The Peppa Effect: U.S. Kids Who Watch Peppa Pig Are Developing Slight British Accents

Peppa Pig, an innocent cartoon about a little pig and her animal friends, has sparked a surprising amount of controversy around the world. The show was banned in China for promoting so-called "gangster attitudes," while one episode was pulled in Australia for teaching kids not to be afraid of spiders. Now the Evening Standard reports that listening to the characters all day is teaching kids in the U.S. to speak in a slight British accent—but instead of complaining, American parents are loving the cute side effect.

Peppa Pig is produced in the UK, and the main character speaks in a southern British accent and uses Britishisms. Enough young viewers have picked up on Peppa's way of speaking that the phenomenon has been dubbed the "Peppa Effect."

"Yeah I can vouch for the #PeppaEffect in our house," one parent wrote on Twitter. "Tayla absolutely lapses into a slight Brit accent and vocabulary, and uses the word 'straightaway' more than I ever have in my life! … 'Daddy, when we get home do I have to go to bed straightaway?'" Another Twitter user says their 7-year-old son now refers to taking a vacation as going "on holiday" thanks to Peppa Pig.

Any effect the show is having on their kids' language development doesn't seem to concern most parents. Adults who've witnessed the Peppa Effect have even gone so far as to thank Peppa Pig for giving their children the entertaining and adorable habit.

Though Peppa has British origins, her show has been broadcast internationally for years. Peppa Pig is watched in more than 200 countries and worth over $1 billion worldwide.