Angela’s Ashes: Dialect 3 key examples

A distinctive feature of the book is McCourt’s use of Limerickian English speech patterns. Although there are moments where characters speak Irish, they mostly communicate in Irish-accented English. McCourt represents this by choosing different or unusual spellings and word orders. For example, Frank as a child thinks a dog he saw disemboweled in the street died because it “had blood,” which he repeats several times. Later in the novel, the reader learns that the word “boy” in a Limerick accent sounds like the standard English pronunciation of the word “by.” The author uses this and other Limerick-tinted spellings in many instances where a character from Limerick speaks directly to Frank.

Depending on where he and his family are living, McCourt’s writing might contain elements of New York, Northern Irish, and Limerick speech patterns, proverbs, and slang. As the destitute family moves from New York back to Ireland, the dialogue between McCourt and his young siblings mirrors their geographical transition. They leave America sounding like American "Yanks" to their Irish counterparts, but soon begin to sound like Limerick children to anyone who’s listening. Characters in Limerick also regularly remark on Malachy McCourt’s Northern Irish accent and speech patterns as a way of pointing out that he’s an outsider. In return, Malachy Sr. himself criticizes people with strong Limerick accents, making fun of Ab Sheehan's very regionally specific way of saying "oush of ish" instead of "out of it." Communities are delineated by the regionality of their accents in the Ireland of Angela’s Ashes, and remain so from beginning to end.

The tenement building that the McCourts live in houses many other first-generation immigrant families, though not all of them are Irish. The Leibowitzes are a Jewish family, and McCourt’s transliteration of Mrs. Leibowitz’s Yiddish- or Hebrew-influenced speech patterns reflects this. The narrator shows the differences between her speech and his by recording her as saying “zat” for “that” and “hoztipal” for “hospital.” To Mrs. Leibowitz, the McCourts probably have an accent that is just as strong and noticeable, but Frank doesn't hear it because it's all he knows. Her speech also contains grammatical idiosyncrasies which come from speaking English as a second language, as when she tells Frankie and Malachy to “have piece cake.” This nonstandard English also adds realism to the story, allowing readers to “hear” Mrs. Leibowitz’s distinctively “Chewish” way of speaking as part of the texture of tenement life in Brooklyn.

There’s no specific meaning to the word “och,” which is the Scottish and Northern Irish version of the English word “oh.” It is essentially an empty vocalization, one that’s often used to convey a vague sense of acknowledgment or resignation. The word “och” is part of Malachy Sr.’s Northern Irish dialect, the same accent that sets him apart from the Limerick community and causes them to shun the McCourts. Malachy Sr., in short, says “och” when he doesn’t know what else to say. This use of dialect without meaning shows his inability to articulate his feelings fully. As Angela sobs out “small bird sounds,” Malachy’s use of “och” and his beating his hands on his thighs suggests that he has no idea what to do. He does not have the language to confront the pain of losing a child or to comfort his wife.

It's important to note too that where “Och” appears in the novel more broadly, it also signals the hurdles Malachy Sr. faces as a man from Northern Ireland living in the Republic of Ireland. He is repeatedly turned down for jobs because of his accent, which affects his ability to support his family. McCourt also implies that the difference in dialect and culture between Malachy Sr. and Angela’s Limerick family is one cause of their consistent unhappiness. Angela’s family believes at least some of her misfortunes come from having married a man from the North. Her mother Margaret and sisters Philomena and Delia blame much of his bad behavior on his place of birth, and the “funny manner” they think Northern Irish people have. It’s not the accent that Malachy Sr. says “och” in that’s the issue, however, but what the “och” implies. In moments of tragedy, he always resorts to this empty phrase, passively accepting his misfortune without making an effort to change things.