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Original poster

Child's accent

123 replies

thatstheviewfromhere · 22/05/2023 00:27

Just moved from down south to way up north where the accent is very broad. 8 year old currently speaks in a posh southern accent - will that stay the same or will their accent change over time? I know nobody can say for sure, but fun to know other people's experiences!

OP posts:
Lasouthpaw · 22/05/2023 07:18

We did this when I was 4. My accent changed more than my older siblings but I found I spoke 1 way at home (my parents are not from the north) and slightly more northern at school.

I was always considered the posh one however and my northern accent dropped off when I went to uni and didn't come back.

NB - I am saying 'northern' as a general accent so as not to disclose the actual region I lived in, not because I think of the north as one homogeneous place!

Dwightlovesmichael · 22/05/2023 07:26

Moved form the SE to the midlands with a very strong local accent when DD was 6. She is now
9 and still speaks with a slightly posh SE accent like me. Not a hint of the local accent.

Dh is from this area originally, so he has the accent but not as broad as he changed it when it was holding him back at work. Dh hates the accent and would correct her immediately of she even had a hint of it. And he wouldn’t stand for her using any of local dialect.

I moved from the SE to a Northern town at the age of 2, lived there until I was 11 and never picked up the accent, not even slightly. I spoke like my parents, they too always corrected me if I ever had a hint of it.

JMSA · 22/05/2023 07:29

@Dwightlovesmichael

I can't imagine correcting my child in that way Shock

MargaretThursday · 22/05/2023 07:30

My parents were from south. We lived in the north all our life.
I was the only one who got a northern accent, and that was a deliberate decision because I was being bullied for being "posh". (so were my siblings, but they didn't change)
Anyway I now am down south but when I go back I change without thinking.
The rest of my family are still up north-with southern accents.

Aftertheraindrops · 22/05/2023 07:31

We are Southerners that live in the North and DS was born here. He speaks with a Southern accent with the very occasional word that has a slight indication but hardly noticeable.

I worked in higher education for many years and had students attend from all over the country and overseas and many did not have a strong local accent from the area they grew up in at all.

Fifthtimelucky · 22/05/2023 07:32

I'd say it will depend on the reaction of his new friends.

I know someone who moved at about 12 from Lancashire to the south east. Everyone at his new school made fun of his accent. He dropped it. On frequent visits back to his old home, his old friends made fun of his new accent.

He often used to describe himself as bilingual.

brunettemic · 22/05/2023 07:32

At a guess it’ll be a blend, most likely her current accent with a twang and local phrases and words…

Nightytwine · 22/05/2023 07:34

I moved aged 7 to Wales and changed mine very quickly, due to bullying for sounding "posh".

StopStartStop · 22/05/2023 07:34

Lamda Speech and Drama courses/exams, if there's a problem.
Your child will code-switch naturally.

Nightytwine · 22/05/2023 07:35

JMSA · 22/05/2023 07:29

@Dwightlovesmichael

I can't imagine correcting my child in that way Shock

Agreed. She needs to fit in with her peers.

Dwightlovesmichael · 22/05/2023 07:36

JMSA · 22/05/2023 07:29

@Dwightlovesmichael

I can't imagine correcting my child in that way Shock

Why not?

Dh had an awful time when he left this area and was passed over for work mainly due to his accent. It’s an accent which has long been taken then piss out of.

Before I met dh, my friends husband was also from this area. He is one of the top research scientists in his field, and was still automatically treated like he was thick when people first met him, just because of his accent.

Dh feels shit that our poor circumstances and life choices meant we didn’t have much choice but to move back here, he doesn’t want dd held back like he was because of the accent.

CockSpadget · 22/05/2023 07:37

Fifthtimelucky · 22/05/2023 07:32

I'd say it will depend on the reaction of his new friends.

I know someone who moved at about 12 from Lancashire to the south east. Everyone at his new school made fun of his accent. He dropped it. On frequent visits back to his old home, his old friends made fun of his new accent.

He often used to describe himself as bilingual.

Definitely. I moved from wales to Yorkshire when I was 7. Was teased mercilessly for my welsh accent, and managed to get rid of it pretty quick. I now sound more Yorkshire than most people born and raised here.

Dwightlovesmichael · 22/05/2023 07:38

Nightytwine · 22/05/2023 07:35

Agreed. She needs to fit in with her peers.

Show quote history

She is extremely popular and well liked.

Not adopting strong black country accent isn’t going to ruin her life.

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 22/05/2023 07:38

@Dwightlovesmichael

I'm guessing you're on about Brummie. I'm a scouser and I love the Brummie accent. I hate the way it gets bullied unnecessarily.

Random789 · 22/05/2023 07:40

I was pregnant with DS2 when I moved from the south to the north east, and DS1 was three. Neither developed a north east accent, which is a bit sad in a way because the accents up here are so lovely.

Their classrooms always had a sprinkling of other children with southern/RP accents, which probably had an effect. I guess it meant that,subconsciously, they were perceiving the southern accent as something normal, not a weird at-home thing.

MadeInChorley · 22/05/2023 07:42

Definitely they will change. BiL moved from a town in the West Midlands to the Scottish Highlands age 13. He doesn’t sounds like he’s from the Black Country now! My DCs went from sounding like a pair of Cockney sparrows to middle of the road Scottish accents in about 2 years.

Elisheva · 22/05/2023 07:42

I moved from Birmingham to Essex when I was 6. Apparently my accent lasted about 2 weeks. I’m obviously very suggestible 🤔

Random789 · 22/05/2023 07:42

Oh, and I'm not aware thay they were ever teased. I know I have often felt a bit self-conscious and slightly worried about my accent, fearful that others would see it a 'posh', but if my sons were worried at all, they never shared it with me. I suspect that any teasing was minor.

Leapintothelightning · 22/05/2023 07:42

I have a friend who moved to NZ at 15 (30s now). He has a strange hybrid accent but it is very noticeably kiwi. When he comes for a visit he sounds more Scottish the longer he stays, it's so strange!

Dwightlovesmichael · 22/05/2023 07:42

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 22/05/2023 07:38

@Dwightlovesmichael

I'm guessing you're on about Brummie. I'm a scouser and I love the Brummie accent. I hate the way it gets bullied unnecessarily.

Close! Black country so even stronger.

Dh feels the way he feels due to experience. Dd is really confident, popular with everyone, just wonderful.

Dh was held back when he was younger and his accent was stronger. He worked really hard to really tone it down to be taken seriously. Still sometimes when he gets a work call, he will sometimes have the person on the other end think they have the wrong person when they detect the accent.

He doesn’t want that for dd.

Only 18 months until we leave now anyway.

gogohmm · 22/05/2023 07:44

Moved at 8 Dd1 kept her accent (mine) dd2 was 6 and got the local accent which was how her dad spoke anyway. One child said Barth, the other bath if you get my drift

JMSA · 22/05/2023 07:47

@Dwightlovesmichael

With my adult head on, I can understand it. But it's an odd message to give to a child. If you don't want them to pick up the local accent, don't move there! To have your parents pick apart the way you speak isn't terribly nice, in my opinion.

HoliOrangeBlossom · 22/05/2023 07:48

Overheard my DS (9) chatting away to his new friend who doesn't speak much English the other day. He was unconsciously sounding a bit Spanish 🤣

SallyWD · 22/05/2023 07:48

We moved from the south to Yorkshire when our children were little, ten years ago. Their southern accents gradually changed. I wouldn't say they have broad Yorkshire accents but there's a hint of Yorkshire when they talk. They both say the short "a" sound in words like bath, grass, fast etc whereas I'd pronounce them "barth" and "farst". They occasionally say "oopstairs" for "upstairs". So they don't have full Yorkshire accents but they're definitely a little Yorkshire. I love it!

Dwightlovesmichael · 22/05/2023 07:50

JMSA · 22/05/2023 07:47

@Dwightlovesmichael

With my adult head on, I can understand it. But it's an odd message to give to a child. If you don't want them to pick up the local accent, don't move there! To have your parents pick apart the way you speak isn't terribly nice, in my opinion.

There are ways of doing it without making a child feel shit.

You can have conversations with your child.

My parents corrected me sometimes. I am not scarred by it! It was never done in a nasty way.