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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think you shouldn't correct an accent?

139 replies

Catsu · 14/06/2011 21:20

Am disagreeing with dh over this.
We moved just before ds2 was born. Where we now live there is a regional accent different to how dh and I speak.
Ds2 is 3.5 yrs and is starting to pronounce words the local way. Dh keeps correcting him. I keep telling dh not to correct him.
Ds2 was born here, will grow up here and why wouldn't he speak with the local accent??

What do you think? Aibu or is dh?

OP posts:
CurrySpice · 14/06/2011 21:41

Oblomov - what difference does it make?

Trills · 14/06/2011 21:41

Accents - fine to teach your child to speak as you speak, they'll drop their haitches at school anyway.

Handedness - seriously? Shock

pumpernickel10 · 14/06/2011 21:42

I'm a black country lass if someone tries to correct me I give them my evil stare. I live in Devon now and they are always correcting me. Fecking idiots!

tyler80 · 14/06/2011 21:43

My mum made sure we didn't grow up with local accents. It worked for the most part, I have a fairly neutral accent albeit with short vowel sounds (bath not barth) so definitely northern.

She would correct my schoolfriends too Blush

It's rubbed off on me a bit. Even now I have to catch myself to stop correcting colleagues who says things like "Can you borrow me a pen?"

downbutnotout · 14/06/2011 21:44

My sister has moved to Northern Ireland from England and her ds was supplied with a list of spelling words from school with the "aw" sound that included tall, walk, august and.....doll! If you interfere with their accent, you might have trouble at school, so no, YANBU!

WorzselMummage · 14/06/2011 21:44

Do you say Buz though Pumpernickel ?

GabbyLoggon · 14/06/2011 21:49

caTSU...DIFFICULT SUBJECT.. Broadcaserst with a strong accent will tend to go posh if they want to broadcast na.tionally...Privately? well I have poshed up a bit from mum and dad,,

Twowillbefine · 14/06/2011 21:49

I'd say it's difficult to fight the inevitable. Your kids will almost certainly end up talking like the people all around them although it may be tempered by your own accents.

We live in London. DS1 (4.7 - just started talking) currently has a northern accent as he's picked it up mainly from me. But he knows there are different ways of saying things so he says "grass" and "grarse", "bath" and "barth" and, hilariously, "Pants and more Parnts". I expect the southern will take over eventually.. :(

.. note to self - must move back north immediately!

loiner45 · 14/06/2011 21:50

I really wish I'd had the courage to correct my dcs accents and teach that bath and path do NOT have an 'r' in them so should under no circumstances be pronounced barth and parth! The correct Northern pronunciation is so much nicer on the ears too - but unfortunately we are in the affluent south and everyone around them is using the same incorrect pronunciation and weird accents :(

CurrySpice · 14/06/2011 21:52

I'm from Sedgley and I say "bus" with an ss sound at the end. The "u" is more or less U-like depending where I am!

WorzselMummage · 14/06/2011 21:53

baaaaaarrrrth

CurrySpice · 14/06/2011 21:54

The one word that southerners always find hilarious is my pronunciation of "tooth"

I say "tuth" with a U sound like in luck, not an oo sound like in moon

I cannot bring myself to say "toooooooooth" - it sounds wanky when I say it! :o

Trills · 14/06/2011 21:54

It's not fucking B ar th

It's B ah th

As in "the doctor says say aaah"

livetolaugh · 14/06/2011 21:55

I'm more shocked about your DH trying to change using the left hand to the right.

Trills · 14/06/2011 21:55

I know someone who says tongue like tong (as in tongs for picking things up while cooking). What accent is that, or is it just her being weird?

WorzselMummage · 14/06/2011 21:55

Course it's b ar th!

worraliberty · 14/06/2011 21:55

I love the Suffolk 'boike' it was the first thing I noticed about my friend's child when she moved there!

No, I wouldn't correct an accent but I would correct grammar.

Kids need to know what's right and wrong. Once they're older (teens) they can talk how they please as far as I'm concerned...as long has they know how to talk properly when the time/place arises.

WorzselMummage · 14/06/2011 21:57

Dh says Tuth. I can cope with that though Grin

WowOoo · 14/06/2011 21:57

I correct laziness but then do it myself.

We love doing accents. Ds1 does a classic dodgy Jamaican (the way he does the accent I mean, not Jamaicans)

I try to tell ds1 there are certain situations where you can relax and other situations where he must SPEAK PROPERLY and clearly in order to be understood.

Trills · 14/06/2011 21:59

That's not what the machine man in your link said - he said B ah th

WorzselMummage · 14/06/2011 21:59

No, He didn't.

redwineformethanks · 14/06/2011 22:02

I'm in a minority here but I think it's usually an advantage to be reasonably well spoken so in your shoes I probably would try to encourage your child to speak without a strong accent

Trills · 14/06/2011 22:04

I'm glad you agree.

CurrySpice · 14/06/2011 22:06

redwineformethanks what does "reasonably well spoken" mean? A home counties accent?

emmanumber3 · 14/06/2011 22:10

I do sort of do that Blush. Where we live there is a faint midlands-ish accent but nothing too strong. I wouldn't correct the DC's for having that accent but when they go to visit DH's family approx. 20 miles away and come back with words such as "bal - ooo - un" for balloon or "tuth" for tooth, "beeth" for beef etc. then I do correct them. I just can't stand the accent Blush.