Marian Keyes audiobook narration

[TheCountessofLocksley]

Hello, i wonder if you lovely Craicnetters can answer a quick (and really quite mundane) question about pronunciation please.

I'm listening to the Rachel's Holiday narrated by Marian Keyes and she pronounces certain words very differently to how I would in my accent

For example, she pronounces smoothed as smooth-ed, asked as ask-ed etc whereas in my English accent I'd pronounce it smooth'd (and ask'd (one syllable).

I'm noticing it because it is different to me and just wondered if that's just typical of the Irish speech pattern?

Haven't listened to an MK audio book, but for me I'd say asked in one syllable.
I'm trying to figure out how I say smoothed, and I'm not quite sure... there's probably a bit of "smooth-ed" but not quite two syllables. If I could say the word naturally it might help, but I'm over complicating here by repeating it over and over..... and now I don't even think it's a real word 🤪😆

I've just had a listen to the preview on Borrowbox and 'asked' sounds normal to me. She's a fast reader though!

Haven't listened to this book but I have listened to some fabulous narrators who have particular words they say in an odd way. Listened to one recently - annoyingly I can't remember the word but every time it irked me 😅 I can't talk tho - there is one word I -apparently- say 'wrong', tho I disagree!

I suppose it could come out as smooth-ed if you were trying to say it in a sexy way like an m&s advert - I smooth-ed the chocolate sauce all over myself kind of thing 😅

Ive been looking for them for my Mum on Borrowbox but can only find number 7 in a series. Are the contents different for each library/local authority?

Hmm. Irish people also say ' unearth-ed'. I'm not sure if these are types of speech which have become obsolete in English in England itself?

Like the use of Ye for the plural of You which is widespread outside Dublin. There it is Yooz!

I'm not sure @Jbck it's out on loan at the moment

I was thinking of other words people say here, for instance, they're going to get candles blessed at Candlemas but once it's done it becomes a bless-ed candle!

Hmm. I would personally say 'smoothed' or 'asked' in one syllable. It comes up a lot with 'blessed' as in 'bless-ed bread', 'bless-ed Baby Jesus' as an adjective going back to liturgical texts. But as a verb I think we would say 'blessed' with one syllable ('the priest blessed our house') and 'smoothed' with one syllable ('She smoothed her hair'). I don't think I would say 'smooth-ed over'. I definitely can't say 'asked' in two syllables. That sounds strange to me. Maybe Marian is putting on an affectation if she is voicing a character. Good question anyway!

Also Yiz

Dh is a Dub and it's 'Yiz' with him.
As a Cork person, it's 'Ye' with me.
Much nicer if ye ask me!!

Thank you, I really didn't explain myself very well. It's such a lovely accent, but her pronunciation really leapt (but MK would say leap -ed) out at me.

The pluralisation of you isn't sketching I say, but it's common with the Liverpudlian accent.

Here is a sample of Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes on Audible. I think anyone without account should be able to hear her accent here: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B09R2KZXPG

I know what you’re saying. I’m Irish and I find her pronunciation baffling. I don’t know anyone who speaks like this.

Thanks for the clip talknomore. I listened to it and didn't pick up anything in her pronunciation or accent that stood out to me. Nor did I find it annoying! She reads quickly, as Jane said, but I would listen to her narration quite happily. Although I think I remember that some people on the books threads here found her annoying.

I am a Dubliner and I say ask-ed and smooth-ed but more like smoo-ed as we tend not to pronounce the "th". It becomes a "d" sound.

People from the north side do it more pronounced like dhere, deese, doze - there, these, those.

Maybe Marian is putting on an affectation if she is voicing a character
Everything Marian Keys does is an affectation. I liked her first couple of books so followed her on twitter briefly and it was a stream of cringe.

I don't follow her on Twitter :)

Marian is from Limerick @TheCountessofLocksley but has a very mild accent. I don't think it is particularly affected - certainly I've heard far worse. There is a thing called 'genteel over correction '. The one that springs to mind is ' heighth'. Irish people are very sensitive about 'th' and our inability to say it. So it got stuck on to height by educated Dubs in the media.

That sound is rare - possibly non existent - in Gaeilge of course. I'm not sure smooth-ed or unearth-ed fall into that category though?

Ps I was guilty of genteel over correction myself when I lived in that Lahnden. Taking care to pronounce the great river : Thaymz. Whereas even posh English people called it Tems. How can you win 😂

Dialects are just so fascinating. I've never properly listened to a ROI accent before, and the NI people I know don't talk like MK.

I find it calming, it gives me the same warm feeling Welsh and Italian (the languages of my early childhood) do.

I think I say asked as one syllable, but I say smoo-ded for smoothed. It's also definitely unearth-ed here. And yes to the difference between blessed and bless-ed. I'm in Munster so not a million miles from Marian.

That's odd @TheCountessofLocksley when I was in Cardiff a few years ago we encountered a group of women out hill walking. All speaking Welsh , which sounded very sunny and Mediterranean to me. They asked me what Happy New Year is in Irish - which I dredged up from memory! I love to hear Welsh and Irish spoken. Yet to hear Scots Gaidhlig alas.