Throughout this website there are snippets of sound files illustrating particular phonetic issues. In the present module a number of text files are offered which consists of much longer stretches of speech, usually about 1½ - 2 minutes. The informants all read a standard (fictitious) text which I offered to them when doing recordings. This is the passage:

Getting ready for their holidays Michael and Maura had been planning to go to Italy for a long time now. First they were thinking of going in July but decided that it would be too hot. They also realised that there’re too many tourists around then. Instead they thought they'd travel at a quieter time, like early spring, so they booked their flight for March. The travel agency was able to fix up a nice apartment for them to stay in. This meant they could drive around during the day and not be tied to mealtimes in a hotel. The plane was to fly from Dublin to Rome and the idea was that someone on the other side was to pick them up and take them to the apartment. Maura wanted to go for a whole month, but Michael thought a fortnight was enough. After all, he said, they could always come again if they liked it. Maura was thinking she might learn some Italian. It was a soft language she said, it sounded like music, and she worked out that she could do an hour every morning, listening to tapes and that would help her get used to the sound of Italian. When Michael asked why she bought the book and the tapes she explained: ‘You can’t expect all the locals to speak English and anyway a bit of the language always comes in handy when you’re trying to read road signs or make sense of a menu or looking at the label on a bottle of wine’. Michael agreed it was a good idea and said he might try and pick up a word or two himself.

  Local Dublin speaker from North Side of city

  Non-local Dublin speaker from South Side of city

  Local speaker from Co. Kerry, south-west of Ireland

  Local rural speaker from Co. Antrim, north-east of Ulster (Northern Ireland)