What do you fink ?

[Sonaftersonafterson]

About seeing someone who pronounces their 'th' as an 'f'? As in, "I was firsty anyway".

Would it put you off? Hes an intelligent guy but.... oh god, I dont know. Am I being a snob??

Hell no, I couldn't deal with that. Have you spoke to him about it?

@Embroidery

This is so harsh. My first class degree educated daughter cannot say th, she says fink etc. Ive tried for years to get her to annunciate but I let it go in the end. She still speaks better than most people.

I used to worry when she was a child and I'm worried again now.

Why is society so judgmental. 😢

That must depend on who you know, I don't know anyone who says fink so while it's natural to support your child it's being a little blinkered to think that most people don't talk properly

@Ourlady

Hell no, I couldn't deal with that. Have you spoke to him about it?

😂😂😂

For 20 years I've been hearing service for surface. " I've put my cup on the kitchen service " " The road service is full of potholes " Grrrrrr.

Nope. No way. Never.

@minniemouseshouses

Yes, you are being a snob and shallow. People have accents. Typical working class accents are just as “valid” as others. Can’t even believe we are still having this discussion.

But it's not an accent is it?

I tried with my OH. He is way smarter than me, reads far more but will not speak the English language as you read in books or newspapers. When back in his childhood home he is almost unintelligible to me.
I do love him but OMG if he would only realise how he comes across to others!!
I see it as inverted snobbery and I have no chance of changing him at his age.

I couldn't bear it, OP. The free/three nonsense would put me right off. Why in other areas are we encouraged to be the best we can be, but when it comes to speech, anything goes and you get attacked if you so much as dare to hope standards might be maintained.

I don’t pronounce my H’s . ! It’s a local dialect thing. So embarrassing. I have to make a conscious effort to pronounce them. It’s probably a dialect thing. Be kind!

It's not dialect or an accent. It's lazy speech.

It wouldn't bother me in a partner, but I'm shocked that speech therapists will ignore a speech impediment just because other accents exist where that distinction isn't made. I think that's very culturally insensitive.

It’s regional.

My kids say saaank- drives me up the wall!

@minniemouseshouses

Yes, you are being a snob and shallow. People have accents. Typical working class accents are just as “valid” as others. Can’t even believe we are still having this discussion.

It’s not an accent. It is also not a regional thing. It is uneducated

@Chunkymenrock you probably have a point about it being lazy speech. However I was raised in a home where nobody pronounced their h’s. It was never picked up on in school either. . It wasn’t really until I got older and and spent time outside of my local area that I realised I didn’t pronounce them. In my case it’s a habit and it’s a difficult one to break.

@Ourlady

Hell no, I couldn't deal with that. Have you spoke to him about it?

The absolute irony of this...

@Sonaftersonafterson

Ahhh mixed views. I don't think I can cope with it. I'd be embarrassed introducing him to friends because of it. Such a shame because he is really really smart !!

It's fine if you can't cope with it. But it's a fault with you not them. You're the snob which is way more embarrassing.

My DS3 can’t pronounce ‘th.’ He’s 19 now and insists f and th sound the same to him. I don’t like it myself, but I’d be gutted if he was judged for it.

@SoupDragon

If you can speak properly then bloody well speak properly.

Definite "properly". Received Pronunciation like the Queen?

Use the letters that are there rather than ones that are not.

You might have inferred that I don't dislike or disdain regional accents from the other info included.

I do dislike, and often disdain, the ickles, the axes, the lack of fought, etc

The Beast from the chase does this. It irritates me so much when he offers the contestants 'firty free fousand pounds.'

@Wopies

The Beast from the chase does this. It irritates me so much when he offers the contestants 'firty free fousand pounds.'

Ha ha ha ha! We do impressions of him at home, One hundred founsand pounds!! It is so irritating and they always seem to get him to do the large amounts...

He is most definitely not uneducated. He is university educated but he does come from a disadvantaged background / area of london.

I'm from London too, so I'm not being horrible and I'm shocked at myself for having this reaction, but I can't stand it. I just wondered what other people thought and to be honest, I'm glad I am not alone here.

Perhaps I am a snob when it comes to dialect. I didn't realise until now but it has definitely given me the 'ick' !

I'd be embarrassed introducing him to friends because of it.

Your friends must be arseholes if they would judge someone for that. You say he's university educated so he's presumably intelligent enough to know when people are judging him. So you've done him a favour by not exposing him to your mates!

To be fair, that's my guess but hey could be wrong. Maybe my mates would love him!

I've thought about this a bit further. I think it's this dialect combined with him being 40, cannot drive, no car, rents a flat, self employed creative who by his own admission has little money. I think all of it feeds into my snobbery here. We're perfectly matched in so many ways but... this.

To the people saying it's regional, which regions pronounce th's as f's?

@Sonaftersonafterson

To be fair, that's my guess but hey could be wrong. Maybe my mates would love him!

I've thought about this a bit further. I think it's this dialect combined with him being 40, cannot drive, no car, rents a flat, self employed creative who by his own admission has little money. I think all of it feeds into my snobbery here. We're perfectly matched in so many ways but... this.

He rents a flat?! The horror!

MN really is a parallel universe sometimes.