Do you do this with your kids? Whats your opinions on people who do?

Question

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20071213/tuk-parents-discourage-local-accents-6323e80_2.html

Answer 1

i'm back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! right the prob is when i go into the local chippy and hear the kids talking they all ' spake we a dudley accents doh they ' and they don't realise how it's gonna hold 'em down ,i speak the queens english and although i am told i have a brummie accent i do have a good command of the english language ( i have a picture of the queen on the wall also) and i wouldn't change things at all, the biggest prob we have in birmingham and the black country is the london style 'ya get me doh init blood ' accent which is taking over the country as a whole i think. Have a merry xmas and happy new square sausage and potato slice !!

Answer 2

I brought up my children to speak nicely but that didn't mean I tried to change sound of the local accent. I encouraged them to ensure they clearly said the complete word and especially if it ended in a t. Also for example with the word milk never allowed them to say it as mulk which is frequently heard here. I don't think it is being snobbish but just trying to do the best for your children. Whether we like it or not in later life how you speak can really count. They are now professional people and probably would have not suceeded with interviews if they came over badly with their speech. In any walk of life (there may be just the 1 0r 2 exceptions where it doesn't matter) if it comes down to 2 people for a vacant position whether it be shop, office, factory, brain surgeon whatever. the person showing good manners which does include the way they speak is likely to gain the job.

Answer 3

I would love to know where they get these people from they survey as this is total garbage ...

Accents are not an issue and are part of a child's identity .. it gives them a sense of belonging

There is no way i would change my kids accents

My son has a surrey accent with a bit of manc thrown in and my daughter has a mixture of Geordie and manc accent and since our recent move she is now slowing picking up on the scouse tones

Accents do not affect abilities and we all have to come from somewhere

Life would be boring if we all spoke the queens english

I think people who try and change their childs accents are people with way too much time on their hands and pots of money

I think that their heads are shoved up their bottoms and they really need a reality check and i am not being funny but no doubt they have already made life somewhat difficult for their children by calling them dumb names like tarquin so they are not going to blame their choice in names so why not blame accents ?

Answer 4

I wasn't aware of my parents encouraging or discouraging any particular accent, although they did correct grammar and pronunciation. Oddly, I have a very different accent from my sister, who has a strong Derby / Notts accent. I think it is down to the groups we hung around with at school. I have a slight accent that most people put down as vaguely 'Northern' but I'm told it is very mild and for the most part I use received pronunciation.

Answer 5

In my household we have a Cockney accent,a Glasgow accent,a Donegal/London accent,a Donegal/Glasgow one and a pure Donegal accent.I like the mix.
I could ,at a pinch,agree with discouraging slang but not a regional accent.That's just being a snob.
Lulu comes from a part of Glasgow with one of the strongest accents and her cultivated accent does grind a bit.

Answer 6

In spit of opposition from my daughter and wife I discourage my Grandsons Liverpool Accent. It is not that I am ashamed of it I have a slight one myself, it just that all too often a Liverpool Accent = thick, thief and lazy. It is not true although like many major cities we have our share of that sort of person, but no more than most. Unfortunately in the job market and socially perception is all and first impressins count, so their is little point in handicapping yourself at the outset

Answer 7

Just answered Kimmys Q on this.

I'm afraid I do do it!

I have a Surrey accent, my son was born and raised in Lincolnshire. I'm always correcting him over words like...
grass, laugh, bath etc. He's accent has a real fen twang to it.

We also struggle with his reading as I pronounce certain words differently to him.
And yes I don't want him to sound like what we call a "fensider" because people automatically assume they're a bit simple, although they aren't.

Answer 8

No. I have stepkids and only part-time. I try to just go with the flow. But if I had children then I would encourage them to speak properly and without an accent. I live in the northeast of the U.S. Boston accents are horrible.

Answer 9

I've never corrected their accents which is different from mine as I'm commonly called a 'half -Taff' but the South Wales grammar needs correcting sometimes e.g. 'I'll be there ,now,in a minute' or 'I'll have one of them,please'.
My dad spoke like Alf Garnett and my step-daughter is a Wesh teacher and to her kiddies, Welsh is their 1st.language.
One of my sons-in-law looks and sounds like Peter Kay and forever 'fancying a brew'!
It's lovely (or maybe,'there's lovely') the way people develop their individuality by their regional accents
Don't change-won't change.

Answer 10

Personally speaking if I had children i'd want them to speak in their natural accent. You can tell if a kid is trying to talk in a different accent. It sounds staged & false. If parents aren't proud of their childrens accents they should move to the suburbs!