Brogue

Abstract: "Brogue" is a dialectical pronunciation or accent that seeks to represent the particularities of Irish speech. The term derives from the Irish word bróg meaning "shoe," and can also refer to a coarsely made leather shoe. Its usage has historically been burdened by colonial and class prejudices, embedded with anxieties about national identity and hybridity. Frequently associated with hackneyed representations of English as spoken by the Irish, and generally deployed by outsiders to Ireland to reinforce broader stereotypes of Irish identity, brogue offers a means to track perceptions of Irish English from the sixteenth century to the present day.