why do some English speakers end their words by adding “a” or “o” like in the song “whiskey In The Jar-o” or when some one yells “shut up-a”?

Question

As a non native English speaker, I find it so difficult to grasp.

In: 0

Answer 1

“Whiskey in the Jar” is supposedly an old Irish drinking song, several hundred years old (yes I know what you’re thinking — *all* Irish songs are drinking songs — but let’s not go there). And often songs (especially those that start from other languages) have to use non-standard pronunciation or add in some extra sounds to make it rhyme or fit the beat.

Historically, every time period has its own slang that was popular for a while. Some of this slang sticks around, and some of it doesn’t. Adding an “oh” sound to the ends of words dates back to at least the 1940s. They thought it was cool back then. You might say “Hey there, daddy-o.” More recently, you’ve got “Valley Girl”. This is basically a parody of how teenage girls in Southern California would speak in the 90s. “Like, I don’t know-uuuuhhh, like, what you think-uhhh, you’re like… doing? That’s not coolio.”