Should kids be taught to speak properly?

[epiphany]

What kind of people do you acquaint with, that swears that much in a sentence about the Post Office?

 

The post office can be a very frustrating company to deal with. Add to that the Yorkshire accent and there you have it.

[The_Shark]

Out of curiosity Epiphany where are you originally from?

[Bonzo77]

If you think things are bad now, wait for the next generation to come through. The kids that have grown up with text speak, "if u no wot I mean".

 

I love regional accents. It's something we should be proud of.

[Bonzo77]

Out of curiosity Epiphany where are you originally from?

 

One of the very few places on earth that doesn't have a regional dialect?!

[Stan Tamudo]

I love regional accents. It's something we should be proud of.

 

Correctamundo Bonzo.

[Elwood]

I totally agree with you,epiphany. I'm Sheffield born and bred but was taught to speak by parents who had no regional accent and, therefore, have never had a particularly strong Sheffield accent. Even now, when mingling with other people, I often find difficulty in understanding what is being said by local folk using the local dialect.

 

My wife is from Kent and when she first moved to Sheffield found considerable difficulty in understanding Sheffieldeeze. She is considered posh because she uses the long form of the "a" vowel ie. barth instead of bath and grarss instead of grass etc.

 

The purpose of language is to have ideas, thoughts etc. understood by others wherever they may be in the country. Newspapers, magazines and books are all printed using Received Pronunciation (or standard English) unless dialectical speech is part of the narrative, therefore, a book can be read wherever it is purchased in the english speaking world no matter what dialect the reader uses in everyday speech.

 

The way we speak should always take into account the context in which we find ourselves.

Down at the local pub "thee and thou in it" is fine as, more than likely, the majority of drinkers will be from the same area and understand the local accent. But go for a job interview in the southern part of England and the same manner of speech will possibly be difficult for the interviewer to understand.

 

There is no shame in being able to speak our language in two different ways. Using the local dialect when on home ground, but using a more understandable standard english elsewhere.

Yes. Children should be taught to speak standard english and taught when and where to use. This doesn't mean that their local dialect should be erradicated.

[epiphany]

Out of curiosity Epiphany where are you originally from?

 

I was born in Middlesborough and moved (or was moved more accurately) to Nottingham when I was 3 before moving to Knaresborough when I was 12 before moving to Sheffield when I was 19.

 

When I moved to North Yorkshire, everyone thought I sounded posh, but that's because they were from Yorkshire, so were rough as "owt". The Nottingham accent is probably the most neutral accent in England, has no identifiable dialect and therefore I think it should be the model we teach kids.

[Stan Tamudo]

I totally agree with you,epiphany. I'm Sheffield born and bred but was taught to speak by parents who had no regional accent and, therefore, have never had a particularly strong Sheffield accent. Even now, when mingling with other people, I often find difficulty in understanding what is being said by local folk using the local dialect.

 

My wife is from Kent and when she first moved to Sheffield found considerable difficulty in understanding Sheffieldeeze. She is considered posh because she uses the long form of the "a" vowel ie. barth instead of bath and grarss instead of grass etc.

 

The purpose of language is to have ideas, thoughts etc. understood by others wherever they may be in the country. Newspapers, magazines and books are all printed using Received Pronunciation (or standard English) unless dialectical speech is part of the narrative, therefore, a book can be read wherever it is purchased in the english speaking world no matter what dialect the reader uses in everyday speech.

 

The way we speak should always take into account the context in which we find ourselves.

Down at the local pub "thee and thou in it" is fine as, more than likely, the majority of drinkers will be from the same area and understand the local accent. But go for a job interview in the southern part of England and the same manner of speech will possibly be difficult for the interviewer to understand.

 

There is no shame in being able to speak our language in two different ways. Using the local dialect when on home ground, but using a more understandable standard english elsewhere.

Yes. Children should be taught to speak standard english and taught when and where to use. This doesn't mean that their local dialect should be erradicated.

 

Great post Elwood.

[The_Shark]

You see Epiphany I agree with Elwood, while they take the stance that the regional accent shouldn't be eradicated they highlight that there are circumstances where the accent can be a hindrance and may (if you choose) want to be toned down like a job interview or, like the job I do, on the phone to people from all over the country with many, many different dialects.

 

eradicating the dialect of certain areas in favour of one you prefer is a silly idea and could never be introduced but teaching children when and where to amend your tone to be considerate to others and to allow people from, for example, London to understand a person from Liverpool if you are in their playing field and vice versa if a Londoner was in Liverpool.

 

You may be from a Nottingham but don't expect all the people from one area to accommodate you.

[epiphany]

I don't want to eradicate regional accent and dialect, since in most cases you would have to eradicate the people themselves for such a program to be successful. We don't have enough money to carry out something like that, what with the recession.

 

However, I do think we should put more pressure on schools to teach proper English. Tell the kids they're better off speaking properly, without the thees, thars and thoos. Perhaps give them a sweet and a pat on the head when they can talk for 5 minutes about what they did at the weekend without using any regional pronunciation and without using any silly Yorkshire words.