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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Bi-dialectual children ;)

21 replies

Levanna · 12/05/2004 23:24

Has anyone else come across this? My DH and I have totally different accents and use different dialects in our speech.
My DD speaks to DH and his family in 'Mancunian', and to me in a mixture of 'southern england with a lilt of irish' (sounds like a dodgy cocktail!)
I often notice even when in the same room, she will address her mancunian family in mancunian, and me in my accent. She highlighted the differences in our speech the other day when I said to her "Are you 'happei'" rather than 'happy' as she's used to me speaking. She pulled me up on it, and said "No mummy, say happy not happei"!
She's 2 BTW .

OP posts:

tiamaria · 12/05/2004 23:40

Levanna - My children are bi-lingual, speaking Welsh to dh and English to me. My dd has picked up the habit of speaking in a heavy accent that is local to dh's place of birth whenever we're there or the family come to visit! I can't bear it! Her usual accent (which I can't detect as I'm far too close to her to hear it) is much nicer. My original accent was quite strong but I've lost most of it, and she doesn't now copy it when we visit there as I've told her that we'll get lynched! She did ask "Why do people down here talk so funny?" once when we were visiting. Luckily I shushed her up! She's 9 years btw.

jampot · 13/05/2004 00:02

My friend does this (she's 39 though btw) heavy scottish when her family are around and "no accent" when she's around her dh, kids, local friends etc. I found it really weird when I first heard it.

KateandtheGirls · 13/05/2004 01:10

About a year ago my 4 year old realised that I talk differently to everyone else she knows (I'm English, living in the US). Now she totally overemphasises in her american accent those words that she hears me say differently. Impossible to demonstrate via the computer keyboard, but words like water, she really strings out: "waaaaddderrrrr". I find it hilarious.

expatkat · 13/05/2004 02:04

Me, too KateandtheGirls, but I'm the opposite of you: American living in England. "Wawtah" versus "Waaaaadddeeerrr" is exactly what I'd point to first. My son does both, getting used to the latter when we're in the States for prolonged periods, and then back to the former. I think this isn't unusual for this generation of kids, Levanna. But funny as heck.

KateandtheGirls · 13/05/2004 12:58

We'll be in England for 9 weeks over the summer visiting my family. I'm interested to see if there's any change in her accent, or if it's already strongly established.

I'm sure I'll come home with a strong English accent though!

dinosaur · 13/05/2004 12:59

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Angeliz · 13/05/2004 13:02

I'm from the North of England but lived away for years so don't have a strong accent and dp is from Northern Ireland. When dd is with her cousins she speaks quite broad Northern, but the other day she said,"where's my wendy house i've been waiting 15 YEEYAAS"(Strong Irish), and had me in fits

(especially as she's only 3!!!!)

Fennel · 13/05/2004 13:05

dd1, 4, also has a strong Mancunian accent at school and a "normal" (only joking..) middle class Southern accent at home (DP and I are from the South). I can hear her practising in bed, saying things first one way then the other.

teabag · 13/05/2004 13:07

My ds 2yrs has picked a very 'geordie' soungin 'no' after visiting relatives at christmas. Please to say he is very southern/cockney when saying 'better' and 'water' which my husband gringes at

dottee · 13/05/2004 13:28

Ayup! We came over to S. Yorks in Nov. 91 from my ds's birth-town of Rochdale. He's now 10 and when he goes back to his dad's family at weekend, they joke they need a translator. A bit like Arthur Scargill meeting Lisa Stansfield!

frogs · 13/05/2004 14:32

My dd1 and ds can speak fluent 'Ackney.

suedonim · 13/05/2004 15:24

We're English, living in Scotland. My boys used a Scottish accent at school sometimes, but never at home. Ds1 has lived in LA for two years but has no trace of an accent whatsoever. I always know when a friend in London has been visiting her family in Yorkshire, as she reverts to a Yorkshire accent from her everyday Estuary English.

SofiaAmes · 13/05/2004 22:08

I'm american, my dh is from hartlepool, we live in london and the kids childminder is irish. Ds (3.5) seems to have a mixture of all of the above. The strongest is irish (as he spends all day with her), but he does do switchovers for us: "tomayto" for me and "tomahto" for dh.

popsycal · 13/05/2004 22:13

we live in the north east and ds - 21 months - is most defintiely geordie - some of his words, especially no and cow, are very distinctive, Although he does say afew things with DH's north yorkshire twang - book (buck) being one of them

Original poster

Levanna · 13/05/2004 23:00

This is really entertaining - not least of all 'cause I can now imagine how you all sound .
SofiaAmes, that's exactly the sort of 'switchover' I mean. I've certainly come across older children that do it 'conciously' i.e. in school vs out of school, or in front of parents vs in front of friends, I hadn't realised though that recognition of differing accents occurs so early on . Clever little things .

OP posts:

ANNIE1 · 13/05/2004 23:15

My mum and dad had/have really strong foreign accents, both different, and my sister and I speak like we belong on Eastenders. My DH has N Irish accent but both DD's have southern accents nor do they seem remotely aware that me and DH speak differently.

kizzie · 14/05/2004 10:20

We live 'down south' - but Im from 'up North'. My 2 ds both have lovely southern accents except when they say 'bath' (not barth) 'laff', glass (not glars) and 'newcastle'. Much to my delight and DH's disgust!
Kizziex

Bron · 14/05/2004 10:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

marialuisa · 14/05/2004 11:12

I'm a bit of a mish-mash, primarily toned-down RP now with a few Northern sounds chucked in, but sentence structure is pure South Wales as are my expressions and accent when speaking to friends from that area, or even if I've just been watching a TV programme with welsh accents on it.

DD is mostly bland but is gradually picking up the local twang at school (which locals assure me in completely different from a Liverpudlian accent, although I'm not convinced!)

Piffleoffagus · 14/05/2004 11:18

my dh when on the phone to his mum and dad (they are rotherham we are in Hants)
he adopts a very northern deepening and his language changes entirely!
Also does it with his mates.... My ds had a telephone voice sort of change too at times.
But 2 is pretty cute to be doing it!!!

KatieMac · 14/05/2004 21:33

I'm a very vague scouser and my dh is jamaican and we live in Norfolk.....So DD says jamaican words and phrases in a norfolk accent and then throws in lots of northern bits like bath

Poor child doesn't know whether she is coming or going as my dad is insisting on her 'learning' "proper" scouse and Patois (jamaican) along with helping her develop her norfolk accent!!

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