Did you have elocution lessons ?

Yes, it was a regular lesson on the curriculum, but as I recall it was mainly to be able to read poetry and prose out loud. Not a “How now brown cow in sight”!

avitorl yes, sounds like my experience.

Yes, at junior school (everyone did).
Afterwards, at senior school I went after school (privately).
I enjoyed them!

But I still have an accent (admittedly not very strong - but my parents didn't have strong accents either). It was a syllabus about speaking to project the voice and be understood. I think we all kept out accents to some degree.

MayBee70 that teacher was positively cruel. It taught me a lesson, though probably not the one she intended! It taught me that those in charge are not necessarily my betters and it gave me a loathing of snobbery in all its forms. I guess I have had the last laugh in the end, I embraced my working class roots and I had a good career in tech.

Like her or not, Miriam's book is fascinating...I loved it . She's not for the faint hearted though! ?

We had it for - I think - one term in 4th (?) year at school; taught by one of the English teachers. All I can really remember is one of the phrases we had to intone: "Father's car's a Jaguar, and Pa drives rather fast". Make of that what you will...

Hahahahaha ohhhh this brought memories back. I come from Yorkshire and naturally speak with a Yorkshire accent, a broad Yorkshire accent. When I would say nowt ( nothing) or it in't ( it is not ) or eh? ( pardon?) my mum used to say "Im going to send you for elocution lessons."

How else is a Yorkshire lass supposed to talk !

Jaylou

I had them. My parents also paid for extra ones, not because of my speaking voice, but because I was painfully shy, and they thought standing up in front of people speaking poetry and prose would help. Hated them with a passion but my parents were only trying to help.
Don't think they helped, I just grew out of my shyness as I became older.

btw I am really not a fan of Miriam Margoyles at all, so won't be reading her book. Find her very blunt bordering on rude. But hope you enjoyed the book

I am listening to her book, you have to be able to tolerate her references to sexual acts but I just love her mastery of accents .I listen in bed at night setting a sleep timer in case I drop off .

MissAdventure

People are still insensitive to grown ups who they consider common, based on their accent or colloquial speech patterns.

isn't that the truth

Yammy

Fleurpepper

Yammy

Fleurpepper

LOL no. But for kids from rural, and especially northern regions, passing the 11+ and going to Grammar School required them to change accent and even syntax, or they would be bullied mercilessly. Melvyn Bragg, who grew up in Lancashire explains that very well in his book on the English language.

Melvyn Bragg didn't grow up in Lancashire he grew up in a town called Wigton in West Cumberland and his parents had one of the local pubs The Blackamoor. He went to Nelson /Tomlinson Co-ed Grammar school in the town. One of my friends was there at the same time and our school played them at Rugby though he had left by the time I was there.

Apologies, that was from memory.

Makes no difference to the subject of this thread. Kids from rural areas were put under great pressure to speak 'proper' flat rp when going to Grammar School.

I agree with you, Melvyn Bragg speaks elecuted English . As I said in another part of the stream a lot of the teachers were not local in our Grammar Schools they were there because it was near the lake district. They often could not understand us when we talked together which probably accounts for the fact that we were taught how to say "How do you do", and our names properly, they corrected us all the time and made life a misery if you let them.
Luckily most of us were proud of the way we spoke and still can use it. I think it is more acceptable these days to have a regional accent.

Yes, we met a school friend of Melvyn Bragg and he spoke "elocuted English" - still had an accent but spoke clearly and distinctly.

People are still insensitive to grown ups who they consider common, based on their accent or colloquial speech patterns.

Fleurpepper

Yammy

Fleurpepper

LOL no. But for kids from rural, and especially northern regions, passing the 11+ and going to Grammar School required them to change accent and even syntax, or they would be bullied mercilessly. Melvyn Bragg, who grew up in Lancashire explains that very well in his book on the English language.

Melvyn Bragg didn't grow up in Lancashire he grew up in a town called Wigton in West Cumberland and his parents had one of the local pubs The Blackamoor. He went to Nelson /Tomlinson Co-ed Grammar school in the town. One of my friends was there at the same time and our school played them at Rugby though he had left by the time I was there.

Apologies, that was from memory.

Makes no difference to the subject of this thread. Kids from rural areas were put under great pressure to speak 'proper' flat rp when going to Grammar School.

I agree with you, Melvyn Bragg speaks elecuted English . As I said in another part of the stream a lot of the teachers were not local in our Grammar Schools they were there because it was near the lake district. They often could not understand us when we talked together which probably accounts for the fact that we were taught how to say "How do you do", and our names properly, they corrected us all the time and made life a misery if you let them.
Luckily most of us were proud of the way we spoke and still can use it. I think it is more acceptable these days to have a regional accent.

Blossoming

^Kids from rural areas were put under great pressure to speak 'proper' flat rp when going to Grammar School^

Not just kids from rural areas. Any accent considered ‘common’ was frowned upon. An unpleasant English teacher belittled me in front of the whole class in my second day at grammar school.

That’s awful. Things like that stick with you, don’t they. I was humiliated at school (very poor but went to a very good school). I never understand how teachers could be so insensitive back then

Kids from rural areas were put under great pressure to speak 'proper' flat rp when going to Grammar School

Not just kids from rural areas. Any accent considered ‘common’ was frowned upon. An unpleasant English teacher belittled me in front of the whole class in my second day at grammar school.

Oh, and we took The Poetry Society’s exams. I’ve got the Gold Badge!

No but dil has and her accent is like the NZ version of Queen’s English, mine accent is common as muck sadly

No, but teaching second language students for years has left me (a Norfolk dumpling) with a surprisingly poshish accent. All that enunciation to be clearly understood has stuck it seems.

Yes, at school, but only those who chose to pay for them. Like Monica’s, they weren’t really about accent (I never had a local accent because my parents and friends didn’t) but about having the confidence to stand up and speak in public. We recited poetry and competed at local festivals. I learnt a lot of good poems, and I loved every minute.

Callistemon21

Yes, but not private ones. We had elocution lessons in the first year at senior school.
Can't have our gels letting the school down with their local accents!

Same here Callistemon and deportment lessons. I can still remember balancing a book on my head and Miss Scott saying “Nice straight backs gels”. Not unlike physio sessions sometimes

I moved from Tipton in the Black Country at age 12 to Newcastle-under-Lyme and I was enrolled in the Orme Girls' School. I remember the interview with Miss Smith (headmistress) like it was yesterday. "Yes, we will accept Madeline, but we really HAVE to do something about that accent". Elocution lessons once a week after school, but not private - no payment involved. I remember chanting "Miss Tudor went to Tewkesbury on a Tuesday".

Yammy

Fleurpepper

LOL no. But for kids from rural, and especially northern regions, passing the 11+ and going to Grammar School required them to change accent and even syntax, or they would be bullied mercilessly. Melvyn Bragg, who grew up in Lancashire explains that very well in his book on the English language.

Melvyn Bragg didn't grow up in Lancashire he grew up in a town called Wigton in West Cumberland and his parents had one of the local pubs The Blackamoor. He went to Nelson /Tomlinson Co-ed Grammar school in the town. One of my friends was there at the same time and our school played them at Rugby though he had left by the time I was there.

Apologies, that was from memory.

Makes no difference to the subject of this thread. Kids from rural areas were put under great pressure to speak 'proper' flat rp when going to Grammar School.

Fleurpepper

LOL no. But for kids from rural, and especially northern regions, passing the 11+ and going to Grammar School required them to change accent and even syntax, or they would be bullied mercilessly. Melvyn Bragg, who grew up in Lancashire explains that very well in his book on the English language.

Melvyn Bragg didn't grow up in Lancashire he grew up in a town called Wigton in West Cumberland and his parents had one of the local pubs The Blackamoor. He went to Nelson /Tomlinson Co-ed Grammar school in the town. One of my friends was there at the same time and our school played them at Rugby though he had left by the time I was there.

nadateturbe

We couldn't afford butter, so I think elocution lessons were out of the question.

I never had elocution lessons but I went to some lengths to rid myself of my Liverpool accent when I was teaching at a university because the international students would not have understood me! I now speak what is called "received" English but I can drop back into broad Liverpudlian when required. I sometimes have fun answering the phone or the doorbell in a "scouse" accent and pretending to be the housekeeper!

We couldn't afford butter, so I think elocution lessons were out of the question.