Accent wars

[Argggghhneedclarity]

I'm originally from the South of England, but have lived in the north for 20 years now. I have a bit of a mixed up accent but nothing major. I still say the 'ah' sound in grass, path, castle etc most of the time. DH comments a lot on this and has said a couple of times that DS (3) will get bullied for saying 'grahss'. I would obviously hate for DS to be bullied, so have started becoming more conscious of my 'ah'ing...
However, I know some people that have grown up in the north of England and still speak with an old- style bbc accent.
And DS might be more bothered by DH picking up on and scrutinizing my accent and DS's.
Am I being unreasonable to just carry on talking how I talk? It's not a strong accent.

I find accents fascinating. People who have moved, say from South to North often sound northern to southerners and southern to northerners. There are also far more local accents than many believe. Travel from Sheffield to Skipton and there are at least 5 different Yorkshire accents/dialects that can be heard in just 60 miles if you listen carefully.

Your son will have the accent of the place he lives in.
Point out to him all the children of immigrants who don't have their parents accents.

My DF was from north Scotland and called trousers 'trousers'. DM was from central Scotland. She called trousers 'troosers'.

My DB when young compensated by calling them toodeloos

I grew up in north scotland, moved to central scotland in my teens and couldn't understand a word anyone said!!
To me it's a 'dog', to them a 'dug'. To me it's 'cold', to them its 'baltic'
After much piss taking I asked fellow classmates to help me speak more 'local'. Apparently my 'a' sounded like 'o' and I was confusing them

I thought ALL people in the UK say grAHss? If your son said gr-ASS he'd be more likely to be bullied for sounding like a yank. I thought it was only the Americans that say grass as in gr-ass? I've watched a few BBC programmes and they all say grahss, clahss, larst, etc? Admittedly I am Australian (and we also say grahss, clahss, larst, caRn't) so I don't know the nuances of the regional accents there, but I have yet to see or hear ANYONE from Great Britain who pronounces words like the Americans. Why would you want to adopt an American accent?

@Timekeeper2

I thought ALL people in the UK say grAHss? If your son said gr-ASS he'd be more likely to be bullied for sounding like a yank. I thought it was only the Americans that say grass as in gr-ass? I've watched a few BBC programmes and they all say grahss, clahss, larst, etc? Admittedly I am Australian (and we also say grahss, clahss, larst, caRn't) so I don't know the nuances of the regional accents there, but I have yet to see or hear ANYONE from Great Britain who pronounces words like the Americans. Why would you want to adopt an American accent?

Try watching Coronation Street or Emmerdale. British northern accents aren't well represented on the BBC. We are definitely not trying to adopt an American accent.....

@Gobbycop

I'm from the South of England living in North East Scotland, Doric country.

My accent is definitely changing like ya ken 😂

Ya ken?

Erm, that's not Durham. That's Scottish.

@Immigrantsong

OP don't ever change anything. Never.

I have lived in this country (the north) for 21 years and still get abuse for my accent but fuck them all.

My accent is part of me and my culture and they can shove their bullying where the sun doesn't shine.

Where do you live in the North that you get abuse for your accent. Literally never come across this. 😂😂

Don’t worry. We live in Greater Manchester and feel a bit “foreign” round here- dh and I both have very neutral accents having spent several years down south. Everyone else round here speaks with a distinct local twang. I think they think we speak “posh”.

DCs spoke like us to begin with but at nursery/school picked up the local accent. They’ve actually started speaking a bit more like us in lockdown but I fully expect them to go back into speaking “local” when they go back to school. Young children won’t get bullied for this, older children might but if you’ve grown up in the area the kids will speak like the other kids. I’d probably rather mine didn’t have the specific local accent if I’m honest but the most important thing is the kids fit in fine despite having “foreign” parents.

I am northern, born and bred. I’m 57. I went to boarding school in Hertfordshire aged 10, in 1973. I learned within one week to “be Southern” to fit in and stop people calling me Hilda Ogden (Coronation Street).

Times have changed. Though actually, not that much. Northerners are still often perceived as lower class, as soon as they open their mouths.

Let your child have a mix of accent. That’s what I’d advise.

Is your DH seriously asking you to pretend to speak in a different way to normal? He wants you to put on an accent and act for the rest of your life.

Sorry, but that’s ridiculous!

Im from Fife in Scotland but live in Cumbria. I still have my accent although i thinks its softer now. My cumbrian DH says my accent usually gets stronger after a day or 2 back home. Im pregnant with our first so it will be interesting to see if it copies my accent.
Skyliner001: Gobbycop didn't mention Durham in her post. Doric is northern Scottish

@Skyliner001
Gobbycop
I'm from the South of England living in North East Scotland, Doric country

My accent is definitely changing like ya ken😂

Ya ken?

Erm, that's not Durham. That's Scottish

Yes, exactly as she said.

I have a very slight Welsh accent that becomes stronger on certain words, and if I'm angry or speaking on the phone to my family in Wales neither of my children have picked up my accent - we live in south London and they speak like their dad and his family; children tend to pick up the accent of their school friends too :)

My youngest children were born in London. The only people they had regular contact with were from the north east. They had north easy accents right up until starting school. They now have north east accents as we live back up here now but the oldest has hints of his previous accent sometimes.
The problem here is your husband asking you to speak differently. Anyone who asked me to change how I spoke would be told to haddaway and shite!

Your kids will just pick the local accent from other kids. Then make fun of your accent

Both our (primary school aged) DS have an odd way to pronounce vowels (almost every long vowel sound they say contains hints of the full a,e,i,o,u set!). Me and DH are not from the area were we currently live. It's a very local accent, probably picked at nursery/school. We find it hilarious/delightful
And no one is getting picked on.

I'm from the South of England living in North East Scotland, Doric country

My accent is definitely changing like ya ken😂

Ya ken? Erm, that's not Durham.

@Skyliner001 Criticism fail 😂😂😂

We live in Leicester and my 2 year old is so obsessed with Fireman Sam he's developing a Welsh accent 😂

I'd ignore your DH, I have a Leicester accent that I'm perfectly happy with and have no desire to change. My DH is also Leicester born and bred but has a much more neutral accent and criticises my stronger accent. I just tell him to piss off and leave me alone

It’s always been a bit of a joke on the Archers that David and Ruth’s children, Midlands raised and educated all speak RP and have not a trace of a Midlands accent. And that Pat Archer used to have a strong Welsh accent but now sounds Surrey born and bred.

I’m what could be considered a Cockney (by people that dont understand the geography), my accent has mellowed over time but it’s still obvious. We live somewhere that could be considered posh and my kids have an RP accent exactly the same as everybody around here and definitely nothing like me. PPs are right, you’re husband is wrong and in any case, grahs or grass, your child should always know and be proud of his heritage.

Don't worry about it OP. A friend down here in the very far south has a mixed accent household and when the DC were little they mimicked her Northern accent for some words (toast, boat, no, bath, grass) but that soon fell away when they started school.

Ive been away from the North almost 20 years and while my accent has softened a lot I can't see myself ever changing the hard A or elongated O sounds in some words, even if I did want to! Trying to make Barth or Glarss sound natural is like speaking another language to me.

@Ispywithmycynicaleye

I'm from the South of England living in North East Scotland, Doric country

My accent is definitely changing like ya ken😂

Ya ken? Erm, that's not Durham.

@Skyliner001 Criticism fail 😂😂😂

😂😂😂😂 Love it.

[quote EatsShootsAndRuns]@Skyliner001
Gobbycop
I'm from the South of England living in North East Scotland, Doric country

My accent is definitely changing like ya ken😂

Ya ken?

Erm, that's not Durham. That's Scottish

Yes, exactly as she said. [/quote]
Love this so much 😂😂😂😂