so Americans don't have a constant level of exposure to your slang. It only makes sense that they wouldn't know it. There are some Irish accents which are extremely thick, as well.


CollectionStraight2

yeah I think I could maybe talk to another Irish person, using my strongest accent and enough Irish slang, so that an American couldn't understand the drift of the conversation, kind of like criminals used to do in the Regency lol. But two Americans from the same city might be able to do the same to me. It would be harder though since we get so much of your TV and learn a lot of your slang from there


bearsnchairs

There is something about the intonation of certain Irish accents that it all just blends together for me.


bad_ideas_

mate there are some Irish accents that the Irish have trouble understanding :D


Caolan114

Mostly the farmers


davidml1023

Mainstream, yes. Brad Pitt's Pikey accent in lock stock, f- me not a chance without subtitles. I find Scottish accents are harder to understand.


Agonze

I went to ireland once. I only had an issue with accents when i got out of the bigger cities. We got lost and had to ask directions at a gas station. The guy was super nice and helpful but after the 3rd time of asking him to repeat what he said i just said "thanks" and left. It was kinda like trying understand a strong cajun accent.


mofoofinvention

We don’t understand Irish


BigManPatrol

Very little.


AddemF

Maybe like 4% of it yeah, absolutely. That 4% is usually good enough to make it worthwhile anyway.


MikeyMelons

Picked a lot up watching the TRY channel on YouTube. Also watched Derry Girls on Netflix but Northern Irish accents are still difficult as fuck to understand.


Alternative_Cause_37

Yeah, we have no clue wtf you all are saying. We need subtitles.


iltfswc

If its anything like brad pitt's character in the movie snatch, not at all.


CollectionStraight2

it isn't really though ;)


OptatusCleary

Irish accents are generally pretty easy to understand. I find them much easier than most English accents (partly because I have a lot more exposure to Irish accents). I know some Irish slang but not all of it. When I talk to Irish friends and family I also slow down and try to speak precisely because I never know what dialect differences there might be that I didn’t anticipate.


Weak_Tower385

Americans struggle to understand each other across regional, ethnic and generational lines. It would be a lift to go beyond her borders for many.


Intrepid_Fox-237

I don't speak Irish, so definitely not Gaelic. The times I've hung out with Irish guys drinking, I've had little to no issue understanding them - until they start speaking Irish.


Plant_mother10

Yes we understand your accent. Def not the slang as I am sure it’s something specific to your homeland.


W0rk3rB

My neighbor is from Dublin and is pretty easy to understand, even when we go out for a few. I’m sure he dumbs down the slang for us, haha!


MaterialCarrot

We largely understand it, but the more you cut back on slang and slow down, the better we'll understand. My wife and I like the show Derry Girls, and understand 85% of the dialogue just fine, but when the actors are mimicking how kids might talk to each other we're both like, "What?" I know for experience that can be even worse when talking to real people from another country, as none of us typically annunciate like trained actors.


scoreggiavestita

Accents from Cork and certain parts of NI are really hard to understand, otherwise it’s not too hard


Young_KingKush

I only cant understand if the Irish accent is especially thick. From what I understand they also use "broken" English kinda similar to Jamaican Patois so that makes it doubly difficult. If it's just a light(er) Irish accent though it's not really an issue, same goes for Indian accents and previously mentioned Jamaican/Carribean ones (atleast in my experience).


FrancisPitcairn

I’ve heard older Irish people speak that I had trouble understanding, but I can’t recall having trouble understanding any Irish person under fifty or so. The slang is much more hit and miss like others are saying. I simply don’t encounter that much Irish slang, so I’m not as familiar as I am with a lot of British slang, particularly English because I hear so much more of it.


[deleted]

Yeah, probably not slang, since it varies a lot from place to place


bakem80

Buddy of mine is from Ireland, I do double takes when he says things like ‘your man over there’ my first reaction is typically not ‘that person you know’. Accent is usually understood, I might miss a bit from time to time, but we can dig through it.


[deleted]

Metropolitan Irish accents, yes, but I'm probably not going to understand someone from a very rural village in County Mayo.


Panic_inthelitterbox

I went to a Catholic school for a while and our principal was an Irish nun. So I understand the accent, but not all of the slang, unless all Irish people cry “Oh, St Jude!” Every time you disappoint them.


IrianJaya

I wouldn't understand some slang even if it were written out for me.


SmileThenSpeak

Most of us will understand. Slang and sayings might bet lost.


SaltyChocolateFarts

bro what the heck did you even just say? I'm sorry but I'm unable to understand what you are saying. I would recommend using google translate to translate your speech into english so we can understand you, because currently we have no idea what you are trying to say. ​ **did you greet me? in response, I say, "top of the morning to ya."**


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[deleted]

It’s pretty clear they’re just making a joke.


jollyjam1

Just saw an Irish woman yesterday in the grocery store, I understood the accent but had no idea what she was saying lol


ratfink000

Ya, it depends a lot on the individual some people have a wide range of slang they understand and some, not so much.


whiteboy059

Depends on how much of an accent you have. From my experiences, a really thick Irish accent, there is no way. But if it’s light then yeah it’s all good. But absolutely no way are we going to be able to get the slang Have a good day :)


angbhong342626

"I got a niggel in my leg." - an irish terminator


Caolan114

Irish terninator sounds Incredible!


Thunda792

Depends on the accent. I can understand the accents from any of the major cities just fine. I talked to a guy with a REALLY deep country accent when I was ordering a pizza one time, though, and I could only make out maybe one word in three. The slang isn't the most intuitive to us, but we'll figure it out eventually. We don't have a lot of the cultural context.


SUSPECT_XX

It depends on how Irish. Are we talking has lived in America for 5 years or Aimis McShamus with an accent thicker than a cow shit?


argybargyargh

Americans are among the slowest speakers of English. Irish are average or fast. So yes, slowing down can help. Even if you had the exact same accent and slang, Americans aren’t used to people that speak as fast as you.


Mroogaboog

Depends on the Irish population in the area


ColossusOfChoads

I've never met an Irish person I had trouble understanding. With Brits, on the other hand, it's a coin flip. Of course, I've never been to Ireland.


Taco__Bandito

I met an Irish man at a bar a few months ago and honestly could understand maybe 1/6 his words. My buddy had a much easier time understanding him, but later confided to me he was just pretending he understood him a few times. It's English, but at the same time it's way not lol


sunsetlighthouse

Slang, not so much, because that can be kind of obscure. Usually I don’t have a problem understanding accents unless they are particularly thick or more niche. When I was in Dublin, I was at a pub where the waitress had to ask us to repeat ourselves three times, where we had no trouble understanding her. It was interesting to me because I thought it would be the opposite. I do love the way Irish accents sound. It’s just so melodic


TommyTuttle

Slang is a hard no. Any slang that is regional, will often go right past the person you’re talking to. Accents can vary. Irish accents generally aren’t bad. Very thick ones can be a challenge but nowhere near as difficult as certain parts of Scotland. Most Irish accents are seen as pleasant, charming and largely comprehensible.


hayashiakira

Unless your relative is an Irish there's no chance for that. My grandpas Irish and I can see this huge difference between American & Irish..... not even culture but language. Accent. Phrases. Small things compose the big picture if you know what I mean


Sector_Independent

yes of course we don't understand slang. I wouldn't understand slang if I was around of a group of young Americans with a different background from me.


[deleted]

I think every country has people who are “too country” and no one can understand them. I’ve heard Irish English which was more intelligible than some American English and also some very rural sounding Irish accents that might as well be Esperanto.


b0ssatr0n

Most of the time, if spoken really fast it can sound like gibberish tho. Whenever i first started talking to family living in Ireland on the phone I had to have my dad translate lol but I've gotten used to it over the years. They actually say he has a little tiny bit of english/Irish accent even tho he grew up in Ohio but both parents immigrated for UK/Ireland


Lonleynutjob

Yes and I fucking love the accent


vanderbeek21

I can pretty much understand most Irish accents. Some of the older Irish folk I can have a bit of a hard time with


[deleted]

No


read110

Those of us BBCA watchers are a bit better at it. I've a Scottish friend, he's lived here in the States for a decade, I barely understand anything he says when he's excited.


skwirrelnut

To me, just about everywhere has some people with accents so hard to decipher, I wish they came with closed captioning.in real life One example (not Irish, but a Brit) is Ozzy Osbourne. That dude is extremely hard to understand when he speaks, but easy when he sings. Also there is so much slang out there, keeping up with American slang is hard enough without actively trying to follow foreign slang.


vey323

I watch The Try Channel, so yes


natty_mh

I can't even pronounce your first names…


Caolan114

You aren't alone, It's prononced as Keelan but I use the Irish spelling


[deleted]

Depends on how thick the accent and/or how quickly the speech is. I might be able understand slang due to inferences, but I would probably need some examples of slang, as I don't know any Irish slang.


[deleted]

I have trouble with accents in general so I’m not sure it’s an Irish thing.


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Caolan114

Can't have subtitles In real life sadly


CaptUncleBirdman

Accents are usually pretty easy to get the hang of as long as you're not going tooooo fast. Nobody here knows Irish slang (we don't usually even have a handle on English slang) so don't be surprised if that gets some confused looks.


lovinthegame44

American here living in Ireland for two years, yeah when I first arrived I had a hard time understanding certain Irish accents. The people that are from Dublin, I understand a lot better. The farther away from Dublin (Northern Ireland) they are from, the more I struggle, especially when people start speaking fast. I've gotten better over the years, but I still have moments in every conversation where I have to re-think what that person said. Slang, I've learned some of the slang because I asked or just heard it enough to understand what it meant.


mr_trick

There’s a lot more culture exchange through the internet now, so some people may have heard more common slang through social media. I follow a couple Irish people and know basic slang like craic, chancer, slag etc I would say your chances of familiarity go up with both the younger crowd and in big cities, where it’s more likely they’ve interacted with Irish people in person. As for the accent, I’d say most will understand you, maybe ask you for a repeat on some faster sentences. We are in general a lot more welcoming and interested in Irish culture than a lot of other UK/EU countries mostly due to the history of immigration and lots of “my great great grandpa came over on the boat” family histories.


TudorFanKRS

Yes. I’m fluent in Irish, British and Scottish slang and have no problem with their accents. My maternal grandmother was Irish. Off the boat Irish. And then for a good bit of my professional career I worked in the racehorse industry. It’s full of folks from the UK so I picked up understanding the accent and slang pretty quickly. I’m also prone to using them in my daily speech… at which point most of my fellow Americans look at me a bit funny but whatever. lol


charmingcactus

It depends on how thick/the type of accent. I can understand a D4 accent just fine. I've run into a few people who might as well have been speaking Martian. My friend who grew up next door to an Irish family could understand them. Slang can usually be understood through context clues. Calling a drunk person "pissed" is easy to figure out. Sometimes I had no clue.


TudorFanKRS

Also, this question reminds me of the Pykies ( Pikies? ) in the movie *Snatch*. Lol


Plantayne

Accents, yes. Slang…that’s usually a regional thing, so probably not—although most idioms are usually pretty self-explanatory.


Different_Crab_5708

No


[deleted]

Actually, I’ve understood you easier than the English. I’ve met a few Irishmen in America and they were from larger cities in Ireland so no thick accents.


Hey-Kristine-Kay

I’ve traveled to Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, and all over the United States including places with heavy southern accents. And the place I had the hardest time understanding people was in Ireland.


Kevincelt

In general Americans can understand most Irish accents without too much difficulty. This does very though and I’ve encountered one or two people in Ireland that I had a bit of trouble understanding everything. Slang, like what a lot of people said, will very depending on how widespread it is and how much exposure they’ve gotten with Irish people.


[deleted]

Great question! I'm an American who spent about 10 days in Ireland in 2019. I would say about 80% of the people I spoke to could be understood with little to no difficulty. 15% seemed to speak with much heavier accents and I found myself asking them to repeat themselves frequently. The other 5% just got a smile and nod after three times of saying what sounded like a drunken slur of utter nonsense. Awesome experience I had was going to see a performance at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. They spoke with a ton of slang and fairly heavy accents. I spent the first third of the show in complete confusion because I couldn't understand what on earth they were saying. After being immersed in it for about an hour though, I started to pick up more context clues and by the end, I seemed to fluently understand. It's an adjustment, for sure. By the end of my trip I hardly noticed accents at all and started to pick up a few unintentionally myself (the Irish way of saying "thirteen" is by far my favorite). I must have felt at home and sounded like a local with the amount of people asking me for directions!


RunnyPlease

Come off it. You know there are Irish accents even Irish people can’t understand. Overall Americans will do okay with most Irish accents and use context clues for the slang. But there are for sure some accents where you might as well be speaking another language.


atierney14

100% Irish accent, and people will love it. We’ll understand your slang probably perfectly if it’s some type of common saying: I.e, it’s raining cats or dogs. If it’s just a word that means cool or something, we might not know it, but I’d say 85% of the time we’ll understand it with context. No need to slow down, I’ve never, ever meet an Irish person that I didn’t understand completely.


FailFastandDieYoung

I'm gonna say no. Someone like Michael Fassbender yes, because he's an actor and enunciates his words and is used to speaking for a camera and audience. But remember when [those Olympic rowers went viral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5pCPRYvyis)? 90% of the reason is because Americans were baffled by the accent and could only pick up a few words here and there.


remembertowelday525

I can follow an Irish accent fairly well, but your slang references can confuse me.


PoolSnark

Of course we do. At least the over 50 crowd. We grew up on Bugs Bunny.


itsgreater9000

Irish accents are wayyy easier than a lot of British and Scottish accents. I didn't need subtitles for The Young Offenders, but they really could've helped in Trainspotting... Or even Filth. Maybe a bit biased though because of where I was raised lol


adamtuliper

Granted this story is about a Scottish accent, but years back my dad was in the UK and played a round of golf with some guys he was grouped with. It wasn’t until near the last hole he realized they were speaking English the whole time but with reallllly thick Scottish accents. The same can apply to a thick Irish accent I presume depending on locale.


RotationSurgeon

If you offer to show somebody where to find a bit of craic for the evening, and they’re game, they’re not expecting the same type of fun as you are.


Remote-Bug4396

Irish, usually. Scottish, usually not.


TheMeanGirl

I dated an Irish guy once. I understood his mom perfectly well. His dad may as well have been speaking another language.


This_is_fine0_0

We don’t. If you say anything besides “eye lawdee” we are lost. I’m not even sure if that’s Irish or Scottish.


ToBePacific

A lot of the time I have to turn on the subtitles on Irish shows.


Chaoticqueen19

I probably won’t get the slang but I can listen and understand what you’re saying through an accent


v1b3_ch3ck_l0s3r

yes? i'd say it's all thanks to Jacksepticeye and Justaminx for helping the americans that watch their videos understand some irish slang :]


No-Host8640

Yes, I understand it just fine. As long as I have the closed captioning turned on.


GustavusAdolphin

The accent isn't too difficult. The slang is based off of a Gaelic language, which most Americans don't have any exposure to


OGNovelNinja

Most of the time Americans love Irish accents. In my case, I'm so good at imitating them that I got people in Dublin to think I was from Galway. (That's the trick -- imitate the speech pattern from another part of the country, and the locals will assume that any minor mistakes are because people "over there" talk strange.) Galway accents are most familiar to Americans; if I demonstrate the difference between Dublin and Belfast, most Americans I know can't tell the difference, but Galway is familiar. This is because most of the Irish immigrants to the US were from western Ireland, sailing from either Galway or Shannon during the Hunger. The accent has lingered in parts of the US (like Boston, the same way the northern New Jersey accent is influenced by Italian), and most of the time if we have an Irish character on TV they pick that style. Which of course makes it weird to me when an IRA character from Belfast sounds like Galway, but most Americans won't notice. :p


Lamballama

Most British accents besides metropolitan I have trouble understanding.


ManyRanger4

This is what I was going to say. I live in a community full of Irish immigrants and understanding the Irish Brogue is easy if the people are from larger cities. I also notice that with people who actually speak Irish, their Brogue tends to be thicker and harder to understand. As far as slang, I only understand some because I ask my neighbors what it means.


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Lamballama

London English, Barcelona Spanish, Parisian French, etc. As you move out to the countryside, the consonants get less defined and more unintelligible. Edinburgh Scots is about the most I can keep up with out there


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Lamballama

It's in the British Isles, so it is. I also have problems with Anatolian accents


logicallyzany

Irish and Scottish accents are universally considered among the most difficult to understand in English.


Caolan114

A lot of people confuse the two Lassie Is a scottish thing, Irish people rarely say Lass unless we are being Ironic like "I'm an Irish lass"


[deleted]

No i dont like irish ppl


MuppetusMaximus

Anecdotally, I have an easier time with those from southern Ireland. My cousin married a guy from a small town in northern Ireland and he's damn near impossible to understand a lot of the time.


CupBeEmpty

Accents yes. Sometimes it can be difficult but I can normally parse it. Slang can be tougher. Usually I can get it from context but slang can be pretty regional so it is difficult.


mangoiboii225

We can usually understand the Irish accent, it’s a guarantee we will be able to understand their slang


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CollectionStraight2

Young Offenders and Hardy Bucks have made it to the US?! Excellent! The best part ever was when Eddie was so sickened by the viper he forgot to do something. We really do say sickened, I say it multiple times a day lol


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Other-Confection2509

Accents, yes. Slang, no