To be soooo irritated by step kids new accent?

[wishingonastar9]

I know I'm going to offend some people here but I'm just being honest...
My step kids (8 & 10) have recently moved to Liverpool and within weeks DSS8 has developed a full on scouse accent and I'm finding it sooooo bloody irritating!!
DSD10 isn't so bad, she just says the odd word with a bit of a twang, I can cope with that but I'm sure DSS is 'putting it on' possibly just to annoy us, surely it's not really possible to completely change accents within such a short space of time?

What I find most annoying is that DSS has even changed the words and terminology he uses.
Sometimes it even seems that he says certain things on purpose just so he can say it the scouse way.
It's not just the accent it's the way they don't say a lot of words properly, eg instead of saying ''something'' DSS now says something that sounds like ''sut'en''.

They stay with us during most school holidays so so far I've had over a week of it constantly and I want to scream...I hate it!

Admittedly I am pregnant, hormonal, stressed and very tired after running around after 4 kids for 1&1/2 weeks so I know I am more irritable than normal.
But when I look ahead 10 years down the line, I just can't imagine that there will ever be a day that I won't be annoyed by it.

And before anybody questions my own accent...I don't have much of one...yes people can probably tell what region I live in from speaking to me but it's not a strong accent. And I say words as they should be said.

I would imagine he's doing it to fit in with the other children in an effort to make friends and avoid standing out as being different rather than to annoy you

Bless him, he's just trying to adapt. I know kids can be irritating but blimey.

Of course kids can change their accents that fast. And of course he's not doing it to annoy you.

"Words as they should be said"? Get a grip!

1. Kids adopt accents to fit in so not a massive surprise. Not much you can do except ignore it
2. you "say words as the should be said"?!!!!! Hilarious. Who decides how they "should" be said? Accents are relative.

He's a child, it's a novelty. It will wear off. Ignore it and it'll be less of an issue than if you let him know it's irritating you.

I can pick up an accent in about 10 minutes. It amazes me how people can live somewhere for 30 years and not pick it up. I think that is more unusual!

YABU. It's an accent, it's not like they've come home swearing their heads off.

You're definitely BU for your comment that you 'say words as they should be said'. If they should be said a certain way then accents would not exist.

He probably is putting it on because he can see how much it winds you up. Do your blood pressure a favour, stop getting wound up about something so trivial and he'll stop putting it on so much. And perhaps try to get over the scouse accent because they both will probably continue to speak with a twang over time. and there is nothing wrong with a scouse accent at all

They just want to fit in with their new friends and not be oddities.

What a ridiculous thing to be irritated by.

I have to admit to a sense of irritation regarding adults who write "soooooo".

See how unfair that is?

Moving from Wales to England as a dc meant that my accent was considered odd by local kids who helped by correcting me. Eg
come he ere not com yur.
I was considered posh when I went back to Wales by old friends.
I would imagine they dont want to sound different from their new friends.
I correct my dcs when they use the local accent to us as it does sound lazy and slang alot of the time.

If you know something will offend people but you're going to say it anyway, you're not being 'honest' you're being offensive.

My DS had a full on accent within a week of moving. Children sometimes just really have an ear for languages and sounds and can pick up new accents very easily. I, however, cannot. By attempt at a Welsh accent today was frankly shameful

I stand by my comment about how things are said because many different accents say things differently, but still correctly.
I work with a scouse person who speaks beautifully and her accent doesn't annoy me in the slightest because she doesn't say things like 'sut'en' instead of 'something' or 'nuu'en' instead of 'nothing'.

I suppose my issue is with things not being said correctly than the actual accent.

Well if that is your real issue then YABVVVVVU and a snob to boot.

There's more than one scouse accent, I know people who say "sut'en" and people who say "something". Book and cook are other words that are said differently depending on the type of scouse being spoken.

As an (almost) scouser, I find accents from other parts of the county irritating. However that is usually only because I know people I don't like who have that particular accent. I would NEVER say anything though, that would be very rude.

Your step son is trying to fit in with his new friends, not actively trying to annoy you.

Also where we live there's a definite accent, my DH speaks with it but he speaks nicely.
Other people speak with the same accent but sound like total scallies.
My kids speak with the local accent too but if they talk in slang then they get corrected. Eg my son would probably come home saying 'summat' instead of 'something' but he gets corrected.
Accents are no excuse for not speaking properly.

Your DSS is just trying to fit in with his new class mates and friends. Just make a big pan of scouse, put the football on the telly and go shopping in your rollers and you'll fit right in too .Happy Easter from all of us in Liverpool! .

I'm a scouser I would probably sound hideously common to you op. I do speak properly just with a scouse accent

Correct them early and often. They are using nonstandard English. Poor spoken English implies for education.
Disclosure: I went to a posh girls' school where the students were constantly scolded for using the local accent. For example, in Latin class, I could and did rhyme puella with cellar, a distinct error.

Pay for them to go to a private school and also for elocution lessons. It is also worth doing speech and drama exams with them - they learn poems etc and say them aloud in the exam. You could help them learn at home.

Pourquoi is right. There are many variations of the scouse accent.

OP he is saying 'something' properly in (what I'm guessing to be) a North Liverpool accent.

When Irish people miss out 'h' ie: "what I t'ink" does that piss you off? Or when people from certain areas of London say 'aw-rye" instead of 'alright' does that piss you off?

If think you need to remove your maternity judgeypants, I don't care how comfortable they may be.

Personally I love the scouse accent! Wish I had one instead of my bland accent.

Oh and YABU!! Poor kid.

A scouse accent has never held me back in education, nor in the work place. I have seen people judging me for my accent, but it doesn't bother me at all.

Poor spoken English may imply education (incorrectly) but judging someone's accent and the foibles of pronunciation it may bring DEFINITELY implies snobbery and ignorance.