Diary of a Gen Z Student: Yeah, no... I'm grand, I will yeah — and other quirks of Hiberno-English

It is only as I continually confuse other English speakers that I’m realising just how odd our phrasing can be

Jane Cowan in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin Photograph Moya Nolan

Some people say there is no such thing as direct translation. Because it’s not possible to wholly reproduce a language, region, dialect, historical epoch, culture, atmosphere and so on.

For example, there’s no word for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Irish. But the language functions perfectly fine without them. This is all information I know and understand.