Hiberno-English

Hiberno-English
Irish English
Anglo-Irish
English
Native toIreland
RegionNative: Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Diaspora: United States, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand
EthnicityIrish people
Native speakers
5+ million in the Republic of Ireland 6.8 million speakers in Ireland overall. (2012 European Commission)
275,000 L2 speakers of English in Ireland (European Commission 2012)
Early forms
Dialects
Latin (English alphabet)
Unified English Braille
Official status
Regulated by
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologiris1255
IETFen-IE

Hiberno-English or Irish English (IrE), also formerly sometimes called Anglo-Irish, is the set of dialects of English native to the island of Ireland. In both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, English is the first language in everyday use and, alongside the Irish language, one of two official languages (with Ulster Scots, in Northern Ireland, being yet another local language).

The writing standards of Irish English, such as its spelling, align with British English. But the diverse accents and some of the grammatical structures and vocabulary of Irish English are unique, including certain notably conservative phonological features and vocabulary: those that are no longer common in the dialects of England or North America. It shows significant influences from the Irish language and, in the north, the Scots language.

Phonologists today often divide Irish English into four or five overarching dialects or accents: Ulster or Northern Irish accents, Western and Southern Irish accents (like Cork accents), various Dublin accents, and a non-regional standard accent (outside of Ulster) whose features have been developing since only the last quarter of the 20th century onwards.