How the Irish Speak English: A Conversation with T. P. Dolan

Abstract

Professor T. P. Dolan is a lexicographer and regular contributor to programs on Irish radio and television, who has made the term Hiberno-English widely known in Irish society. He has thus been hugely influential in making the Irish more aware of the features that make their English different from other Englishes. Hiberno-English is nowadays very much a sign of identity for many, a form of English that sets the Irish apart from other native speakers of English. Professor Dolan is also the director of www.hiberno-english.com, which is, as he describes it ‘a living museum’ or ‘living laboratory of HE vocabulary and syntax’, where people from all over the world can log questions about the English of Ireland.