Why do Irish people use "Me" instead of "My" ?

[henh...@gmail.com]

( i've always suspected this... )


Why do Irish people use "Me" instead of "My" ?

It not really a case of them using another word, but rather a difference in pronunciation. In many dialects, the pronunciation of "me" and "my" just happens to be the same or very similar.



________________________________

I'll Tell Me Ma ( Lyrics )

Tell me Ma when I go home
The boys won't leave the girls alone
They pull my hair, they stole my comb
That's alright till I go home

She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Dublin city
She is courtin' one, two, three
Please won't you tell me, who is she?

[henh...@gmail.com]

does it happen with other words.... e.g.

sky ---> ske ?

smile ---> smell ?



__________________________________________________________________
John O'Toole said, May 11, 2009 @ 3:13 pm

One of the rare bits of Finnegans Wake to have Stück in my mind (to work the joyschtick myself):

Mawmaw, luk, your beeftay's fizzin over!

From the very last page of the "Nightletter" chapter ("with our best youlldied greedings to Pep and Memmy…")

"Beeftay" obviously meant, among many other things no doubt, to echo local Irish pronunciation of beef tea.

Hats off, Mr. Nunberg, for the prize Poperee, especially the final snook in the concluding couplet, using "bling" in the rhyme as if it were an18th century word, and the deft parody in "A little GRAMMAR is a dang'rous thing"!

[TonyCooper]

On Sun, 6 Aug 2023 11:56:14 -0700 (PDT), "henh...@gmail.com"
<henh...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> ( i've always suspected this... )
>
>
>Why do Irish people use "Me" instead of "My" ?
>
> It not really a case of them using another word, but rather a difference in pronunciation. In many dialects, the pronunciation of "me" and "my" just happens to be the same or very similar.
>
>
>
>________________________________
>
> I'll Tell Me Ma ( Lyrics )
>
>Tell me Ma when I go home
>The boys won't leave the girls alone
>They pull my hair, they stole my comb
>That's alright till I go home
>

Because their parents did, their siblings did, and their playments
did.

Why do you use such weird spacing in your posts?

--

Tony Cooper - Orlando,Florida

[occam]

You got there first with your question. It would have been my question
also, and it would not have been phrased so gently.

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

My question is a bit different. After a couple of years of rest from
Hen Hanna's inanities, why are people suddenly addressing them? With
new posters one can understand it, but Tony has been here longer than I
have.


--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 36 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

[occam]

On 07/08/2023 11:20, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
> On 2023-08-07 08:17:43 +0000, occam said:
>
>> On 06/08/2023 21:53, TonyCooper wrote:

<snip abstract graffiti>

>>> Because their parents did, their siblings did, and their playments
>>> did.
>>>
>>> Why do you use such weird spacing in your posts?
>>>
>>
>> You got there first with your question.  It would have been my question
>> also, and it would not have been phrased so gently.
>
> My question is a bit different. After a couple of years of rest from Hen
> Hanna's inanities, why are people suddenly addressing them? With new
> posters one can understand it, but Tony has been here longer than I have.
>

My best guess: "slow news day"

[Thomas Joseph]

I have no knowledge on this topic but am inclined to guess
that social status plays a hand in it. As one who can do a
somewhat entertaining Irish accent I am hoping it never
changes. It makes doing the accent a lot easier. But as
is the case with many, actors and so forth, when they do
an Irish accent they are usually imitating a known Irish
guy from the movies. Barry Fitzgerald let's say. Whatever,
if I had to bet I'd say it's a class thing - the me vs the my.
Or maybe they all say 'me' - I don't know. I will now google
for the real lowdown. I got to be satisfying me mind. Lad.

[henh...@gmail.com]

what's another (similar) instance of (apparent) substitution
as in using "Me" instead of "My" ?



__________________________________________

Irish people use "me" instead of "my" in some contexts because of the way the words are pronounced in their dialect of English. The pronunciation of "me" and "my" are very similar in many Irish dialects, and in some cases they are even identical. This can lead to people using "me" in place of "my" when they are speaking quickly or informally.



In addition, the Irish language has a word for "my" that is pronounced very similarly to "me". The Irish word is "mo", and it is pronounced /mu/. When the Irish language was first being spoken in Ireland, the pronunciation of "mo" was closer to the modern English pronunciation of "my". However, over time, the pronunciation of "mo" changed, and it became more similar to the modern English pronunciation of "me". This change in pronunciation may have influenced the way that Irish people use "me" in place of "my" in English.



It is important to note that not all Irish people use "me" instead of "my". The use of "me" in place of "my" is more common in some parts of Ireland than others. It is also more common among people who speak with a strong Irish accent.

Here are some examples of how "me" can be used instead of "my" in Irish English:

"Me name is Seamus."
"That's me book."
"Can I have me coat?"


It is also worth noting that Irish people sometimes use "meself" instead of "myself". The word "meself" is a reflexive pronoun, which means that it is used to refer to oneself. However, it is not considered to be standard English. It is more common in Irish English, and it is often used in a humorous or ironic way.

Here are some examples of how "meself" can be used in Irish English:

"I'll do it meself."
"That's not for meself."
"I'm going to have a drink meself."



"That's not for meself." <------------- there is a Grammatical aspect to this example.

[Thomas Joseph]

I'm not going to do it now but will try at some point to
come up with examples to suit your request. I'm talking
about in America alone, regional stuff - I'm sure if given
the time (if I want to take it), I can find some stuff similar
to me/my involving other things.

But not right now. Gonna watch me some tv.