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Original poster

AIBU to feedback to school about teachers use of glottal stops

356 replies

TalomaPaith · 04/11/2025 21:31

Children at Dcs school are split into different groups for phonics.

Parents are sometimes invited to watch lessons. I observed a lesson by a teacher using glottal stops I.e Let'er instead of letter.

Would IBU to mention this?

OP posts:
KookyPinkHare · 05/11/2025 00:36

It's a distinctive feature of Estuary English, as in the Thames Estuary, ie South East England!

Original poster
TalomaPaith · 05/11/2025 00:28

Franjipanl8r · 05/11/2025 00:21

You need to send your child to private school if you want to thrash a regional accent out of them.

A glottal stop is not an essential part of any accent in south east England

OP posts:
DrCoconut · 05/11/2025 00:21

When my mum did her teacher training apparently elocution was part of the course. The goal was as close to RP as possible for everyone as regional accents were frowned on and considered unprofessional.

Franjipanl8r · 05/11/2025 00:21

You need to send your child to private school if you want to thrash a regional accent out of them.

TartanMammy · 05/11/2025 00:17

Elisheva · 04/11/2025 23:46

Are you dyslexic?

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Rude! Both also sound the same to me, in my local accent there really is barely a difference. Or course I know they are spelt and written differently but in fast speech they are the same sound almost. Like flower and flour or blue and blew.

SeaUrchinHat · 05/11/2025 00:16

@TalomaPaith It’s not setting them up for failure though is it? I completely understand your concern but you’re placing too much importance on this. Your DC is taking in SO much information linguistically, this is only a tiny fraction of the influence. As I said before, model your ‘ideal’ at home and recognise you don’t get to control every aspect of your child’s life.

DrCoconut · 05/11/2025 00:11

TheAutumnalCrow · 04/11/2025 21:48

How DO phonics work with regional and local accents?? Always wondered that.

I think phonics are done in the accent of the person teaching them. But you still get giraffes with scarves type scenarios where the presumption of rhyming just doesn't hold and then it sounds weird.

Moveoverdarlin · 05/11/2025 00:11

This would bother me too OP. Whether I’d have the balls to bring it up with the school is another matter.

Original poster
TalomaPaith · 05/11/2025 00:05

BauhausOfEliott · 04/11/2025 23:52

Tell me you don’t understand linguistics without telling me you don’t understand linguistics.

Yes, you’d be colossally unreasonable to complain about teachers’ accents, of which glottal stops are an element. It would be like complaining about a teacher pronouncing ‘grass’ with a short A (or indeed a long one).

It would also make you look very ignorant, which I suspect is the opposite of what you want to achieve.

I'm very well versed in linguistics and take a prescriptive view when teaching. Why set children up for failure in the one place that is meant to educate them? Then they have the cheek to talk about excellence etc

OP posts:
SeaUrchinHat · 04/11/2025 23:57

OP I mean this kindly (as an ex-Biggest Pendant in the World) but just let it go. How much time does your DC spend with this teacher? Just explain about accents - surely you must be aware you can’t police every interaction your child has while they’re growing up? If it’s this important to you, model the speech/accent you prefer at home but don’t kid yourself you can have complete control. There will be bigger things to stress about in time, believe me.

BauhausOfEliott · 04/11/2025 23:54

5128gap · 04/11/2025 23:26

A person who doubts intelligence based on accent leaves no room for doubt about theirs.

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Absolutely this.

BauhausOfEliott · 04/11/2025 23:52

Tell me you don’t understand linguistics without telling me you don’t understand linguistics.

Yes, you’d be colossally unreasonable to complain about teachers’ accents, of which glottal stops are an element. It would be like complaining about a teacher pronouncing ‘grass’ with a short A (or indeed a long one).

It would also make you look very ignorant, which I suspect is the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Elisheva · 04/11/2025 23:46

G1ngerbread · 04/11/2025 23:26

Clothes and cloves are 100% the same to me. It’s boggling my mind trying to make them sound different. Luckily nobody else is awake because I must sound crazy sitting here repeating cloves/clothes

Are you dyslexic?

RedPurpleyBlue · 04/11/2025 23:28

You could mention it OP but you'd sound like a complete bellend.

I observed a mother on a train recently correcting her child after they used a glottal stop. She followed the correction with a half arsed whisper of you'll sound terribly common if you carry on doing that - which I of course assume is your worry also.

I witnessed two nearby passengers pull a face and one physically facepalm at how much of a bellend she was.

G1ngerbread · 04/11/2025 23:26

Clothes and cloves are 100% the same to me. It’s boggling my mind trying to make them sound different. Luckily nobody else is awake because I must sound crazy sitting here repeating cloves/clothes

5128gap · 04/11/2025 23:26

VeterinaryCareAssistant · 04/11/2025 22:51

I can't bear an Essex accent. Everyone just sounds so thick.

A person who doubts intelligence based on accent leaves no room for doubt about theirs.

G1ngerbread · 04/11/2025 23:24

OakleyAnnie · 04/11/2025 23:04

Appalling. My daughter’s psychology teacher used to say ‘Fred’ instead of ‘thread’ which got really confusing in a lesson about Fred and Rose West. My daughter referred to her teacher as a ‘thucking idiot’!

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I do all of the above and really don’t think I can hear the difference. This comes up a lot on here and when I say thread and Fred, they sound the same and I struggle to understand the difference. I don’t hear it when others speak either.

OakleyAnnie · 04/11/2025 23:21

Spookyspaghetti · 04/11/2025 23:14

Something like that could be a genuine lisp though. Not really necessary to take the P out of people for stuff like that. My brother was incredibly lispy and illegible to even some family members as a kid and it was really hard for him. Luckily he managed to get some speech therapy.

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No I don’t think it was. Just sloppy speech.

Did you mean illegible?

OakleyAnnie · 04/11/2025 23:21

Spookyspaghetti · 04/11/2025 23:14

Something like that could be a genuine lisp though. Not really necessary to take the P out of people for stuff like that. My brother was incredibly lispy and illegible to even some family members as a kid and it was really hard for him. Luckily he managed to get some speech therapy.

Show quote history

No I don’t think it was. Just sloppy speech.

Did you mean illegible?

OakleyAnnie · 04/11/2025 23:21

Spookyspaghetti · 04/11/2025 23:14

Something like that could be a genuine lisp though. Not really necessary to take the P out of people for stuff like that. My brother was incredibly lispy and illegible to even some family members as a kid and it was really hard for him. Luckily he managed to get some speech therapy.

Show quote history

No I don’t think it was. Just sloppy speech.

Did you mean illegible?

OakleyAnnie · 04/11/2025 23:21

Spookyspaghetti · 04/11/2025 23:14

Something like that could be a genuine lisp though. Not really necessary to take the P out of people for stuff like that. My brother was incredibly lispy and illegible to even some family members as a kid and it was really hard for him. Luckily he managed to get some speech therapy.

Show quote history

No I don’t think it was. Just sloppy speech.

Did you mean illegible?

Strangerthanfictions · 04/11/2025 23:15

Pistachiocake · 04/11/2025 21:47

I lived in Glasgow for a long time, and one side of my family are Scottish, and always found Scots would pronounce this very clearly, not missing a t sound. Which Scottish accent doesn't?

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The ones from Cornwall 🤣🤣🤣?? Also from that region and I wondered about the Scottish comment but I do know people who commonly drop their Ts, my kids have an occasional shot at it and are soon set right but I probably agree we're not the worst for it

Spookyspaghetti · 04/11/2025 23:14

OakleyAnnie · 04/11/2025 23:04

Appalling. My daughter’s psychology teacher used to say ‘Fred’ instead of ‘thread’ which got really confusing in a lesson about Fred and Rose West. My daughter referred to her teacher as a ‘thucking idiot’!

Show quote history

Something like that could be a genuine lisp though. Not really necessary to take the P out of people for stuff like that. My brother was incredibly lispy and illegible to even some family members as a kid and it was really hard for him. Luckily he managed to get some speech therapy.

Anyahyacinth · 04/11/2025 23:11

Koolandorthegang · 04/11/2025 21:45

In the words of Supernanny, “it’s naw accept-a-baw”

😆🤣🤣

Spookyspaghetti · 04/11/2025 23:10

MrsDoubtfire1 · 04/11/2025 22:20

I was taught at university when I did phonetics that the only glottal stops in the English language were to be found in the Cockney accent. So where do your glottal stops come from then?

I live in Hampshire and all the deep rooted locals (DHs family included) have a cross between a cockney accent and a west country ‘farmer’ accent. So when op says south east…