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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

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69 replies

Carrotsandcelery · 11/01/2011 12:57

I was out for coffee with a crowd of mums from the local area.
Many many people have moved to this area from other areas, all over the world, due to the oil industry in this area.
From the group I was with I was the only one born and raised in the area and there was only one other Scottish mum in the group. The majority of the rest were English or from abroad.
I class these mums as good friends of mine and I enjoy their company.

However I had no idea what to say when they began a discussion about accents and how they pray their children will not adopt a local accent.
I have a local accent!
Am I being over sensitive (I didn't say a word btw) or is that incredibly rude?

OP posts:

BreconBeBuggered · 11/01/2011 13:46

My Scottish dad used to tie himself in knots trying to get us to rrrroll our 'r's properly, but failed miserably as we were being brought up in South Wales.

I'm now mentally readjusting the pronunciation of Getorf's username to incorporate Devon rather than Gloucester.

NoCarpForMe · 11/01/2011 13:46

for those upset about their children sounding different to them - I was brought up in Glasgow by english parents, who both have cut glass RP. I definitely have a glaswegian twang when I'm with old school friends or in the city centre shopping, but otherwise have pretty much RP now - as do my 3 siblings. When we were younger, we all had pretty strong scottish accents, now, not so much (but I do occasionally tell DS to hauld his wheesht when he's making a racket :o) I'm not looking forward to him sounding all Essex when he is older though :(

for the aberdeeners, are you Stuart MacBride fans? I'm reading one of his books at the moment and there's some beautiful language in it!!

washngo · 11/01/2011 13:46

I am also from Aberdeenshire and personally think the local accent up there is lovely (maybe I'm biased but who cares..). One side of my family is English the other Scottish so I have a stronger accent depending on who I talk to (don't mean to but can't seem to help it). I think it gives me a bit of variety! Personally I don't care what someones voice sounds like, it's the things they say that makes me decide if I like them or not...

bumperella · 11/01/2011 13:50

Nope, that's very rude.
The only accent I really cannot abide is that of my sis -she moved to USA and developed a truely awful accent - she sounds like Bill and Ben (of flower-pot-men fame). It's neither a US nor a UK accent. Fortunately her child has a US accent and not hers! I wouldn't dream of telling her any of that though.

larus · 11/01/2011 13:51

YANBU but there is a lot of snobbery about accents. Personally, I like them (well most of them ) but its not for everyone.

I grew up in the Manchester area but lost my accent after a few years living down south, and still quite miss it - it was part of who I am. I was a bit when after mentioning this to MIL she replied 'what a good job too'!! She is home counties and thinks everyone should speak with that accent. We live in Devon and she is going to be even more when she realises her grandchildren are developing local accents .

complexnumber · 11/01/2011 14:09

If they are from all over the world then at some stage their kids are going to have to be back home or another international environment and need to fit back in. Maybe the parents are worried about their kids being teased.

We work overseas, moving every few years and I am tired of people in the UK saying of DD1, Oooh, doesn't she have an American accent! I suppose this is what what you sound like when everyone in your class is from different countries, a bit like 200 years of American history compressed into one term.

FiveOrangePips · 11/01/2011 14:18

It is part of their life, where they live, picking up a local accent doesn't have to be a bad thing. I had a friend in Glasgow who was French, I loved hearing him speak English with a Scottish accent, using Scottish words, it was lovely.

monkeyflippers · 11/01/2011 14:19

I'd have made a joke about it pointing out your local accent. They would have then realised and been embarrassed.

Ormirian · 11/01/2011 14:19

Very rude indeed. And remarkably narrow-minded.

Megatron · 11/01/2011 14:54

YANBU, that's rude. I have a Scottish accent and my children have English accents as they have always lived in England. The difference has never bothered me but it did piss me off when someone said 'I bet you're relieved that they don't sound like you'. Thanks!

StewieGriffinsMom · 11/01/2011 15:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DurhamDurham · 11/01/2011 15:10

I'm from Durham but had both my girls whilst living in Bucks. My husband is from Hereford. We're now living in a village near Durham. I sound Northern but with a helping of Southern. 17 year old sounds v Southern and 13 year old sounds more Northern than me!

I do find it strange that people come up to me and say "Your 17 year old is very posh"....just because she has a different accent.

Moulesfrites · 11/01/2011 15:22

I agree that it is rude and narrow minded. Snobby and prescriptive attitudes towards local accents are based on nothing but social prejudices and tastes - no accent is inherently better than another one.

I had a discussion about this with my bil over Xmas. He has an rp accent, and I am from the north east. We were discussing potential names for my dc1 and he said we would have to give it a name that didn't soundodd in Geordie, otherwise we would be condemning him or her to a life solely in the north east, and they wouldn't be able to go away to uni because people would laugh when they introduced themselves in their accent! I was astonished and pointed out that this didn't happen to me when I went to uni, but I must have gone with people who were a lot more open minded than him!

chickbean · 11/01/2011 19:31

I live in Yorkshire - for me it's not the local accent, but the really terrible grammar that is associated with it, that I don't like (and I was born here).

Last time I was in Aberdeen I was called an "English bitch" in a completely friendly conversation with a local - I was a bit taken aback, but I didn't take offense

ScotlandR · 11/01/2011 19:46

YANBU... But I imagine they mean in general "I sound posh english, it would be weird if my DCs sounded properly scottish!" rather than disliking the accent in another person - e.g. you may want to sleep with sean connery, but you don't hope to breed him.

1944girl · 11/01/2011 23:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

Carrotsandcelery · 12/01/2011 12:31

I wonder how many of us have several voices. I know I have a teaching accent, my "own" accent and my slightly more Glasgow accent when in company of folk from the Glasgow area.
My Mum is quite well spoken (raised in Scotland by and mother from London) but can switch to broad Doric in a flash in certain company. (hilarious when you are a child)

OP posts:

Sossiges · 12/01/2011 12:47

I have loads of different voices and accents depending on who I'm talking to, I'm a complete parrot. I love copying accents, someone told me it was rude but I don't mean it like that. My Mum's got a "telephone voice" which we tease her about (& she denies). BTW my SIL has a lovely Scots accent.

OTheHugeManatee · 12/01/2011 12:56

On a slightly unrelated note, when I was 7 my family lived in Germany and me and brothers went to a local school.

We were mortified by our parents' accents when they spoke German.

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