{"id":5934,"date":"2013-01-23T22:54:23","date_gmt":"2013-01-23T20:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/responsive.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents\/?p=5934"},"modified":"2022-06-22T13:07:51","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T11:07:51","slug":"mind-your-language-mum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/parenting\/mind-your-language-mum\/","title":{"rendered":"Mind your language mum!"},"content":{"rendered":"

About a month back I noticed that my 4.5 year old, Isobel, had suddenly taken to answering questions with \u2018Jaaa\u2019. I was a bit taken aback with the almost lazy, drawn-out pronunciation of the word which wasn\u2019t even followed by \u2018mum\/dad\u2019. I just didn\u2019t like my daughter using slang.<\/p>\n

Thinking back to my childhood, I recalled how my mum, dad and teachers raised us to speak \u2018proper\u2019 English where no slang was allowed and all remarks to elders were followed with a \u2018mam\/mum\/dad\/aunty\/uncle\u2019 depending on who was being addressed. I believe it was a culture of respect being instilled in children of my generation which then overflowed into other aspects of our lives.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t angry at Isobel\u2019s use of \u2018Ja\u2019 but I was worried that my child would start picking up all kinds of other slang and instead of being a prim and proper little child and then young adult her misuse of language would result in her being a lay-about and disrespectful. I know, a bit of an overreaction but I tend to do that where my children are concerned and I think that there are many other parents who do too.<\/p>\n

My overactive imagination envisioned a 16-year-old Isobel going through teen angst and answering every question asked with a blas\u00e9 \u2018Jaaa\u2019 or \u2018Naah\u2019. I was really concerned and knew I had to do something about it.<\/p>\n

I just couldn\u2019t figure out where she had picked up this slang from and despite my best efforts to gently get her to rather say, \u2018Yes, mum\/dad\/teacher\u2019, she persisted. Do we know the kind of people who would say \u2018Ja\u2019 in response to a question? Would I need to start vetting her playmates or giving them mini-speech quizzes before they were allowed to associate with my precious child??<\/p>\n

Then, during a phone conversation with her teacher at her new school, I mentioned the issue in passing.<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cBy the way, have you noticed that Isobel responds to questions with \u2018ja\u2019? Please could you help me reinforce that she must not use slang and rather say \u2018Yes teacher\/mum\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

Teacher: \u201cI haven\u2019t really noticed but she does have a lot of Afrikaans speaking friends at school so she might have learned it from them\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

Me: \u201cOh, jaaaa. That could be it!\u201d Oops! BIG note to self: mind your language mum!<\/p>\n

This article was originally written for Jozikids by Sholain Govender- Bateman<\/em> in 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n

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