Do you think your child's accent will help or hinder them?

Question

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

Answer 1

Well as long as they speak clearly that is all that should matter - my boys all have Yorkshire accents and I am proud of it and so do my grandsons but television speak and so on does creep in sometimes so they have to come to me to learn how to speak properly again!
"Queen's English"??? - no thank you - she sounds awful!
Ah - it's good to be back putting the world to rights on Y!A again rather than haviing to deal with Family issues only!
Best wishes,
Joan.

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

Well we live in Wales so I guess my son (only 1 so not talking yet!) will have a Welsh accent like me. I can't see it would hinder him. In fact his will probably be stronger than mine as we're now living up the valleys where people have quite strong accents and I'm from Newport where they are not as strong. Newport accent is pretty horrible actually (think Maggot from "Goldie Lookin Chain"!). I used to make a concious effort to try and train mine out and people sometimes tell me I don't sound Welsh anymore, lol!

I can just imagine my little lad being a typical Valleys boy and calling everyone "Mun" and "But". Eeek that will do my head in!

My partner has a London accent and I think that has hindered him a little since he moved down to Wales. He gets a lot of anti-English abuse and also seems not to do so well in job interviews and I'm wondering if its his accent. I think he gets stereotyped as a "bi' of a Geezah!"

Answer 4

I think as long as your child is well mannered and able to string a sentance together then it should not matter what accent they have.
I have a degree and I am considered by a lot of people to be thick as a brick with accent what can I say one well spoken Brummie here and daughter off to uni next year so no it does not hinder it is other people's preconcieved ideas.
Never hindered me or my family

Answer 5

It has the ability to do both.

Ever notice how the sexy guys always have an accent!

But on a more serious note, being different isn't a bad thing. My cousin was burnt badly as a small child. His burns start from his shoulder to his thighs. They are really bad.

His mother was worried about how this would effect him i.e. being different.

When he turned sixteen he was allowed to have skin grafts to fix these burns and replace the nipple that he lost. He refused!!!!

The burns didn't bother him. In all the anxiety that his mother had, she never asked him about how he felt. He said that it had never bothered him and that the kids in class thought that he was so brave to have thoughs scars.

And all the girls though that he was so attractive because of it.

Answer 6

I believe accents sadly cause discrimination. I ahve no problem with accents, however, I have seen individuals treated unfairly especially if they're hard to understand. People get easily frustrated and often think the person with the heavy, hard to understand accent is dumb.

So, for the reason above, I believe heavy accents hinder a person.

Answer 7

Neither. I think it is more important to learn your native language well, along with proper grammar and its rules. Accents can be so easily relearned, forgotten and retaught. I've had friends born and raised in the South who eventually moved north and shortly acquired a northern accent.

Look at Madonna. Living in London has "suddenly" given her a British accent. I guarantee she wasn't born with the accent she carries around today! Lol Accents can be quite superficial and relatively quickly modified if necessary (it's not like learning a foreign language).

Answer 8

I asked this yesterday Sparkles, it must be the avators we're thinking the same! PMSL

Personally I'm proud of where I come from, and I want my kids to be proud of that as well, so I think it's important to keep your own accent or local dialect, however I also think it's important for kids to be able to talk properly especially when it comes to interviews etc, hopefully my kids will strike a decent balance between the two!

Answer 9

If it is a rather strong accent, like Geordie for instance, then in a job where he will have to meet foreigners, it would definitely be a disadvantage. Most foreigners learn Oxford English and expect everyone in England to speak as they have learnt. When confronted with a strong accent, they are lost.

Answer 10

Hinder..because i was born with a really diff talking voice...i talk extremely slow...the last word of every sentence i say drags on for like A REALLY LONG TIME...its not something i picked up from anyone i was just born with it..and i was made fun of till like well all my life...people still feel the need to mention it...and im 23...i was made fun of alot my whole life...and it got really old...so def hinder...if its a accent thats diff from other kids.

Answer 11

I think people can be judged in life by their accents. certain accents make people sound a "bit thick" and others are seen as posh and therefore educated. I know its nonsence really, but those stereotypes do exist whether we like them or not.

I quite like my accent which is a mixture of several places but definately has a northern twang. my sons were born in east lancashire and i hate the accent, we have moved now and one of the things i love is they are losing the accent slightly. I dont particuarly want them to have a very broad accent, and i want them to speak nicely as i think it will help them in later life.

for those who have said rubbish question.....they are wrong, it is a worthy news item and my son had pointed it out to me last night as im always making him pronounce things properly.