The Influence of Scots, Irish and English on Northern Irish English

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,0, University of Duisburg-Essen (Institut für Anglophone Studien), course: English Lexicology, language: English, abstract: There is an undeniable connection between modern Northern Irish English and the history of the northern part of Ireland and its different languages. And so, the paper focuses on analysing and finding out how important the historical languages of Scots, Irish and Old English were for the shaping of what is now also called 'Ulster English'. On the following pages we will examine how important the interactions between Scots, Irish and English were for modern Northern Irish English with a focus on analysing the Northern Irish lexicon and the origin of lexis it contains. A slight reference will also be made to Phonetics and Phonology to additionally confirm the thesis that all the three historical languages have a crucial impact on modern Northern Irish English. An insight in Northern Irish history will lay the foundation of why there is such an importance of a linguistic exchange in that special part of the country. Combining these different aspects will give an answer to the question if the influence of the language exchange in Northern Ireland can still be noticed today. Furthermore, this paper will explain how Scots, Irish and Old English interactions make themselves noticeable in Northern Irish English and to what extent.