'Peppa Pig' is giving US children British accents

‘Peppa Pig’ is the TV show of choice in many a toddler and tweenage household, but according to parents the much-loved character is having a strange impact on children in the US.

The feisty pig is adored by children both in the UK and America, but parents of Peppa fans are noticing that their little ones are beginning to speak just like the characters in the show by developing a British accent.

And picking up the well-spoken voice of the characters, isn’t the only impact the show is having on children in the UK and across the pond.

Apparently some children are also started to snort at the end of their sentences like Peppa, George and co.

The unusual impact was first reported on parenting site Romper, by US mum and writer Janet Manley who dubbed it the ‘Peppa effect’.

In the article, Janet revealed that immediately after her daughter first watched the the show on a plane journey to Australia she started calling her “mummy”.

Her daughter also began snorting at the end of her sentences, just like the cartoon pig.

“Two years later, she still oinks in conversation. I call it the Peppa effect,” she said.

And now parents are sharing their Peppa-related concerns on Twitter, with many attributing the TV show for causing a change in the way their children are speaking.

While it may seem slightly odd if your American and your little one suddenly starts speaking with a cut-glass English accent, or oinking at the end of every sentence, experts assure that this kind of mimicking is simply because they are exposed to the sounds.

Roberto Rey Agudo, the language programme director of the department of Spanish and Portuguese at Dartmouth College told Romper that reports of Peppa accents are partly down to the popularity of the show.

He said it’s “in part because Peppa Pig has been such a phenomenon with the 2 to 5-year-old crowd and it’s considered cute, whereas I don’t know what other shows have that kind of currency right now.”

It isn’t the first time a children’s TV programme has caused parents to debate the impact it is having on their little ones.

Back in 2017 Adam Thomas kickstarted a parental debate about the TV programme ‘Horrid Henry’ and whether or not kids should be allowed to watch it.

The ‘Emmerdale’ actor took to Twitter to ask if other parents had stopped their children from watching the popular kids show?

“Anyone else banned there [sic] kid from watching horrid Henry or is it just us?” he wrote.

The 30-year-old went on to explain that his three-year-old son, Teddy’s behaviour seemed to deteriorate after watching the programme.

“Ted’s literally turned into Horrid Henry,” he quipped.

In other kids TV news, the BBC recently announced that iconic show Crackerjack! is returning to screens.

The programme, which originally ran from 1955 until 1984, will be made at MediaCityUK in Salford by BBC Children’s In-House Productions and will be available to watch on CBBC and iPlayer.

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