brendude13 said: Rafie said: Okay I'm going to ask a question. This isn't to offend anyone here at all. I'm just very ignorant on the subject and I see that I have live Scottsman and Irishman on this site to enlighten me. What's the difference between Scottland and Ireland? I've met people from both and they have the same accent, same last name, seems like the same mannerisms. Can someone tell me please? Countries have borders that separate them from neighbouring countries. Scotland is one country, Ireland is another country. Hope I helped.

LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland.

Rafie said: LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland.

As a southern fairy, I can tell huge differences in the accents. Ignoring the obvious geography differences, surely you would then struggle to pick out a northern english accent too, like a someone from Newcastle or Liverpool?

You could always go for stereotype, like is one wearing a Kilt and the other holding a Guiness?

To me other than accents, anyone from the British Isles are pretty similar in cultures at least.

Rafie said: brendude13 said: Countries have borders that separate them from neighbouring countries. Scotland is one country, Ireland is another country. Hope I helped. LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland.

Not really. I find that their accents are quite different, their history and culture are quite different and they're separated by sea.

The Fury said: Rafie said: LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland. As a southern fairy, I can tell huge differences in the accents. Ignoring the obvious geography differences, surely you would then struggle to pick out a northern english accent too, like a someone from Newcastle or Liverpool? You could always go for stereotype, like is one wearing a Kilt and the other holding a Guiness? To me other than accents, anyone from the British Isles are pretty similar in cultures at least.

I see.  Thank you for the explanation. Again, I was obviously quite ignorant on this and wanted to get some insight. Now I have it. I don't know anything about the stereotypes. I'm not from Europe. :) Thanks again for the quick lesson.

brendude13 said: Rafie said: brendude13 said: Countries have borders that separate them from neighbouring countries. Scotland is one country, Ireland is another country. Hope I helped. LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland. Not really. I find that their accents are quite different, their history and culture are quite different and they're separated by sea.

I hope I didn't offend you or anything. I'm from the U.S. and I was always fascinated with 2 countries that, again, "seemed" similar in a lot of ways. Of course if you're from there you would know better. That's why I asked because I didn't want to continue thinking they were somehow the same. I appreciate your answer.

Rafie said: I see.  Thank you for the explanation. Again, I was obviously quite ignorant on this and wanted to get some insight. Now I have it. I don't know anything about the stereotypes. I'm not from Europe. :) Thanks again for the quick lesson.

I personally felt my answer wasn't very good. Let's see, surname wise, there are a lot more Scottish people with a 'Mc' surname than Ireland, but the most common names in Scotland is still Smith and Brown (not Jones, they are probably English). Ireland's common surnames are Murphy or "O' " something.

An Irish person may be a fan of their own sports so Hurling or Gaelic Football. Scotland has it's own Highland Games but if meeting a Scottish person i doubt they will be tossing a caber that's pushin on the stereotype....

... don't worry about making a mistake if you accentidentily call a Scotish person Irish or visa versa, as long as you don't call them English. :P

Rafie said: brendude13 said: Rafie said: Okay I'm going to ask a question. This isn't to offend anyone here at all. I'm just very ignorant on the subject and I see that I have live Scottsman and Irishman on this site to enlighten me. What's the difference between Scottland and Ireland? I've met people from both and they have the same accent, same last name, seems like the same mannerisms. Can someone tell me please? Countries have borders that separate them from neighbouring countries. Scotland is one country, Ireland is another country. Hope I helped. LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland.

They have differences although they do have similarities in the accents and it's hard for those outside the UK to differentiate them, from what I understand long ago in history Scots and Irish were driven out of England by invading settlers after centuries of battling invaders. It's worth noting that England was a long running battle ground with different European regimes invading to take over, I know the Celtic culture came in from Europe and a number of those settlers landed in Ireland and Scotland.

The Fury said: Rafie said: I see.  Thank you for the explanation. Again, I was obviously quite ignorant on this and wanted to get some insight. Now I have it. I don't know anything about the stereotypes. I'm not from Europe. :) Thanks again for the quick lesson. I personally felt my answer wasn't very good. Let's see, surname wise, there are a lot more Scottish people with a 'Mc' surname than Ireland, but the most common names in Scotland is still Smith and Brown (not Jones, they are probably English). Ireland's common surnames are Murphy or "O' " something. An Irish person may be a fan of their own sports so Hurling or Gaelic Football. Scotland has it's own Highland Games but if meeting a Scottish person i doubt they will be tossing a caber that's pushin on the stereotype.... ... don't worry about making a mistake if you accentidentily call a Scotish person Irish or visa versa, as long as you don't call them English. :P

Hmm...interesting. I have a friend named Mike Connoly whose from Ireland, but moved here to the states 10 years ago. Then my other friend Sean McIntyre is actually from Scotland, he moved here when he turned 18. He's 31 right now. However, they both sound the same to me. Hehehe They don't know each other, but I've spoken to each of them about one another. I never really got into the whole Scotland and Ireland thing with them. I guess I could also ask them as well. I think you did pretty well with explaining a bit. Now I can go back to them and actually listen to their accents to distinguish a difference.

Rafie said: brendude13 said: Rafie said: brendude13 said: Countries have borders that separate them from neighbouring countries. Scotland is one country, Ireland is another country. Hope I helped. LOL Okay I ran into that one. I'm serious though. Both countries seem so similar that it would be hard to distinguish a someone from Scotland against someone from Ireland. Not really. I find that their accents are quite different, their history and culture are quite different and they're separated by sea. I hope I didn't offend you or anything. I'm from the U.S. and I was always fascinated with 2 countries that, again, "seemed" similar in a lot of ways. Of course if you're from there you would know better. That's why I asked because I didn't want to continue thinking they were somehow the same. I appreciate your answer.

Haha, no. It's alright, I'm not Scottish / Irish. My first comment was just a light hearted jab.

Ahhhh.....you! LOL

I wish I knew how to post pics on this site. I'm still fairly new.