Accents and children

[leigh2209]

I hesitate to post this message as I know it's a subject that elicits strong opinions but I would really welcome your views and any advice people might have.

My wife and I are currently raising our 2 year old daughter here and I'm really worried that our daughter will pick up a Leeds accent. I quite like accents but to be completely honest, I really dislike the Yorkshire accent!

I was born in the North but have moved around all my life and am told I speak without an accent. My wife is not from the UK and English isn't her first language. She speaks English beautifully though and has a subtle and charming accent. I'd really like my daughter to 'speak nicely' too but don't see how this is realistically possible if we stay here! I'm afraid we can't afford to send her to a private school. What can we do apart from move before she gets much older? Elocution lessons? Any ideas?

My main goals as a parent are that my daughter grows up a kind, considerate person and that she's happy. How she speaks is of no real importance but I would like to raise my daughter to speak lovely clear English without a strong accent.

I agree with PP in that you pick up accents from your peers. My DM was born and raised in North Wales, but has never had a a Welsh accent, as her school friends were from English families (that had moved to the area). She learnt Welsh as did her sister, but DM spoke with an English accent and her DSIS with a very Welsh accent.

What do you mean by "it makes you who you are"?

You can speak lovely, clear, grammatical English and still have a friendly warm accent like the Leeds one.

You could live down south where we are and your daughter could pick up "I fink" and the glottal stop very easily. My daughters haven't, and that's because we spoke clear, grammatical English with them (albeit with Derby and Yorkshire accents)

I agree with PP in that you pick up accents from your peers

Not necessarily. My DD is Lancashire born and bred, her nanny was local, her school friends were - yet her accent is mostly from Southern-raised DH and me. Maybe it depends how much you talk with and read to your kids?

I have some experience here.

I was bought up in Lancashire with parents who were from the south.
I, and my siblings, all had southern accents.
When I got to about year 5, I started to be bullied because of my accent. Started with calling me "posh" (and no, this was never meant to be a compliment) and extended from there.

I went to a different secondary to most of my peers, so I changed my accent deliberately over the summer holidays. So I had a slight northern pronunciation.
I'm now down south, and occasionally get asked if I'm from up north-it's more obvious when I've just been up there. And I can put the accent on still, although it's more instinctive now-if I'm talking to someone with a northern accent then I will find I've started to use it again.
My siblings who still are up north and like to say how northern they are, still have southern accents.

I'd say it's less likely they will pick up a full Leeds accent, although they may try to adapt as I did.

Maybe it depends how much you talk with and read to your kids?

That's why my daughter has a local accent, I haven't spoken to her for 2 years 🙄

I did public speaking classes & competitions from 11yrs onwards which also involved some elocution lessons as well.
The competitions and exams (LAMDA) were quite scary at times but I was good at it and certainly gained in confidence.
It also means that work presentations and meetings don't hold much fear for me.
Maybe you could look into this - it would iron out any perceived blips in their accents and stand them in good stead for future work experience.