Tracing our slang to Ireland

[Lanya]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/nyregion/08irish.html?em&ex=1194757200&en=ac886d77559f0709&ei=5087%0A

[Universe Prince]

What? Our pure and sacred language of English was defiled by words from another language brought to this country by immigrants from foreign lands? Say it ain't so! English changed by the influence of a foreign language? How can this be? This is horrible! Our culture and our very language has been corrupted by foreigners. But we're all still here. We're still speaking English. We haven't been converted into a land of Gaelic speaking poor. How can this be?

Oh, of course, I nearly forgot. The language adapted, and so did the people. Just like always. Whew! Thank goodness. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep up that sort of biting sarcasm.

(Wait, was I just sarcastic about my own sarcasm?)

[Amianthus]

"English doesn't borrow from other languages. It follows them into dark alleys, knocks them down and then rummages through their pockets for loose grammar!"

[Universe Prince]

I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Xavier_Onassis]

I am not surprised that so many slang expressions come from Gaelic. Many more have come from Yiddish.

It seems that more expressions come from Germanic languages than from those of other groups.

Yiddish is basically XIV Century German with tons of Hebrew (and other) words.

There are many times more people of Irish extraction in the US than live in Ireland now.

Few European countries havd been more affected by America than Ireland.

The potato came from Peru, but the potato famine fungus seems to have arrived on a ship from New Orleans than landed in Cork, then known as Queenstown.