To ask what accent your kids have?

[BackDownSouth]

Just curious to hear from other families where the children are exposed to a range of different accents from birth. I’m from Manchester (have a very strong Manchester accent, like a female Liam Gallagher), my partner is from Eastern Europe, and we’ll be raising our baby in Liverpool.

Is the baby likely to pick up a mixture of me and my partner’s accent, or will they pick up the Scouse accent from nursery/school and their friends? I’d rather they picked up the local accent just for the sake of fitting in. Me and my partner both find the “Oooh, you’re not from ‘round ‘ere, are ya?” exhausting 😂

Maternity leave has me bored so I’m thinking about this a lot!

Talking about switching - have you ever seen film of John Barrowman with his parents? He immediately turns from a US star to a wee Scots laddie!

You state this as a fact, whereas it’s just one side of the argument around RP. I still maintain, as do many other people on this topic, that there is no such thing as a neutral accent. I think the notion of a neutral accent only perpetuates the awful class-based system we have in the UK.

My dc were 6 and 9 when we moved from SE England to NW 10 years ago. I have a not quite RP accent and dh similar but a bit less RP. Both dc stated very southern sounding like us. Dd remains so. Ds has only recently adopted a hint of a local accent (to fit in, I think).

Husband and I have strong regional British accents.
Kids have grown up in Australia (youngest born here).
They all sound like DH and me.

I tend to think of a neutral accent as one which makes it difficult to place where someone comes from. A friend moved around throughout his childhood (his dad was in the Armed forces) and you really can’t place him. He has a neutral accent.

I have not said that an accent is a bad thing. I did not pick up the accent from the town I grew up in.

I’m foreign but English speaking. Hubby is northern. We live in the south. Kids sound accent is southern with a few pronunciations the way I would say them. Of all the kids I know sort of like this they always sounds like the region they are brought up and not of either parent as that is what they are hearing most especially when they do to school.

Most peope code switch, my kids think it's hilarious how my accent changes as soon as I get on the phone to my Mum or my sister (but not to my brother who like me moved away). I'm Scottish but have lived in England for most of my adult life, still have a Scottish accent. The kids are teenagers and have slightly broader accents speaking to their friends than speaking to us. When they speak to us it's a more neutral accent.

ETA: they do say some farming terms in my local accent because that's the only place they hear them which is interesting.

I’m Scottish, DH is English and DS speaks with a posh English accent. No idea where he got it from

I was born in Cheshire moved to the midlands lived there for 18 yrs then off to North Yorkshire. My mum is Scottish my dad a scouser,both of my kids born in the midlands but moved when one was four and one and a half.

’Difficult to place’ accents usually mean generic Southern accents. Still doesn’t mean it’s ‘neutral.’

I’m not sure about your friend, but I’m pretty sure pp would be very easy to place as British.

Kids up to a certain age pretty much always pick up the accent of their peers, I.e the other kids at nursery or school. I think their accents easily change till they are about 7 or 8 (I read somewhere it's got to do with being able to write in a language though I forgot why). After that age their accent is unlikely to change massively.

Dh and me are from different countries (neither British) and both kids speak with the local accent. Ive seen the same with all our international friends' kids as well. No one picks up the accent of their parents

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My husband is a Yorkshireman, with a very heavy accent, I am from down south (apparently I have quite a posh accent)

Our children were a mix sometimes they sounded so Yorkshire I can barely understand them 😂 no offence meant to anyone it’s more they mumble and I swear I am going deaf

Other times they sound like me 🤷‍♀️

Since Year 5 ish (both now in secondary) I noted that they tried to speak like their friends losing the Yorkshire accent but it still comes out at home especially if they are having a chat with their dad.

Why would you term BBC English?

Nowadays that's very varied. Eg. Dropped "g". BBC eye playuh.

Sorry *what. Not why

Yes! And that reminds me of a lady I worked with years ago who spoke with the local Essex accent like everyone else. But one day I was sitting at my desk and I could hear someone talking really fast in a strong Irish accent “yes mammy, I told him…”. I turned around and I couldn’t believe it, my colleague was on the phone (obviously to her mother) but was speaking with the strongest Irish accent I’ve ever heard. I just stared at her like 😲

Our children have the local south English accent ( unfortunately!) even though DP is from overseas and I have a strong regional accent.
They use phrases we use and certain word but accent wise … BBC news readers 😅

I know EVERYONE thinks this about themselves but I genuinely don't think I or my children have accents.
Also why does everyone on Mumsnet think that everyone in the south east has a posh accent? There's a clear difference between a regular South eastern accent and a posh one? Don't get it.

We are both from the north but daughter raised in SW London and certainly has a very southern accent!

North London with 2x DS. I have a naice Berkshire British accent where I grew up, DH is from Europe and talks with an accent. Both DS talk cockney with their friends and then switch to naice British accent when talking with adults.

I remember when they said Prince Harry had an Estuary accent rather than speaking like the Queen, although now it probably has an American twang.

Why would anyone think this?

I know EVERYONE thinks this about themselves but I genuinely don't think I or my children have accents.

I genuinely don’t think most people believe they’ve no accent @Bankin. I think only people from certain areas or who have certain accents think this.

I’m also almost certain that when you speak you have an easily recognisable accent.