Parents discourage local accents?

Question

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20071213/tuk-parents-discourage-local-accents-6323e80_1.html

Do you discourage your kids from speaking in your local accent?
I don't , i'm a Geordie lass and proud of mine x

PMSL Chris,,wey ye kna wot te de,move oot of Mackem land and get ya butt back owa the watta.

Woz it ya old man on the phone te Argos?
eeeeeeeee a divin kna wot ye like x

Answer 1

My accent is a mix of north and south these days, 'cockernee' with a bit of Yorkshire
a mongrel, me

Chris, ya Argos book hurt my cat, am gonna sue ya!

Answer 2

A bit of background: We are a home educating family living in the East Midlands. My children, and others in the home educated social group, tend to speak with a south eastern accent despite being surrounded by Midlanders. I find this a little worrying, because i think it means many of them don't have enough contact with local children in schools, which is important to prevent them living in an ivory tower. However, there are also children who speak with Midlands and other accents in our group. I think it's a question of what if everyone did the same? If no-one worried about spelling, it wouldn't be important, but they do, so it is. Everyone wants what's best for their children, and it's a question of how far you're prepared to go with this, because you can send your children out there as ambassadors for your values, which is unavoidable to some extent, but there comes a point where you do end up conforming. For instance, your son might want to wear a dress, but he needs to know he's likely to get a lot of harrassment if he does, then at the other extreme some people think it's unfair for vegetarian parents to raise their own children as veggie (and would therefore consistently expect Jewish parents to raise their children as non-kosher?), so it's really a question of where you draw the line.

Answer 3

LOL, oh that is so funny, my mum is coming tomorrow and I will have to put back on my finest Hampshire for her- diluted disgustingly by having not lived there for 10 years! - 5 years in Cambridge I did ok - 5 years in South London - she's not impressed at all!

There are 2 versions of a Hampshire accent - the one my step-dad and brothers use which is almost a bit west country, and the appallingly posh accent my mother uses (as do I if I am in court for work!)

She gives me the most disapproving looks if I say anything that is remotely a Londonism (sometimes I say innit tho, just to annoy her!) - or worse any little tid bits of Jamaican slang I have picked up from my other half - but only because she doesn't understand them.

Answer 4

I'm all for local accents although I was born in Ireland and live in Norfolk-my accent is very Norfolk
I know what you mean-nothing wrong with an accent-they are great-but as there is a little bit of snobbery here and there-also I suppose if a job is using the phone then I think we have to speak quite clearly as the person on the other end may not understand it
Bit of both-good question

Answer 5

Kids have enough to worry about without parents telling them they do not have the right accent, i do not know anyone who tries to change the way their children speak, what would the world be like without a distinctive dialect to show where a person is from, (very dull i think) i love the Geordie accent it always has a cheeky playful ring to it x

Answer 6

Good question, late 60s, early 70s I bummed around Britain, did every county and loved to hear all the different accents, part of the reason I became to really like these isles. Travel to some places now, particulary the cities and those accents are heard less and less, everybody's sounding like me and that's a shame. I'm a southerner who likes a rich tapestry.

Answer 7

Well a wish that was bloody true heeya. Sick uh the mackem twang. The letter "H" does not exist in their language. Av had aboot enough of it MAN. Lerrus oot!!

And av lost me Argos book. Lol.

Giz a job owa there then and a hoose.

Steph ~ When you get your compen, you can buy a new cat. Sorry, me hubby had a bit of a temper tantrum. I am going to enter him in the Olympics for shot-putt, he is bound to break the world record.

Answer 8

An interesting question Busy bee. while I love to hear regional accents Scottish, Irish and welsh,Sometimes it pays to have a neutral speaking voice,my son works for a very big company in London he has worked hard and moved upward within the group.He has taught himself to speak the Queens English correctly and precisely he is sent all over the world representing his company if he had any trace of an accent he wouldn't have the job regardless of his qualifications or ability.I find this very sad but it's an absolute fact. Accent discrimination is alive and kicking.

Answer 9

My three sons have slightly different accents.Eldest has a Donegal /London accent(Londoner Dad),middle son has Donegal/Glasgow accent(my influence) and youngest is pure Donegal.Oddly enough when they talk to each other in Irish they all have just pure Donegal accents.
I could hardly understand a word my husband said when I met him!Nor him me.

Here's a good one for Geordies-The Geordie Whale song.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mlJNyK9F3pA

Answer 10

I live in Greater London where the local accent is to basically drop t's and h's from every word and add "innit" to the end of every sentence, and yes I do discourage my kids from talking like that!