Irish Accenterator - How to Sound Irish

American English to Irish Accent Translator

Transliterating words to help you sound Irish

Enter a phrase in the Phrase field, and then click the button to change it from English to Irish. Note: the result is not actually Irish; rather, it is written so that if an American reads it, it will sound Irish.
Or, more accurately, it will sound like an American trying to imitate the Lucky Charms leprechaun.
Note: the Irish accent is a little more subtle with the spelling - what's more important is the lilt, which is unwritten.

Phrase:

Pronunciation Guide

  • OH : Say "O". That's all, just a normal long O.
  • AE : Say "have". Now say it without the V. Sounds like "hae". So "ae" in the text is the vowel sounds only of that.
  • EOW : Say "meow". Now say it without the M. Now say it fast - try to make it one sound instead of two.
  • IIE : Say "yet". Now say it without the T. Now emphasize the Y over the E. That's the sound. Like "ee-eh", but one syllable.
  • UY : Say "guy". Now say it without the G. That was easy. Don't let its being combined with other vowels confuse you.
  • IGH : Say "I" or "eye". That's all - just the vowel part of "right" or "nigh".
  • ' : (that's an apostrophe, where one wouldn't normally be.) Say "uh-oh". The stop sound between UH and OH is what is meant by the apostrophe. But this does not apply to normal uses of the apostrophe. For the translated text, make this stop sound when the apostrophe appears after a vowel or a soft consonant (such as W or H). If it's not working, think of it as the first half of the sound of the letter T.
The key to pronouncing the words that the Irish Translator produces is to blend the vowel sounds smoothly. Try saying them more quickly if it's not sounding right.