Day 6 - What's Hiberno English?

It's Day 6 of a 30-day commitment to blogging. If this is your first time reading, welcome to Christine's Cogitations. I'm new to blogging, (as you undoubtedly realised, given there are so few posts). I'm not sure how many times a week I'll post after the 30 days, but at least once a week will now be dedicated to Hiberno English, and other phrases and proverbs that originate in Ireland. 

Not Irish English

One of the things I adore most in the world is Hiberno English, also incorrectly termed Irish English, though not the same thing. "Irish English" is, in the words of the late, great Professor T.P. Dolan, (rest his soul, but not his work), a misnomer. It suggests that the English spoken in Ireland is the same as Canadian or American English. It is not, however. Our English is different.

The English spoken in Canada and America, brought there by colonisers, did not mix with the languages already spoken in those countries. In Ireland, on the other hand, English was met head on by a powerful force - Gaeilge - our native tongue, one of the oldest languages in the world. This makes Hiberno English different. The phrases we use are a marriage of English and Irish lexis and grammatical structures. Pronunciation and prosody retain the inflections of Irish - we soften Ts and flap THs, not because our mouths are lazy, but because that's how they're spoken as Gaeilge (in Irish.) 

Sadly, most of us have lost our connection with our origin tongue, it having been beaten out of those from whom we are descended, quite literally, with a stick called a bata scóir. This was a short stick Irish children were forced to wear around their necks. If they were heard speaking Irish, a notch was put on it. At the end of the day, they got a lash for each notch. 

Interestingly enough, the opposite became the rule of law in Gaeltacht areas many years afterwards. A Gaeltacht is an area in Ireland where Irish is the dominant language spoken. Teenagers take courses there in summer to improve their Irish skills. I don't know why I wouldn't go when I was a teenager. I adored Irish. I wasn't the keenest fan of school, mind you, so summer school wouldn't have been that appealing to me. Stories I heard were that you'd get a *clattering, or worse, you'd be sent home, if you were heard to be speaking English. (*to get a clattering is to be hit very hard). Yes, children still got a clatter in teaching environments right into the 90s. (I'll share those stories another day. Sticks were involved.) 

Phrase of the Week

I'm a terror for going knees deep into things. (*be a terror for means it's typical of someone to do something that others may find unnecessary / going knees deep means deeply engaged in or into a lot of detail). At the minute, I'm training myself to keep things simple (see Day 1). It's fierce difficult. (*fierce = very). Right, enough definitions. In the essence of keeping things simple, I shall not give you more of the history and evolution of Hiberno English today. I'll reveal it bit-by-bit as we go along, in an effort to revive some of T.P. Dolan's tremendous efforts to bring our beautiful tongue to the world. If you're like me though, and your knees are salivating for more, listen to my podcast episode on it here. I'm editing a wee video series I did on it to share with you on it too, so keep an eye out for that. 

Pay Through The Nose

Earlier this week, I was teaching idioms related to body parts. One of them was, to "pay through the nose" for something. A couple of days later, Blindboy reminded me of its origins in this podcast episode. This is a bit disgusting now, so if you're at all squeamish, buckle up! 

It is believed that the phrase comes from a poll tax punishment doled out by the Danes in the 9th Century - the gall of them - we might say in Ireland, the nerve or the cheek of them (poll taxes were literally a tax paid just for being a citizen). If a person couldn't pay their tax, they would instead pay through the nose for not being able to pay it - their nose would be slit open, cut, to steep them in shame forever and a day thereafter. That's a hefty price to pay for not being able to afford a tax, isn't it? 

And that's exactly what the term means - "to pay through the nose" is to pay too high a price for something. Let's see it in action. 

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Lydia: Well, did you buy that purple jacket you've had your eye on? 

Christine: Not yet. Even though I've been living here for almost a year, they still think I'm a rich foreigner. My Mandarin isn't good enough yet to bargain them down. I'll pay through the nose for it! 

Lydia: Well, you'd better practise so, otherwise it'll be gone. 

Christine: I know. I'm going to the Silk Market at the weekend to do a bit of practise at the stalls there. I'll go into the shop next week and see how I get on. 

Lydia: Best of luck! Let me know how it goes. 

Christine: Indeed I will.  

Success! The dialogue is a semi-true story. I'm not sure I had exactly this conversation with my sister, but it was close. It took me a few months and lots of practice to get up the courage to go into that boutique and buy my purple jacket without paying through the nose, but I did it eventually. I was dead proud of myself afterwards. (*dead also = very). 

What have you paid through the nose for? Tell me in the comments below, or try using it in a sentence and I'll give you feedback. 

Go dtí an chead uair eile! Until next time, slán agus good luck!