To have asked him to talk properly around DS?

[CujoOn]

DH has a strong “old Yorkshire” accent and says some words that drive me up the wall. But it matters more now as DS is starting to say these words and I don’t want him talking like this. It’s not snobby - I too have a Yorkshire accent but these words are so old fashioned that literally nobody says them anymore.

DS asked me this morning if we could go to park to feed the bods for example.

Another time he told me he’d seen Osses with dad. He’s already saying things like “I don’t right know” and “hey up”. In fact “hey up” is starting to become his greeting rather than hello. Even hi would be better. People laugh because it’s cute but when he gets to school kids can be cruel (or “wrong ‘uns” as DH would say).

I have asked DH to start talking properly and he thinks I’m being a snob. AIBU to want my kid to talk properly?

We live in quite a 'naice' rural village and the kids all speak quite plummy, as does DS, but I did really enjoy it when he picked up 'Aye up' and 'G'ut 'eck!' from his Great Grandad when he was little. So cute!

We are Midlanders but my Grandad also said Osses, watter (water, but so it rhymes with batter) and tatties for potatoes.

Colloquial language isn't something to be ashamed of, OP. The kids at school won't blink and eye and soon all you'll be hearing is skibidee Ohio rizz, which is a million times worse 😂

100% agree.

I hear English people say quite often that we have lost too many of our traditions. Language is a huge part of that.

Oh God this, in SPADES!!

I'm so sick of being called bruv or fam 🙄

You are being a snob
Hth

@CujoOn I agree with making kids speak properly!! I didnt actually know what you meant when you wrote bods!! In the kid's future, he will get a job much easier. my eldest was offered a job which involved going round with a video and mic and asking the guests questions. the owner chose her because she was the only one he could understand. she didnt want the job because it interfered with her time off work but she could have been worked there if she had wanted to!

Ouch. Your poor kids and partner

#TeamBatch

My mam had a similar obsession -- she didn't make my dad tone down his accent but she wouldn't let him use Geordie words around us. The outcome was that when I went to school everybody said I was "posh" because I didn't speak in dialect. Leave your husband alone!

Well quite! It's all a bit 'accents are fine so long as it's not obvious you're speaking with one'...

I'm from the Black Country and everyone there would understand osses. We even have a mon on the oss in Wolverhampton.

Being in a middle-class profession meant I quickly learned to code switch, just as your son will. In fact, I now cannot speak with my original (extremely broad) accent, unless I am speaking with someone else from the Black Country.

It's really sad that regional accents/dialects are dying out due to physical and social mobility - your son is keeping the old words and dialect alive.

#TeamCob

YABU.

Part of parenting involves correcting the way your children speak and anyway, they tend to end up speaking the same way as most of the community they're being raised in.

My parents had broad Southern Irish accents but none of the 5 kids they had, speak anything even resembling Irish because we grew up in England.

Although there would've been times where you could've detected it as we were growing up.

Leave your husband's accent alone and try not to pick your child up too much, or they may end up reluctant to speak at all.

My Dad had a strong Derbyshire accent, I can flick in and out of it myself with ease. Im a nurse and it actually makes me job a lot easier as I can understand what the older generation are saying and build good relationships quickly as I revert into Derbyshire dialect. Everyone laughs at my posh phone voice and as soon as it's someone I know, I flick into Derbyshire mode 'ay up me duck!'

Your son will be fine, he will just be calling you bro and fam anyway 😂

I'm a 60yr old woman, born and bred in the E.Mids. I frequently say "Hey up" 😮

That’s so cute, I hope you’ve bought him a little flat cap! DS went through a phase of talking Yorkshire when he was about 6… we’re from Lancashire… 🤷‍♀️.

You're not going to win this argument here OP but for what it's worth people do judge others by their accent. I'm not saying it's right but certainly I wouldn't encourage my child to use dialect words if I could help it.

But you will find that your child's accent will vary over time depending on who they spend most time with. When mine was at nursery they almost developed the accent of the staff there and since starting school they've changed again.

Tho i agree bog is grim.

I'm from Lancashire and would have got a clip round the ear if I'd said bog

I'm from east Lancashire. Haven't lived there in 30 plus years yet people think I've got a Yorkshire accent 😂 can be difficult to tell the difference

I have a strong West country accent, I'm doing ok. You're son sounds adorable. Get him a little flat cap and let him crack on.

My children are completely trilingual-Yorkshire, Estuary Kent and Posh! My dd has a party trick where she can read aloud and morph seamlessly from accent to accent. It’s worth hearing.

This isn't really the accent, as in the way words sound when pronounced, but that dialect, as in the actually words and grammar choices.

You're not unreasonable or snobbish to want to teach DS the standard words so he is capable of using them.

He's not saying "osses", he's saying "horses" with an accent. It's not a different word FFS.

I grew up in Cheshire and the school toilets were always called 'the bogs'.

The same with "bod", it's still bird, just pronounced differently.

I realise I'm old enough to be your mum but we were taught to speak "properly" or more accurately formally, at school. People spoke formally outside and then dropped back into their accent at home or with friends.

Is that not a thing any longer?

Going against the grain, I do not think you are being unreasonable.

Harsh truth but accents do change some people's perception for the worse.