Accents

[lolama]

Are there any state schools in London that produce kids speaking a posh Queen's English or do only public / private school kids get that?
I really prefer it although I know it's not popular with many people. I'm an American mum in London .... apologies in advance if this offends!

I don't think any school will 'produce' a child that speaks a certain way. Surely children pick up accents much earlier than school from their family and surroundings etc.

Actually they get their accents from their school peers (and teachers reinforce it). I can say with certainty that if my child is raised in London she won't get my American accent!

As in pip pip jolly good old chap?

In London you're more likely to have your child coming home calling you fam or safe.

Well we're from Yorkshire & my DD (almost 7) sounds like Janet Street-Porter so I beg to differ that they pick accents up from peers 😳

My Irish friends kids sound like Dubliners and they've lived in Wales since birth! Is that really top of your list when looking at schools??

Your child will stick out like a sore thumb speaking Queen’s English. I think you have a very romantic idea of what RP accent is.
You are coming across terribly snobby.

The best way to get a "posher" accent is for them to sing. Seriously, my kids always had posher accents because they picked it up from me but their friends from pretty rough schools and estates now have accents different from their families and non singing peers. My kids sang from 6 in a community choir and were choristers from 8.

Btw they may pick up your accent, we lived in the us and dd1 never sounded American but her little sister did despite only the oldest being in school.

I think you’re a bit confused about the education system, social class in the UK, and accents. Wouldn’t you think it was a bit weird if a British person wanted to send their child to a particular type of US school purely so they could speak like a Boston Brahmin because they ‘preferred it’?

Children don't necessarily pick up accents from peers. I grew up in east London, and spoke much 'posher' than all my friends, my dad went to boarding school and went from cockney to RP. After being teased for being too posh I started to speak with a cockney accent, like my friends. Now, I too can switch between the two.

Hi,

Thanks for all your responses!
I never said it was a top parenting priority or the first basis on which school I select for my child! My main priorities range from the quality of the education, teaching methodologies, atmosphere of the classrooms / campus, arts and language offerings, social culture, access to green space, surrounding neighbourhood, etc etc.

That said, I don't know why she would "stick out like a sore thumb" with a posh accent if her peers have posh accents too. I don't have the cultural baggage associated with accents but my husband has a posh private school accent (and yes - for all those judging he was the poorest scholarship child in the school ... but why are people judging?)

I'd like her to sound like her daddy, but prefer sending her to a state school.

I really like the suggestion of singing! But i haven't gotten any responses to my question. In the posher areas of London do the kids in state schools talk posh?

Thanks!

Accents are hard to change, just from my experience anyway.

My kids still have a West Country accent despite only living there when they were young and DH being a Manc with me having a New Zealand accent.

However both DH and I accents have definitely mellowed as we have moved around a lot. I sort of did try try and make my accent less strong but it take a couple of years (and as an adult) and I have never got rid of it totally despite not living in NZ for nearly 20yrs.

I said “like a sire thumb” because RP English is well, received pronunciation, i.e. something you get by taking accent softening (if foreigner) or elocution (if native) lessons.

Schools don’t have that in curriculum. Also if you’re interested in choosing a school based on teaching methodologies, then you’re looking at private schools, aren’t you

Yes OP in the posher areas of London some state school kids have posher accents definitely.

Depends on their parents.

But there is a real trend to speak 'down' the social scale, wherever you're at school. Maybe there always has been.

You can tell that you're American. It really doesn't matter and you seem like a horrid snob. How nouveau riche. Is your surname Bucket?

You could try voice or drama coaching. My friend enrolled her sons, one who had a slight stutter and the other a pronounced lisp. On top of correction and a leap in confidence they eliminated the drawl the had picked up from a few years in Houston.

I'd like her to sound like her daddy, but prefer sending her to a state school

THEN GET HER DADDY TO TALK TO HER!!!

Sorry absolutley agree with every one else that point out its tje family

My mum has an irish accent because guess what her parents are irish my half brother and sister have slight lilts because my mum does. My brother and i have black country accents even though we've never lived there

Yes a certan amount is picked up from school yes but a lot is pucked up fron home.

Also yes your either have a romantic idea of what RP is or you are a snob and you want your child to stick out like jacob Rees-Mog!!

Yup, st Augustine's in Fulham will produce the accent you are talking about but you do need to be catholic!

Stop being a snob @lolama
Are you the same poster who constantly post on The Daily Mail by saying, " I am an American Woman living in London"?

Kids are very good at adapting their language and accent according to context. Currently the 'in' accent is the fax Caribbean patois - spoken by teens in the south certainly when around their mates and then they flip back (usually ) at home. Is this what you are trying to avoid? If so, don't waste your energy on it. Kids pick up what they hear around them and this starts with home. So if you are speaking with an american accent and your DP/DH with a English boarding school accent (which isn't RP as such) then your children will speak with aspects of both.

PP suggestion of getting your DP/DH to speak to your child is the best bet. 20 years ago I would have suggested plugging them into BBC Radio 4, but the accents on there are much more diverse now. Love Neil Nunes' accent!!

Haha, thanks all. "Nouveau rich" is funny - suddenly I'm Kathy Bates on the Titanic. She ended up being the kind one, didn't she? Anyway, I mean no disrespect to anyone.

I know that it's a useful skill to be able to adapt your accent effortlessly based on who you're talking to and what their social expectations are.

But I disagree with everyone saying you receive it from your parents. First generation kids from Bangladesh do not have their parents accent if they go to school in London. If we went to school in the states, my kid would have an American accent almost certainly - unless we sent her to a British school.

Kids definitely don’t get their accents from their parents. At most they get a twang. A friend of mine sent her children to a London state school. She has RP, the children all speak in thick cockney. Very cute but she gets quite upset. I wouldn’t really select a school based on accent though, their accents will likely change when they go to university anyway.

I read in some studies that kids accents get "locked" in between ages 6-14

I was speaking to a LAMDA teacher recently who said that they don’t tend to teach ‘elocution’ or ‘the Queen’s English’ anymore. They celebrate regional difference and focus on clarity and communication skills rather than accent.

If it's that important to you, I'd suggest elocution lessons.