AIBU / When is it dialect and when is it just wrong?

[ecuse]

We live in East London/Essex border. I'm not from here originally. My little girl (6) has an East London accent. I expect this, this is where she is from, it's fine, in fact it suits her.

But she's all with the "you woz", "we woz", "wozzn't you, mummy?". I understand she picks this up from her whole peer group. BUT. When I go into school for reading morning etc etc I realise all 4 of the teachers she has had so far say "you woz" etc.

AIBU to think that teachers should not do this? They are teaching her literacy and that's just gramatically incorrect.

I don't think I'd ever have the bottle to bring it up but AIBU to be vexed, or am I just being all Hyacinth Bucket about it? Is it legitimate dialect or is it just wrong?

hidingmystatus is spot on: not having access to formal English does result in social exclusion

but as she also recognises that doesn't mean you have to phrase it in terms of "wrong" or "incorrect"

moving to rural France and not learning French will also result in social exclusion and will probably make it difficult to get any job except the most basic

I teach in the midlands but my accent can cross three counties in one sentence, but I use standard English in the classroom and expect students to be able to. I might lapse in to broad Yorkshire to illustrate why and I also often have ESOL students who have fluent English, but it is fluent 'street' English.

I don't jump down their throats, I tend to do more, "OK you have the right idea now can you put it in the way you would write in for GCSE?"

I'm also fighting a losing battle with, "Is it like....", well no it's not like that but it actually is that.

There was a poster on here who heard a girl on the bus say (to her friend), "I got an A in English today! I ain't got no A in naffing before!"

I teach my Y2 class that it is okay to use slang or speak in a certain way when we are with our friends and family, but that we need to speak 'properly' in other situations. I tell them that the way I speak to my family would be different from the way I speak to the Head, for example.
I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, though, because the TA I work with says "You was", "I'm learning you to...", "You've wrote that wrong..." etc

I was raised to speak properly but had a lot of friends who spoke incorrectly, and I was teased for speaking 'poshly'. My OH has also rubbed off on me. I'm ashamed to say it, but I often say "You woz", and "I see it over there" (past tense, should be saw), ain't, nuffin, summin, and despite bring raised by people who speak in a nice Surrey accent, I still have the most horrid glottal stop - but my speech now sounds affected when I try to make myself pronounce the ts... I say "Harry Poh-er", Wor-uh, Par-ee... Even "Ar" for 'Art'!!!

The thing is, I know it's all incorrect as I'm saying it, but I've now lost it naturally so I have to make a real effort to speak with correct grammar and pronunciation now.

Northerners here with Northern accents. My DC grew up hearing wa'er, par'y as well as you woz. This from teachers as well as friends. I never stopped correcting them.
"There is a T in water!"
It paid off in that they eventually learned to speak correctly when appropriate, albeit with an accent.
Took years though.

ecuse, you mean "the other half and I..."

EyeHalveASpellingChequer Sat 17-Jun-17 13:45:08
"There was a poster on here who heard a girl on the bus say (to her friend), "I got an A in English today! I ain't got no A in naffing before!""

That's the kind of thing one of my dc might have said- and still got that A. If the girl had the right understanding of dialect/sociolect, it might be no stranger than her saying in English "I got an A in French".

I was moaning to DH about this today. I heard someone on the radio speaking in a northern accent and dropping half her consonants. It drives me mad.

Before anyone pounces on the fact I mentioned a northern accent, I am northern.

There's a Sky news journalist who's been doing a lot of reporting from outside No10 in the last few weeks. She doesn't pronounce the ing in her words so it's all standin' feelin' goin'

Absolutely does my head in. I knew no good would come from watching Sky News.

Is it a South London accent thing?

Lots of people where I live say 'took' instead of 'taken'. (DS keeps saying 'I've tooken') Where I grew up there was a lot of 'you was' and her used instead of she, but not by the teachers. I'd agree they should use grammatically correct language at school - it's not being snobby IMO.

There's a Sky news journalist who's been doing a lot of reporting from outside No10 in the last few weeks. She doesn't pronounce the ing in her words so it's all standin' feelin' goin'
Beth Rigby She's brilliant.
www.thedrum.com/news/2016/02/27/times-media-editor-beth-rigby-appointed-senior-political-correspondent-sky-news