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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Do you ever do a British accent just for fun? <\/p>\n
This has been around forever, mostly as a joke, but now Generation Z has taken it to a new level and become a TikTok craze.<\/p>\n
KDKA’s John Shumway is here with the trend and the reaction.<\/p>\n
If your kids have and you’ve wondered why, here it is. <\/p>\n
Gen Z, which is anyone between the ages of 9 and 24, seems to like the relaxed way a British or Australian accent rolls off the tongue.<\/p>\n
It’s no surprise since the accent has been comforting Bluey and Peppa Pig for years.<\/p>\n
“I think a lot of these shows have a certain charm. Of course, Peppa Pig, you know, every kid in the UK watches Peppa Pig,” said Aaron Gidney, a British parent.<\/p>\n
Gidney says he’s not surprised that young people in America like to speak British.<\/p>\n
“I think it comes with a certain sense of humor. Almost a self-deprecating kind of humor,” Gidney said.<\/p>\n
But it’s not just the little kids. There are also bigger influences like Bridgerton and Ted Lasso. <\/p>\n
“There’s a certain cultural crossover, which I think is clearly very attractive to a lot of young Americans,” Gidney said.<\/p>\n
And this isn’t a new crossover, as Ross tried it on Friends, and there was Mary Poppins.<\/p>\n
“Dick Van Dyke’s accent in Mary Poppins was often a source of ridicule,” Gidney said.<\/p>\n
While Ross didn’t convert Millennials and Boomers just laughed at Van Dyke, they didn’t have TikTok.<\/p>\n
Indeed, some Gen Zs have adopted British as their dialect, but don’t ask Aaron to try an American accent.<\/p>\n
“I wouldn’t want to offend anyone on your side of the pond,” Gidney said.<\/p>\n
Some say the British accent is soothing or kind, and if it’s often used as a disarming defense mechanism, whatever the attraction, that’s one thing.<\/p>\n
We expect this from actors, but people changing the way they speak seems a bit over the top.<\/p>\n
Foreign actors have mastered American dialects for years, and Johnny Depp, who is from Kentucky, often slips into Captain Jack Sparrow, but American children become British, at least it’s a harmless trend.<\/p>\n
John Shumway<\/p>\n