To expect dd's teacher to pronounce her 't's

[paolosgirl]

DD (8) has a newly qualified teacher this year (who looks about 12, LOL). She is in love with her, but came home shocked that Miss X says swee'har', le'er, bu'er etc (I'm forever telling DD and DS to say t when it's in a word)

Would it bug you too, or am I turning into my mother?

Totally agree, MB. Btw I think spelling etc matters at primary b/c that is the mainstay of teaching at that age. Doesn't matter at secondary - knowledge and enthusiasm are much more important.

I cannot believe how much snobbery still surrounds how people speak. Reminds me of a friend who took her child out of nursery b/c some of the children used slang.

YABU. You can reinforce good diction and the way you would like DD to speak at home, she will pick up far worse elsewhere, and exposure to different accents/ways of speaking is no bad thing.
You can use it to talk to her about how people everywhere talk differently and we at home pronounce those words like xxxx, but not everyone does etc etc
And you don't want her to become a little snob, she will come across people speaking in all sorts of ways, not necessarily BBC English and you can reinforce that what someone says is what is important, even if they don't talk like you do at home.

It's teh idea that 'impressionable young children' shouldn't be exposed to 'bad' english that gets me. Good God that makes my dh a case for Social Services!

Hang on - "in fee paying schools you get teachers who talk like you?" One of the things people in favour of fee paying schools are always telling me is that you get a huge social mix at them. Does this mean that I was right after all and that if my dcs went to private school they really would only mix with other posh little b*s like themselves?

There seems to be a bit positive discrimination creeping in here. Just because you don't have a strong regional accent, doesn't mean you're 'posh' or a snob. I was teased mercilessly at my North East comprehensive school because I didn't have a broad northern accent and some of these posts are making me feel like I'm back in the playground.

I don't think that people who lack a regional accent are snobs. I will think that they are snobs if they object to me teaching their children because I have a strong welsh (and wonderful! ) accent!

Have to say I was a teacher and most of my friends still are. I did have one friend from essex (jade goody land?) that was asked by her headteacher to pronounce her words more carefully as she was a reception teacher. She used to say 'pecific' for specific, 'wow' for whale etc. Good pronounciation helps spelling. I know this as a teacher and I know this as a parent as my son loves Tommy Zoom. The 'baddy' is called Polluto (sp?) but Tommy pronounces it as 'Pollu'oh' with no t at all. My ds then says Pollu'oh' and I correct him. His grandma is Austrian so he's used to different accents but I do feel if you are teaching young children you need to be careful of your pronounciation. (Which is not a reflection on accents )

why not look at positive things a teacher does for your children if there really aren't any then you have a reason to complain..

I think negative attitudes towards teachers are far more damaging for your children then whether they talk how you might wish

mummydoit, I was teased at school b/c my accent was more home counties than estuary. There is nothing wrong with talking 'posh' - I love listening to received pronounciation and regard it as a part of our heritage. I do object to someone being slated for not talking 'properly', just as much as I objected at school for being singled out as a 'snob' purely b/c of how I spoke.

Where I live now the local accent has been all but wiped out. In my village I know no-one under fifty who uses it. It's clearly an accent of an agricultural community and the local schools have eradicated it b/c it doesn't fit in the modern world where most locals will have to find work. And the people who speak it don't pronounce their t's.

My dcs are trilingual. They talk posh at home,Kentish at school and Yorkshire with the grandparents. They also know that they say toilet,tea and pardon at school and loo, supper and what at home. Don't stress it. Just carry on quietly pronouncing your "t's at home and your dcs will follow on.

I think that, regardless of your accent you have to be understandable. But that could cut both ways. Imagine a cut glass accent saying 'Hice' for 'house'. I'd imagine that would confuse my kids who now have east Midlands accents.

There are specific words that I pronounce that I know my pupils find difficult to 'catch'. And I write them on the board for the sake of clarity. but my accent remains the same, and the kids rather enjoy the change from listening the english accents all day. It helps to make my lessons more memorable.

And I'll turn out a generation of East midlands kids who all pronounce biological terminology with a beuatiful Welsh lilt! But the most important thing is that they know the words, and can use them in the correct context.

I agree martianbishop, you do have to be understandable. I have what one chef called (when I worked as a waitress) and 'old english accent' and another chef said it was posh. My son will have a wiltshire accent and my husband is from near manchester sow we already have the bath/barth thing in our house. BUT we speak clearly whatever our accent and I would expect a teacher to speak clearly too.

An accent can be understood by children but bad pronounciation that misses out letters cannot. Imagine a yourkshire person saying butter. They would still have the 'tt's' as would my lovely friends' husband from neath (Wales boyo!) and my friend from Belfast. Someone who just lazily says 'bu'er' cannot be clearly understood as to what they're saying let alone attempting to spell the word!

Mind you, ds(6) does have a friend called Ethan - and he wrote "Happy Birfday Efan" on his card!

Oh yes, the old 'Mary rode on a donkey to Beflehem'... every bl**dy year I had to teach Beth-le-hem. My kids were from 'fatcham' (Thatcham)

Agree. There is a vast difference between a regional accent, and simply not pronouncing words correctly. When a teacher is trying to teach 7 and 8 year olds how to spell and read I think it's important that she pronounces her t's - otherwise it can get confusing.

Most of us round here have got various scottish accents, with a healthy mix of other UK regional accents, so she's used to a whole wealth of different accents - but I think that's getting confused with just not speaking properly when you're trying to teach spelling and reading.

Sorry, still having lovely thoughts of Sean Bean as Sharpe (Yorkshire man) passing me the 'butter' for my breakfast in the morning. Lurvely x

I agree, accents are great, they make us all uniques and interesting, even tho loads of people mistake me for Irish . But a teacher needs to be understandable and if that means altering thir normal speech, so be it. I have to do the same (am now teaching foreign kids english, so need to be clear). But I can understand working all day with a class there'll be lapses.

(AT least it's only their teacher, I have to suffer the indignity of my kids picking up their dad's (imo) hideous accent, and unfortunately, one of the worst vowel sounds is included in 2 of their 3 names, so basically every times they speak it's like nails down a black board for me. Somehow, even worse than when dh himself speaks)

so I guess my verdict is YABU

Muppetgirl, Sean beab=n wouldn't be passing me the 'Bu'ur'. I'd be rubbing it all over him......

But I digress and this isn't getting the housework done!

Sean and a big pat of butter, you swine! What an image I have to carry for the rest of the day!

A couple of years ago I did a promo thing for one of my books on Radio Kent. You hear the programme down your headphones before you go on air and I was amused to hear some kids from Nawf Kent singing a carol - reminded me of how long it had been since I'd heard the accent.

"Glaw-ree-a
Glaw-ree-a
In ex-chel-siis DYYY-o!"

I remember 'Comfort ye!' as coming out as 'Come for tea' in our little Welsh Chapel!

LOL

I can't believe that I actually read your post with a welsh accent (a very bad one)..

To the OP - yes, it would bother me too. Teachers ought not to be lazy about pronounciation.

All teh ds's teachers pronunce words wrong (actually they spell them badly as well but thats a genuine annoyance...) and quite often use words in ways we don't understand. That's what happens when a braod Somerset family attends a Welsh school LOL

The cause of her speech could be anything from bad speech to a hearing problem, I wouldn't worry until you've heard it yourself- and even then, if she's kind, caringa nd considerate still not a huge issue imo.

(Oh somerset pronounces T but harshly- for example butter for us is BUT-a. I can do posh very ewll, but Dha nd my family cannot

I have an awful Potteries accent (think BB twins)but still pronounce my consonants.

My daighter does LAMDA speaking exams in broad Potteries, regional accents are fine, bad diction is not.

I think it is important to encourage good diction so you can ber understood in all aspects of life, especially in telephone based jobs.

YANBU