{"id":57475,"date":"2022-12-22T07:40:45","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T12:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=57475"},"modified":"2022-12-22T08:23:55","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T13:23:55","slug":"hiberno-english-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu\/nll\/?p=57475","title":{"rendered":"Hiberno-English on the rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kri\u0161j\u0101nis Kari\u0146\u0161 has been in the news a lot recently<\/a>, but this was special.<\/p>\n

Naomi O'Leary, \"The curious case of the Latvian prime minister\u2019s Irish accent<\/a>\", The Irish Times<\/em> 12\/21\/2022:<\/p>\n

Subhead:<\/strong> Brogues to be found in unexpected places as Hiberno-English on the rise since the departure of Britain from the EU<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

On his entry to Prague Castle to join a summit of European Union leaders, Latvian prime minister Krisjanis Karins was accosted by the bank of waiting journalists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think about the price cap?\u201d one reporter asked him, looking for a comment on the issue of the day.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an unmistakably Irish accent, Karins replied: \u201cA price cap on gas, if that could be achieved, would be grand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I shared a clip of the incident on social media and it quickly took off. \u201cIf you close your eyes, he could be a school principal in Tipperary,\u201d one user marvelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here's the clip that Ms.O'Leary shared:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And more from the Irish Times article:<\/p>\n

\u201cHis father Weeshie Karins hurled for Piarsaigh\u2019s,\u201d another joked. \u201cHe\u2019s obviously from the Kenmare Karins. I knew his father.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I experimented, playing the clip for friends without letting them see who it was. \u201cThat\u2019s an Irish politician,\u201d one insisted. \u201cHe sounds like a local councillor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[…]<\/span><\/p>\n

The phenomenon is not confined to Latvia\u2019s head of government. I recently met a Brussels-based Swedish journalist who sounded like a native of Westmeath. I asked her if she was married to an Irish person or had lived in the country. \u201cNo, sure I just have loads of Irish friends, like,\u201d she demurred.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was determined to get to the bottom of the Latvian leader\u2019s brogue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Young Krisjanis was actually born in Wilmington, Delaware, where his parents had moved during Soviet times. He spent summers in the old country, moving back permanently in 1997.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first clue to his possible sensitivity to accents is that he studied linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, gaining a PhD for a thesis on the rhythm and intonation of the Latvian language.<\/span><\/p>\n

I made it my mission to ask him about this issue of vital importance in person.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the European leaders gathered once again in Brussels last week, I waited for Karins at the spot where the arriving leaders take a few questions from journalists, if the mood takes them, in front of a row of national flags.<\/span><\/p>\n

A media scrum formed on Mr Karins\u2019s appearance. \u201cDo you have understanding of the position of Germany and the Netherlands?\u201d one journalist roared at him. \u201cDo you understand the concerns of Poland holding up funds to Ukraine?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs granting Bosnia EU candidate status a way of stopping Russian influence there?\u201d another demanded to know.<\/span><\/p>\n

I raised my voice above the din. \u201cYou have a slight Irish accent, could you explain why that might be?\u201d I cried.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a moment the Latvian prime minister seemed a little thrown. \u201cYour guess is as good as mine,\u201d he told me.<\/span><\/p>\n

[…]<\/span><\/p>\n

But according to one Brussels insider, it isn\u2019t just an Irish accent that Karins has picked up \u2013 but a Kerry one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because both their surnames begin with K, for 10 years as an MEP in the European Parliament Karins sat beside Se\u00e1n Kelly, the Ireland South MEP.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had great chats. He\u2019s a good character, a good friend, actually,\u201d Kelly told me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOccasionally there\u2019d be a function on that we\u2019d be supposed to attend. We\u2019d say to each other: we\u2019ll skip the speeches now, we\u2019ll go for a little drink ourselves, and then we\u2019ll go and join them for the dinner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Karins visited Kelly\u2019s native Killarney at one point and the two walked the Gap of Dunloe. \u201cI can understand why he has a bit of a, hopefully a Kerry accent, and some of the colloquialisms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all mounting evidence for the increasing dominance of Hiberno-English in the EU, now that the Brits have departed.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Kelly\u2019s work is not done yet. Just last week, he says, an Austrian MEP asked him to explain what he meant by calling someone \u201ca bollocks\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, what\u2019s that?\u201d Kelly said, creasing with laughter. \u201cNow she\u2019s using it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. O'Leary's tweet, from October 7:<\/p>\n

\n

Fascinated with the response to the idea of a gap cap of Latvian Prime Minister Kri\u0161j\u0101nis Kari\u0146\u0161 pic.twitter.com\/vG0TgqqGiZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) October 7, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n