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Can anyone explain what has happened to my daughters pronunciation? This is going to sound weird!

5 replies

alabasterangel · 27/01/2013 12:10

I don't know how to explain this, it's probably going to sound a bit weird.

My dd is 3, 4 next week. Yesterday morning she started ending 90% of her sentences with a really pronounced inflection. It's come from nowhere, it's really bizarre. I've tried to ask her why she is talking 'differently' but she says she had a sore throat and its changed her voice (??!!!!! - no sore throat as far as I know!). When I ask her to repeat something, it's almost like she struggles not to do it.

I sat with her this morning to 'test' it a bit, and read the gruffalo. She knows it off by heart; I start the sentence, she finishes. She did that 'normally' - no inflection. Then at the end of the book I asked her what she thought happens next, and straight away the inflection is back, like.... 'Its the gruffalos child? She's in the cave? Snowing? We read it last night mum?' Etc. and no, she's not saying those things AS questions, that's how the inflection makes it sound though.

I'm obviously aware children are susceptible to absorbing influences around them, but this is just random, if it had come from tv or something she had heard at school, surely it wouldn't have started on a normal Saturday morning at home. It's so odd, and she can't seem to stop doing it. Sounds like she's come back from a year in Australia!

I'm not sure how to react to it (to be honest, it's really grating, sorry!) and I don't know if I should be pulling her up on it constantly or just ignoring it and hoping it goes as quickly as it came.

Anyone got any ideas why she's doing it? Or what I should be doing about it? Very odd!!!

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QuietNinjaTardis · 27/01/2013 12:18

I don't know but I would be inclined to ignore it and see if it went away once she wasn't getting attention for it. My niece started pronouncing my name with an annoying extra syllable and once I started to ignore it she stopped doing it. If it doesn't go away then I would say gp.
I would hazard a guess that she is doing it to wind you up though.

alabasterangel · 27/01/2013 12:21

I did wonder. It's just that she seems to find it hard to repeat whatever she's said without doing it, she has to re-order the words in the sentence somehow.

I can't think it's something neurological or physical, I suspect she has just got a moderate reaction and now she's on a roll.

Considering she is such a chatterbox, it's starting to drive us all a bit loopy!

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LegArmpits · 27/01/2013 12:23

My DD did this for a while! Came out of nowhere, stopped just as quickly. Was very Australian Grin

NotInMyDay · 27/01/2013 12:23

My DD does this. It's like the Australian way of the voice rising at the end of a sentence and it sounds like a question.
IMO I think that children like to 'try out' different voices and catchphrases etc. I think it could damage confidence to make a big deal if it. Ignore it.
I ONLY correct what I find really unacceptable and just continue to set a good example with pronunciation and vocabulary. ATM DD has a beautiful turn of phrase and a bonkers accent. Grin

alabasterangel · 27/01/2013 12:39

Thank you all.

I did ponder, because we don't live in an area now that we are 'from' and therefore our accents and pronunciation sound very different from those around us...maybe that has something to do with it. I am told I have a very 'posh' accent - I don't think I do whatsoever, but I was brought up in the south and do say glarss intead of glass and barth instead of bath and that is different from where we live now, and the accent our dd is experiencing at nursery school and around her local friends. So I wouldn't be at all surprised, or irritated, if she starts to pronounce certain words differently to us, as this area is now where she lives and will inevitably pick it up.

For example dd already says she 'fastens' her coat. I pronounce it 'farsten' IYKWIM?! Fair enough, she was born here and will go to school here and everyone else around her pronounces it a certain way so hey-ho, it's to be expected.

However this infection thing is not part of our local accent here, whatsoever.... If we lived in Melbourne, maybe, but this is just bizarre sounding!!

I shall do my best to ignore, and see what happens!

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