Have your children picked up a Kiwi accent?

[Familyofmonkeys]

We've been here nearly 4 years (must think about doing a 4 year post soon) and none of my 3 kids have picked up a kiwi accent AT ALL. I started a thread about this a couple of years ago, but got the impression from others that, with time, they would eventually pick the accent up as they spent more time with other children. They were only 12 weeks, just 2 and just 4 when we moved here, so have all gone through kindy and school here, with plenty of exposure from people outside of our home. When we left Auckland for rural Canterbury in late 2009, we though perhaps being in a more homogeous environment without the racial and cultural mix of Auckland might lead to their accent changing...but no! And now we're back in Auckland, my oldest child sounds even more 'Oxford English' than she did in UK, apart from a couple of words that she says mid-sentence with a Yorkshire accent (like my OH)....Starbucks sound more like star-books when she says it, and oven sounds like oo-ven. My middle child has a very neutral English accent (very much like South Warwickshire/North Oxfordshire) and so does my youngest child who was a tiny baby when we arrived. We certainly make no concious effort to influence the way they speak as we both have different accents ourselves.

So how about other people here, especially those of you that have been here a few years now like us. Do your kids sound at all Kiwi?

[Georgebulldog]

We have been here 3 years now, eldest now 5 so like you gone through kindy & now at school & youngest is just 2.8yrs & like yours still have an English accent, they say a few things like using the 'Eh?' but then I say that too, not sure why I do! & when doing homework for the letter F I had a picture of football but she didn't pick up on it & when I asked why she said it was soccer, uses lots of other Kiwi works but no accent.
A friend whose children were both born here have very strong Mancunian (sp?) accents even though they have done the whole Playcentre, kindy & now school stuff, I thought mine would lose theirs first as we have just a southern accent so not so strong but only time will tell, I think once they get a little older & realise they talk different they will lose it, I know of children that did that so we'll see

[YouMeAndThree]

All 3 are picking up an accent. (They were 23mths, 4 and 5 when we came over) - Eldest, now 8, told me I speak 'posh' the other day because I say "I need to brush your hair" and not "I need to brush your here", LOL!

However, the youngest (now 4) is the only one to say yo-gurt, the rest of us say it correctly

[Wooly_Cow]

After 18 months, the 17 year old - not at all, the 7 year old - not at all, the 13 year old - 'Totally bro'

[BrightonBrowns]

We have only been here months and the eldest reelly rather than really, and yogurt but that is it.......the other 2 (6 & 4) no signs yet. Aren't the kids amazing the way they hold onto the accent. I wondered if mine would be more kiwi with their friends than me, but so far no signs.

[sophiedb]

We've been here not quite 3 months, and DD (3.5yr) is really picking up the accent. I keep laughing about it because in many ways, she sounds more Kiwi than hubby!

Apparently she's a geerl, we brush her here, her favourite preschool teacher is Vanissa and so on

[dandctaylor]

After 18 months, the 17 year old - not at all, the 7 year old - not at all, the 13 year old - 'Totally bro'

The same for me - my 10 yr son old is still very english. My 14 yr old son is very kiwi! I think at that age they just want to fit in and not be different.

[dharder]

I think they have, but not extreme. The older ones certainly say 'you igg' instead of 'you egg'...

Daniela

[peebles16]

We've been here just over 3 years (also must do 3 year post ) and mine have picked up words and phrases and my youngest sounds very kiwi to me at least My eldest has a weird mix of scottish, scouse and kiwi which altogether sounds very strange - poor wee soul

Karen

[KatieBen]

Slightly off topic, but was chatting to a lovely 75 year old gentleman in clinic the other week/month. At the end of the consultation I asked him whereabouts he was from originally as he had such a lovely Oxbridge accent.

He was born and bred NZ, his mother emigrated here when she was 2.

So it might not just be your children without a Kiwi accent!