Elocution lessons - anyone done it?

[NotAnOtter]

I am not joking. My dd is interested in speech therapy and we thought it could help - and benefit her in life according to press reports.
I am in the north of england - any advice or pointers welcome

are they ever used to change regional accents?

how horrid!

imagine if we all spoke the same, how boring it would be.

if we all came from dudley

I've never considered elocution lessons, but I still find it odd how DD and DS have "northern" accents because of where they have grown up. I am estuary/RP and DW is Midlands. Still can't quite get used to it.

DS's nursery is near DW's work rather than home, so about 30 miles north, and he came home from nursery once saying "I got some MOOD on me shooooo!" DD is very confused about the "a" sound (in bath, grass etc.) and will do a long one around me and a short one around mummy - ever the diplomat! I think the only thing she's got from school which we have actively asked her not to say (so far) is "right good".

Where the hell is Dudley?

DD1 has a beautiful Edinbugh accent. Her voice is as gentle as a babbling brook in Spring and I wouldn't change it for all the world.

How sad, in an island w/such a rich history and culture, that people might even consider altering their very own voice into something that sounds as flat and vapid as a mill pond in mid-summer.

I'm in Dudley at the minute NotanOtter! If my dd had a Midlands accent, I would certainly try to change it. She developed a pretty strong accent whilst she was a nursery, but thankfully lost it when she changed school.

Having said that, there are other accents that I think are fabulous!

my daughter is confused also unquiet ...lives in the north with a northern mum who uses long a - southern dad with a short a - and 4 brothers -poor lamb!

Where's Dudley?!

Oh you most certainly wouldn't say that if you heard the local accent where I grew up Expat. I think the point is degrees of accent, I have a distinctive accent, it is just not very strong. Nobody could mistake me for an English person, I definitely have an Irish accent, it's just not flat and broad.

I'm American, Carmen, we like regional accents. Even New York ones .

Ah yes Expat, I remember the time I went to the US and some of the people I met were definitely dissappointed that my accent wasn't stronger, it was like I wasn't quite Irish enough for them

People like 'em there, Carmenere, even ones from other regions in the US.

There's no, 'Oh, he talks like a Midlands person, must be a chav.'

On the other hand, let's not get hung up on accent. There's accent and there's lazy speech - not necessarily connected. Some people from Kent, where I grew up, have that horrible twangy, nasal sound which is far worse than anything I've heard up here.

On the other hand, I love hearing Arfur Smith, because he takes care over his choice of words and obviously loves language - his accent doesn't affect that. And Simon Armitage, the poet, has a quite strong West Yorks accent and it's mesmerising - hearing him read his poems out loud really brings them to life. Kirsty Young has the sexiest Scottish accent I've ever heard. Etc.

I think as well that the way you use language is important - eg Ray Winstone is very eloquent, however, still has a very broad London accent. Fab voice though!!

expat, Dudley is in the West Midlands.

When I was in the US nobody believed I was British - to the extent that several people tried speaking German to me.

expat dudley is near stafford. had a earth temor a few years back.