Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

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

Flip

Original poster

We moved to Scotland. Will the children's accents change soon or ever?

23 replies

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 18:14

We moved in July.

DS1 is 5 and started school in August.
He's begun to roll his R's a bit after a day at school, but still sounds very BBC and well spoken.

DS2 is 2 and able to talk in lovely long sentences, but his accent is a bit non-descript.

DH is essex. I am scottish but don't have a strong accent due to not living in scotland for 10 years. We've been living in Devon for the last 6 years.

So, will the kids get scottish accents?
If they do change how long does it take?
How will it change?

i'm not pushing for a change, i love how they talk, just interested whether it will and how?

Any experience?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Hulababy · 14/10/2009 18:19

My aunt and uncle moved to Aberdeen when their DS was about 3 or 4 IIRR, def before school started. He is a teenager now and has a scottish accent. TBH it started to change quite quickly especally after he started school.

Libra · 14/10/2009 18:22

We moved to Aberdeenshire when DS1 was one. He has a Scottish accent, but it is certainly not as strong as his friends' because neither DH or I have that accent.
He sounds much more Scottish on the telephone!

muggglewump · 14/10/2009 18:22

My nephew moved to Surrey when he was 6, and now, at 10, you'd never know he was born in Scotland.
No idea how long it took though as I don't see him very often.

muggglewump · 14/10/2009 18:23

Libra, my DD was born here, and doesn't have as strong an accent as her friends presumably as I am English.

alarkaspree · 14/10/2009 18:26

I think it depends on the child. I moved to the US last year when dd was 4 and ds was 2. Now dd can speak in a perfect NY accent, or a perfect British accent, depending on who she's talking to. Ds has a mostly-british-but-slightly-hybrid accent.

I went to school in London and when I was about 13 a brother and sister moved to our school from Newcastle. The brother still had his geordie accent by the time we left school, the sister lost hers within about six months.

Libra · 14/10/2009 18:26

Mugglewump, well interestingly DS2 was also born here, but has a much stronger accent.

I also think that this can be linked to the fact that, unlike DS1 who went to the university nursery and therefore mixed with children from all over the world until going to school, DS2 went to the local playgroup and mixed exclusively with children with the same accent.

inthesticks · 14/10/2009 18:28

My friend spent a year in Canada when her children were young. They came back with strong Canadian accents but very quickly lost them again.

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 18:36

Strangely his cousins here in Scotland are developing an english accent around him.

What's that about?

OP posts:

pointyhat · 14/10/2009 18:49

Whereabouts in Scotland? That is rather crucial.

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 18:51

OP posts:

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 18:52

"It does exist, just nobody knows it here"

OP posts:

Podrick · 14/10/2009 18:54

Is it true that posh scots folk have english accents or is it rumour?

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 18:57

Well there is lots of different scottish accents, with lots of variations in between.

I don't have a strong accent but neither am I posh.

OP posts:

UndeadLentil · 14/10/2009 19:03

We moved to the west of Ireland over 2 years ago. While DS was in playgroup, and I was still his main form of company, he kept an English accent (though mine is one of those dodgy second generation hybrid disasters).

About two thirds of his way through his first year at school he started trying out a Cork accent, and after we had a chat about it, and I said it was ok to sound like his friends if he wanted, he has embarked on a full-on conversion.

So there was definitely a measure of choice involved and a bit of identity politics (as there was for the boy who kept his Geordie accent.

DS now overcorrects and adds 'r' to every word going. The result is that he sounds half-Irish and half-Devon ...

DD1 sounds like Lola from 'Charlie and Lola' for no reason we can fathom. With moments of Wigan in tribute to her dad.

I think the need to fit in at that age is very strong and so his accent might well travel over the next year or two.

It is quite odd to hear your child's voice being so different to your own.

pointyhat · 14/10/2009 19:05

Depends on:

a) if you live in an area where the vast majority have a noticeable scottish accent and there is likely to be a fair amount of ribbing of those who do not, hence desire to fit in

b) the individual child, as some will adopt a scottish accent very quickly and some never will. No rhyme nore reaosn

Kerrymumbles · 14/10/2009 19:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 19:30

I've taken some video of him recently just chatting to the camera about nothing in particular.

I'm interested in how/if it changes.

The most noticeable words to change have been car, are, far, four, more, fire. But these words are not scottish all of the time.

OP posts:

FlappyTheBat · 14/10/2009 19:34

dd1 was born in London but we moved back home when she was still a baby. Have been back home for 3 years now.

Dh is english, I'm from Edinburgh but have been told that I don't have a particularly strong scottish accent.

dd1 doesn't speak with a scottish accent and sounds quite english, but then dh says people from edinburgh all speak with english accents anyway

GentleOtter · 14/10/2009 19:34

Get them to say 'Auchtermuchty' and the like. Feed them tablet washed down with Irn Bru. Their accents will soon be broad.

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 19:35

So you think rotten teeth might be what sparks a change?

OP posts:

Original poster

DungeonButter · 14/10/2009 22:28

bump

OP posts:

jasper · 14/10/2009 22:32

some posh Scottish folk have English accents, yes

Fennel · 14/10/2009 22:33

My 5 and 4 year old took a year or so to totally lose their (strong) Manchester accents when we moved to Devon. They still have the occasional bit of Manc accent 4 years on, but we do go back quite a bit.

Their Devon accents are much weaker than the Manc ones were. the youngest who was under 2 when we moved just started talking with a Devon accent, her accent is stronger.

I feel a bit sad about their lost Manchester accents as though a bit of them got lost, even though I don't have one and nor does DP, it seemed an integral part of their early childhood which is lost.

Flip