Children and language: Taalk propa? Hadaway wi ye

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/08/taalk-proper

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In an attempt to ensure that her pupils don't face disadvantages in later life, the head of a Teesside primary has asked parents to correct children's local accents and grammar. Here a leading children's author from the north-east responds.

Wen A woz a littl lad me parints yoosed te tell iz to taalk propa. The teechas did an aal.

It's yes not aye, it's child not bairn, it's nothing not nowt.

It is I'm going home and not Am gannin yem.

It's not howay it's come along.

We wer telt it woz aalreet to keep sum of the acsent, of cors, cos it woz probly impossibil to get rid of it aal. But ther woz sum that sed that the acsent must be purjed, lyk the sownd of it was a sine of sin. We did start to taalk what they caaled propa, of cors. Nee surprize in that. We wer bairns. We wer gud at lernin. And tho it sumtyms mayd us cross we didn't reely mind. The parints and the teechas was thinkin of our fuchers as they must.

Sum of us chaynjd and neva lookd bak. Sum started to sownd lyk they cum from Surry or sumwer and not from the banks of the Tyne. But uthas of us cudnt leev the words and sownds behind. We didn't wont to loos the feelin that they brung of wyldnis and transgreshon. The trooth is it woz luvly to say the words that woz forbid. It woz luvly to run oot into the yard or into the playin feelds and up to the wildaness abuv the toon and yell oot:

Am ganna ploat ye, ye littl bugga!

On me heed! On me heed!

Hadaway and shite!

And it woz luvly to tendaly wispa the words to eech utha.

They say he winnit mek it throo the neet.

Oh, look at that canny bint

Now Am a rita and A rite books that teechas reed to bairns in skools and the books is filld with words like spuggy and clarts and aye and nowt. Aav rit won book that's aal misspelt and aal rit in the langwij of the Tyne. It's telt by a lad that cannit spell but he trys to do the best he can and he trys to make the langwij make sum sens, as bairns do, and he trys to make it sing, as evry rita must.

Langwij has to ecko on the air and it has to dyve doon to the hart an sole. The rite langwij can be the rang langwij for sum books. Sum ov the grate books of the world is rit qwite rong. Books by them lyk Billy Forkna, Russil Hoban, Jimmy Joyce. And the rong words is wot the aynshent tales were telt in, and how aal the songs woz sung.

Aye, ye hav to knaa the words the world thinks is rite and ye have to knaa how to spel them rite an speek them rite. Othawize sum misgiyded folk mite think yor just a dope.

But ye neva hav to put the otha words away. Yev got to yoos them and speek them and rite them and keep them in the world. Aav gorra digree in English, Am a rita, and these daze Am even a professa so Aav lernd sumthin abowt how to diy things rite. But thers still nee thrill lyk the thrill of knowing wot the so-caaled rite word is and how to rite it rite, but still to yoos the word the world considas rong. Nee thrill at aal like ritin aye, bairn, clarts, spuggy, hadaway and nowt. Thas nae thrill lyk the thrill of speakin the words, feelin the vybrashon of the sownds they make, feelin them dancin on yor lips and tung and breth.

Reed them now and speek them now and feel the luvliness that's in them. Aye, bairn, clarts, spuggy, hadaway and nowt. Its lyk gannin yem, like gannin back to bein a bairn agen, like reechin back to where the langwij cums from. The words cum up from the blood and boans an from the grownd itself and the aynshent past and from the commin langwij, the langwij that must neva eva eva be forgot.