Pronunciation Problems

As an outsider, I am finding Gaelic to be one of the strangest languages that I have encountered.  I thought English was bad with silent letters and changing vowels.  Gaelic, however, takes confusion to a whole new level.  Some letters sound like a combination of two, other letters sound completely opposite to their written form, and still other letters have decided not to make a sound at all.  Imagine taking the alphabet and throwing everything in the air....whatever lands on the ground is the way that we will spell the words.  I really need to take a class to learn more about the language!

To my untrained American ear, the pronunciations of some places are near impossible.  If I put a whole bag of marbles in my mouth and spoke, I would probably sound clearer than when I try to say Gaelic words.  For example, I needed help at the bus stop, so an older woman named Niamh (Neeve)  told me when the next bus would arrive.  She started talking to me about her daughter Siobhan (Shiv-awn) and her son Eoghan (Owen). I told her that I was in Dublin, but I am hoping to visit Clonmacnois (Klon mack noys) and Glendalough (Glen-da-lock) in the next few weekends.  Her family is living in Dublin now, but she is originally from Cork.  (Look up a video of the Irish comic, Tommy Tiernan, on youtube imitating a Cork accent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRm9Q2KfzBA .)

I've been told that Cork accents are distinctive, and even though Ireland is a small country, there are many forms of the Irish accent.  I can only separate the accents into two categories - understandable or not.  Dublin is clear, Cork makes sense, and Sligo I'm completely lost.  According to a friend, accents from Kerry are the sexiest, but I cannot understand a word.  They literally might as well speak in another language. 

When I am listening to a person with this accent, I just try to look interested, nod a few times at random places in the conversation, and say "I know!  So cool!" at the end....hopefully I can feign understanding enough that people won't notice.  (Hopefully, I never talk to anyone who is relaying serious information; otherwise, my plan may cause some problems.  "....and that is when I found out that I had stage three cancer." pause  "I know! So cool!")

Even though Dublin is a major metropolitan city, it still has the feel of a small town.  Everyone seems to know everyone because, even if they don't personally know someone, then at least they know a cousin who knows the aunt of the person who can tell you all about him/her.  You have to be careful if you are gossiping - you never know who may be sitting at the next table!   Politics take an interesting twist because people discuss positions and platforms, but they can also discuss a politician's personal life because they went to high school together. 

Everyone here seems to have an intense pride in Ireland as a nation, and they also have a strong tie to whatever county or city they happen to be from.  It's really wonderful to be around people who love their country and care about its future.  There is an election coming up in February which should prove to be very interesting.