Brogue (accent)

The first use of the term brogue (/broʊɡ/ BROHG) originated in ~1463-1529 to refer to an Irish accent by John Skelton.[1] It still generally refers to a Southern Irish accent. Less commonly, it may also refer to any other regional forms of English today, in particular those of American English "Ocracoke Brogue," Scotland or the English West Country (although historically Scottish accents were referred to as burrs, due to the Scottish accent's rolling Rs).[2]

For other accents named Brogue, see Brogue (disambiguation) § Language.

The word was recorded in the 1500s to refer to an Irish accent by John Skelton. There is also a recording of it in 1689.[3] Multiple etymologies have been proposed: it may derive from the Irish bróg ("shoe"), the type of shoe traditionally worn by the people of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, and hence possibly originally meant "the speech of those who call a shoe a 'brogue.'"[4] It is debated that the term comes from the Irish word barróg, meaning "a hold (on the tongue)," thus "accent" or "speech impediment."[5]

An alternative etymology suggested that brogue means 'impediment,' and that it came from barróg which is homophonous with bróg in Munster Irish. However, research indicates that the word for 'impediment' is actually bachlóg and that the term brogue to describe speech is known to Irish speakers in Munster only as an English word.[6]

A famous false etymology states that the word stems from the supposed perception that the Irish spoke English so peculiarly that it was as if they did so "with a shoe in their mouths."[6]

See also

References
  1. Hickey, Raymond (8 November 2007). Irish English: History and Present-Day Forms. ISBN 9781139465847.
  2. "BURR | Meaning & Definition for UK English". Lexico.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  3. McCrum, Robert (1986). The Story of English. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0670804672.
  4. "brogue (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  5. "Word of the Day: brogue". Merriam-Webster. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  6. Walshe, Shane (2009). Irish English As Represented in Film. Peter Lang. p. 15. ISBN 978-3631586822.


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