Latest news with #accents
The Guardian
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
For a Brummie like me, Ozzy Osbourne's voice mattered
In the olden days, you could listen over and over again to your musical heroes doing their thing, yet go for years without hearing them speak. The songs themselves gave few clues to the real accents of the singers. Singing seemed to iron out regional vowel sounds so that, in song, everyone sounded the same – rather American. I was aware that Slade and (half of) Led Zeppelin were from the same neck of the woods as me, but I struggled to pick up any trace of Walsall in Noddy Holder's singing voice or any hint of West Bromwich in Robert Plant's. It was years before I heard either of them talking properly in their own proper Black Country accents. I loved it. I'm talking about the 1970s here, when there were fewer radio or television interviews, and very little in the way of what came to be known as reality shows. Even when the 70s turned into the 80s and I was old enough to go to concerts, the spoken words of British frontmen and women, when they found something to say between songs, sounded at best neutral and at worst mid-Atlantic. Over the years, with all the touring or living in the States, their original English accents could even desert them completely. I never saw Black Sabbath live, but I suspect Ozzy Osbourne, even as he addressed the crowd through a mouthful of bat's head in Iowa, sounded as Brummie as could be. From the beginning to the end, while speaking if not singing, he talked like a bloke from Birmingham should talk. You could take the man out of Aston, but this man's accent never left the place. For me, this was always important, even though Ozzy's accent made mine sound as posh as a minor royal's. If you get chance, have a look at Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm, a film about the studio in Monmouthshire. Fifty years after Black Sabbath first went there, you'll hear Ozzy talking about it in the same accent he'd have had back then. 'We'd never been in a studio; we'd never been on a farm. So everything was new. You'd come and see a cow in a field, you know. We were from the streets of Aston – the only thing we ever saw was a police horse. It was brilliant.'
The Guardian
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
For a Brummie like me, Ozzy Osbourne's voice mattered
In the olden days, you could listen over and again to your musical heroes do their thing, yet go for years without hearing them speak. The songs themselves gave few clues to the real accents of the singers. Singing seemed to iron out regional vowel sounds so that, in song, everyone sounded the same – rather American. I was aware that both Slade and (half of) Led Zeppelin were from the same neck of the woods as me, but I struggled to pick up any trace of Walsall in Noddy Holder's singing voice or any hint of West Bromwich in Robert Plant's. It was years before I heard either of them talking properly in their own proper Black Country accents. I loved it. I'm talking about the 1970s here, when there were fewer radio or television interviews, and very little in the way of what came to be known as reality shows. Even when the 70s turned into the 80s and I was old enough to go to concerts, the spoken words of British frontmen and women, when they found something to say between songs, sounded at best neutral and at worst mid-Atlantic. Over the years, with all the touring or living in the States, their original English accents could even desert them completely. I never saw Black Sabbath live, but I suspect Ozzy Osbourne, even as he addressed the crowd through a mouthful of bat's head in Iowa, sounded as Brummie as could be. From the beginning to the end, while speaking if not singing, he talked like a bloke from Birmingham should talk. You could take the man out of Aston, but this man's accent never left the place. For me, this was always important, even though Ozzy's accent made mine sound as posh as a minor royal's. If you get chance, have a look at Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm, a film about the studio in Monmouthshire. Fifty years after Black Sabbath first went there, you'll hear Ozzy talking about it in the same accent he'd have had back then. 'We'd never been in a studio; we'd never been on a farm. So everything was new. You'd come and see a cow in a field, you know. We were from the streets of Aston – the only thing we ever saw was a police horse. It was brilliant.'
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Americans accuse Peppa Pig of 'brainwashing' their children after US kids start using British slang
American parents have accused the popular children's TV show Peppa Pig of ' brainwashing' their children and changing their accents. As news of the birth of Mummy Pig's third child continues to fill media slots, British fans, parents and children alike, have expressed their joy in welcoming baby Evie to the world. But overseas, it seems not everyone is so doted on the newborn, with Americans taking to social media to lament their frustrations at the show, blaming it for having changed their children's accents. Writing on Reddit, one American parent blamed Peppa Pig for 'brainwashing my kid', saying their daughter had started imitating the cartoon character and had picked up on an English-style of speaking. Submitting their complaint on the forum page, the parent wrote: 'Last week my daughter kept calling her swimsuit her 'swimming costume.'' Horrified at the British utterance, the parent quickly corrected them on the Americanised version. 'I told her that we are American and in this country we say swimsuit,' they asserted. Asking the forum if they had shared similar experiences, they wrote: 'Anyone else notice their kids using British or Australian English terms because of Peppa Pig and Bluey?' Commenters shared the concern, with several others citing incidents of their brood imitating the cartoon pig, with others repeating anecdotes of children referring to 'swimming costumes'. 'Yes, we use swimming costume, 'the garden' instead of yard, and last year we grew tomatoes and she pronounced it with an accent. She doesn't really even watch Peppa much but those stuck,' one wrote. The impact was so felt viscerally by one parent that they 'banned' the show in their house, adding that they 'truly hate the little brother (George) so much'. Another frustrated parent complained: 'My daughter developed a habit of speaking out of the side of her mouth like the characters do in the show and that's when I put an end to it.' Though other parents looked on the linguistic changes more fondly. 'My kids picked up 'Holiday' instead of 'Vacation' and 'ready, steady, go!' instead of 'ready, set, go!',' shared one, while a another chimed in: 'My kid calls the backyard 'the garden' and I honestly think it's adorable.' 'One of my kids started saying petrol for gas, satnav for the GPS, holiday for vacation, and says zeb-ra instead of zee-bra!,' another explained. One Redditor shared: 'My kids call pants trousers now thanks to British kids shows, and they call each other cheeky monkeys.' 'Yes she mixes a lot of English/Australian accents which is mostly cute but ones that aren't cute are when she mimics 'STOPPPPP' or 'this is boring.' All from Peppa,' another complained. Despite the stern post, the Reddit poster maintained that they found the use of British terminology 'utterly charming'. They wrote: 'Just to be clear, I'm being snarky/cheeky with the title of this post. I thought it was utterly charming my kid used the British term. Other parents noted the impact of similar, extremely popular children's TV shows on their fledglings evolving accents, with some pointing to Bluey for instilling Australian style-speak. 'My 3 year old daughter likes to tell me I'm 'taking ages' during whatever task I'm doing so... Thanks Bluey.' Meanwhile, American youngsters have picked up on countless English-style words, including 'biscuits', 'Satnav', and describing 'the garden' as opposed to 'the yard'. It's not the first time that American parents have complained about the impact of Peppa Pig on their youngsters. Last year, countless parents furiously branded the cartoon a 'brat' and said she had taught their children 'rudeness and impatience.' Parents also reported their kids have become so obsessed with the cheeky cartoon they have adopted British accents and mannerisms. Kayla Tychen, a mother from Houston, said: 'Peppa is rude and impatient, and the show teaches kids that this is who she is and that it's OK. Another mother, Armita Asgari, 41, told The Wall Street Journal that 'Peppa is a brat' after she noticed a change in the way her five-year-old son Luca acts compared to a few months ago. The mother recalled that her son approached their neighbor and said: 'Look, David's got a big Tummy!' 'That was when I realized he had picked up all these behaviors from Peppa Pig.' The birth of Evie Pig was announced on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday. Welcoming the newest addition to their family at the Lindo Wing in London - the same location where Kate Middleton gave birth to all three of her children - a town crier has now officially announced the piglet's birth. Addressing the public from outside the hospital the town crier declared: 'Lend me your ears for news of the birth of a daughter to Mummy and Daddy Pig. Peppa and George have a baby sister and her name is Evie. 'Long live Evie Pig!'
CTV News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Ontario now allows accents on Outdoors Cards
French-language speakers can now have accents in their names on Ontario outdoors cards, says Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas, who pushed for the change, with mailing addresses also including accents, while efforts continue to add them to OHIP cards.
