Slang Usage in Dublin

What is the purpose of this study? This research study is designed to investigate what Dublin slang reveals about a person’s social identity, such as their class, generation and belonging. The study also seeks to discover whether or not people’s usage of slang is policed in any way. This study is part of a postgraduate degree in the School of Linguistics, Speech and Communication Studies, Trinity College Dublin.

Why have I been invited to take part? You are invited to take part in this research if you are 18+ years old and have been raised in Ireland for the majority of your life (and have therefore been exposed to Dublin-English slang). Please do not take this survey if you do not match this description.

What do I have to do? You are being asked to fill in a survey. You will be asked to provide some background information such as your age, gender identity, occupation, education level, region of upbringing, current general area of residence, socioeconomic background and ethnicity. The survey will ask you about your understanding and usage of Dublin slang. The survey will take 15-20 minutes to complete, depending on how much information you choose to give. Your participation is completely voluntary. You can withdraw at any time by simply closing the survey, and your response will not be counted.

Are there any benefits or risks to me? There are no direct benefits to participants. There should not be any risks, though you will be asked to recount any times where you have felt judged or excluded based on your use of slang. We have taken all measures to minimise any risks regarding your personal data. All information will be treated confidentially and in line with Trinity College’s data protection regulations.

Is this research approved? This research has ethical approval from the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences Research Ethics Committee, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

What will happen to my data? Your privacy is important to us. Your responses will be stored in Trinity College’s secure Microsoft OneDrive system (which is password protected and requires multi-factor authentication) for up to three years. Only the main researcher and their academic supervisor will have access to this data. Your name or email is not required. Your IP address and location will not be tracked. Please note that after you have submitted your responses, it will not be possible to withdraw your data, because there will be no way to identify which response is yours. The Data Controller for this study is Trinity College Dublin.

What will happen to the results of this research? The results may be published in scientific papers in the future. However, your identity will remain confidential as the data will be anonymised.

What do I do if I have any questions or complaints? If you have any questions or concerns about this research please contact the investigator, Ellen Wong (ellew@tcd.ie), or the research supervisor, Dr. Rowland Imperial (imperiar@tcd.ie). If you have any complaints about data protection, you can contact dataprotection@tcd.ie.

If you consent to participate in this research, please click “I confirm and accept” to proceed to the survey. Thank you!

Do you confirm that you have read the information above and consent to participate in this research study?

What age are you?

What is your gender identity?

Other

What is your ethnicity?

What is the name of your hometown and county where you were raised?

Where do you currently live? (Please do not provide your exact address - only the county and town).

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Which university did you attend? (If applicable).

Did you attend a Gaelscoil for either primary or secondary education?

How would you describe your ability to speak Irish (Gaeilge)?

What is your current occupation?

What is your income range?

DISCLAIMER: If you are unsure or unfamiliar about any of the slang terms in any of the questions, you can leave the question blank.

When you hear someone use the term "YUP", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? (1 being associated with working class and 5 being associated with upper class etc) e.g. "Yup the flats!"

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "POXY", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. "Dublin Bus is the biggest joke of a poxy service".

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "SCORE", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. "My mouth is red raw, he was scoring the face off me for hours"

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "MOT", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. “He's going out with his mot.”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "BUZZIN'", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. "Jaysus, this place is deadly. I’m buzzin."

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "HORSEPLAY", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. "“Want to go down to the pub?” “Sounds like absolute horseplay”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "LOCKED", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. “I had three cans of cider, was pretty locked but not too messy or anything”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "HEINOMITE", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. “Barkeep, 4 sticks of Heinomite for me and the guys”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "JO MAXI", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. “We took a jo maxi to the airport”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "DOPE", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. “Some dope nearly knocked me over on my bike yesterday”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "BLEEDIN", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. “Why doesn't our government connect the bleedin’ DART to the airport?”

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

When you hear someone use the term "CARNAGE", what impressions do you associate with the speaker? e.g. Sandymount residents complaining about buses on their streets: "It will be carnage"

Rows	1	2	3	4	5
Working class - Upper class
Young - Old
Not educated - Educated
Aggressive - Friendly
North side - South side
Suburban - City

Image Matching Task: Based on the images below, who do you think would be more likely to use the term "Janey Mac!" as an exclamation after spilling a drink?

Based on the images below, who do you think would be more likely to use the term "Unreal"? e.g. “There was a guy outside the shopping centre playing piano and he was unreal”

Based on the images below, who do you think would be more likely to use the term "Deadly"? e.g. “I’m looking for a deadly food place in town”.

Based on the images below, who do you think would be more likely to use the phrase "Will you stop acting the maggot"?

Audio Task 1 (Please select "Listen in Browser" if you are having difficulties playing the audio)

Audio 1: What age do you think the person in this audio is? Do you think they are from the North or South side of Dublin?

Audio Task 2:

Audio 2: What age do you think the person in this audio is? Do you think they are from the North or South side of Dublin?

Audio Task 3:

Audio 3: What age do you think the person in this audio is? Do you think they are from the North or South side of Dublin?

Audio Task 4:

Audio 4: What age do you think the person in this audio is? Do you think they are from the North or South side of Dublin?

Do you use the term "the Daniel Day"? Why/why not? e.g. “I better head before I miss the Daniel Day (Luas)”.

Do you use the term "scaldy"? Why/why not? e.g. “We live in a gaff on the North Side. The area is a bit scaldy”

Do you use the term "scarlet"? Why/why not? e.g "Scarlet for your ma"

Do you use the term "morto"? Why/why not? e.g "Totes morto. I'd never show my face again"

Do you use the term "mid"? e.g. “That band's latest release was mid. Their old album was so much better”.

Do you think the term "mid" is a part of Irish-English slang? Why/why not?

Do you use the term "lowkey"? e.g. “I’m low-key sad that he canceled our date”

Do you think the term "lowkey" is a part of Irish-English slang? Why/why not?

Do you use the term vibe"? e.g. “Pullin up to Dublin for the first time tomorrow, what spot has the best vibes?”

Do you think the term vibe" is a part of Irish-English slang? Why/why not?

Do you use the term "suss"? e.g. “A vape and sweet shop combined. Is that a bit suss?”

Do you think the term "suss" is a part of Irish-English slang? Why/why not?

MAPPING TASK

Different areas of Dublin are sometimes associated with particular slang expressions. Looking at the map, place the words where you most commonly associate hearing them.

You can just write the relevant numbers (1-5) on the map.

1. THICK - e.g. “See, I'm thick. This never occurred to me”

2. MELT -e.g. “There are some absolute melts complaining in the Facebook group”

3. THE NECK - e.g. “Who do you think are sending me messages like that? The neck of you saying that to me”

4. LEDGE -e.g.“I love him, he’s an absolute ledge”

5. ROYSH - e.g. Meaning "Right".

Press X to clear the map if you make any mistakes.

MAPPING TASK 2

Are there any slang terms you would associate with different areas of Dublin that weren't listed here? Please fill them in on the map below.

If you are unable to use the map, please type the slang terms and locations you associate them with here instead (i.e. north/south side or a specific neighbourhood):

Do you think Irish-English speakers today sound differently/speak differently than older generations? Why/why not?

Which slang term for “kiss” would you be more inclined to use?

AUDIO TASK: Which of these speakers sounds the most Irish to you - A or B? What made you choose this option?

Audio A

Audio B

Which of these speakers sounds the most Irish to you - C or D? What made you choose this option?

Audio D

Which of these speakers sounds the most Irish to you - E or F? What made you choose this option?

Audio E

Audio F

Slang Usage in Dublin

Participant Information Leaflet

Section 1: Participant Information

Section 2: Use of Dublin Slang