Alexa has come a long way since 2014. Advanced algorithms are being used that can separate out the accent, language, and vocal identity of anyone speaking.
This has allowed developers to expand on Alexa’s default American accent—creating an Irish one that is even familiar with popular phrases and expressions.
Alexa’s Irish accent
Since 2023, Alexa has been able to speak with an Irish accent—a task that initially posed a challenge to developers who had a smaller dataset to work with and speech-mapping rules to overwrite.
They used a combination of acoustic signatures, visualisations of sample recordings, and crossover rules from American and British accent models to create an Irish accent for Alexa. But would it stand up to scrutiny from real locals?
The team asked reviewers to compare Alexa’s Irish accent to recordings of four different Irish English speakers, one of whom was the ‘source’ speaker—the one who provided the original accented speech to the development team.
These reviewers thought that Alexa’s Irish accent approximated the “average” one about as well as the original source speaker did.
This means that Alexa can speak in an Irish accent recognisable to a wide variety of speakers.
How to set up Alexa with an Irish accent
Want to hear Alexa’s Irish accent for yourself? Follow the steps below.
On Echo devices:
- Ensure your Echo is updated by saying "Alexa, do you have any updates?"
- Go to the Alexa app on your smartphone and navigate to the device you’d like to speak in an Irish accent
- Click on ‘Settings’ on the top-right
- Scroll to ‘Languages’
- Select ‘Irish-English (Public Preview)’
On Echo Show devices:
- Swipe down on your Echo Show home screen
- Click on ‘Settings’
- Scroll down and tap ‘Device Options’
- Scroll down and tap on ‘Check Software Updates’
- Continue updating your Echo Show’s’ software until it says ‘No updates found’
- Return to ‘Device Options’
- Scroll up to ‘Device Language’
- Tap on ‘Primary Language’ and select ‘Irish-English (Public Preview)’
Alexa’s Irish phrases
Alexa is now able to use Irish phrases too, learning Ireland’s top 20 most popular expressions (which were identified by new research conducted by Amazon amongst Irish people). Whether you’re asking “how’s things?”, calling someone an “eejit” (with affection, of course), or announcing “the craic was 90” after a great night out, Alexa is now ready to join the conversation like a true Irish local.
Watch comedian and Irish national treasure Aisling Bea have some good craic with Alexa in the video below:
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And check out the full list of expressions below, all of which Alexa can now use:
1. It’s grand
2. What’s the craic?
3. Ah sure, it’ll be grand
4. Thanks a mill
5. What’s the story
6. Fair play to ye
7. Sound
8. Eejit
9. How’s things
10. You know yerself
11. That’s gas
12. Sláinte
13. Yer man
14. C’mere to me
15. Who’s yer man / yer woman
16. Adding “ah” before a sentence
17. Giving out
18. Flat out
19. The craic was 90
20. Good man yerself
How to hear Alexa use Irish sayings
Simply ask: “Alexa, teach me some ‘Irish’ sayings?”
You’ll then be treated to Ireland’s best-loved expressions and their full definitions, read back in the dulcet tones of Alexa’s Irish accent.
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