Is Peppa Pig affecting your child’s speech? Experts explain how TV and games shape everything from accents to vocabulary
From Bluey accents to Animal Crossing “babble” – experts reveal if kids’ media is helping or harming speech.
Is your child suddenly speaking in ‘gibberish’? Or slipping into a Bluey accent? You’re not alone – and language experts say it might not be a bad thing.
The focus on how kids' media is shaping their speech comes in the wake of a TikTok video showing a child copying the “babbling” voice of Animal Crossing characters that has gone viral, with almost a million views. In the clip, mum Mary Sanford admits she was baffled when her child started speaking in a “mystery language” – before realising they’d picked it up from watching her play the Nintendo game.
And parents are recognising the same thing in their own homes. Kids across the UK are picking up Aussie slang from Bluey, Spanish from Dora the Explorer, and – yes – a southern English accent from Peppa Pig.
So, is this just a phase, or could media really be changing how our children speak?
Why kids mimic TV and game characters
According to experts at Preply, a language learning app, it’s all down to something called linguistic convergence.
“Linguistic convergence is a natural, subconscious process where people begin to adopt the speech patterns, accents, or rhythms of those they spend time with, or, increasingly, what they hear in the media,” explains the Preply team.
Children’s brains are still developing language skills and social awareness, so they’re especially quick to copy speech patterns they find engaging or comforting. That might mean the sing-song voice of Peppa, the slangy chat of Bluey, or the rhythmic nonsense of Animal Crossing’s Animalese.
What is Animal Crossing “babble”?
Animal Crossing characters don’t speak real words. Instead, they use “Animalese” – a carefully crafted gibberish that mimics conversational English.
“Each sound corresponds to a letter of the English alphabet, and when the audio is slowed down, you can hear the individual phonemes,” say the experts. “It creates the illusion of speech – a stylised form of babbling – that’s catchy and memorable for children.”
Because Animalese uses familiar rhythms and tones, kids often start imitating it naturally, as the viral TikTok shows.
Is mimicking characters harmful for speech development?
In short: no.
“Not at all,” says Preply. “Babbling is a healthy and essential part of language learning. It allows children to experiment with tone, rhythm, and phonetic patterns before forming real words.”
This type of sound play can actually indicate growing verbal confidence. Most children will phase out the media-inspired voices once they’re exposed to more varied language at school, with friends, and in conversation at home.
How parents can turn it into a learning exercise
If your child’s speech is peppered with Bluey slang or Animal Crossing babble, experts suggest leaning into the moment:
Ask them to ‘translate’ what they’re saying into real words.
Play word games that build on the rhythms or accents they’re copying.
Introduce new vocabulary through play, conversation, or reading.
Consider introducing a second language while they’re curious about sounds – even short bursts of Spanish from shows like Dora the Explorer can be a great start.
“There’s no need to worry,” reassure the experts. “Media influences are just one of many speech inputs kids receive. With a rich mix of conversation, play, and varied media, children develop strong, flexible language skills.”
So next time your preschooler greets you with “Blah-blah-blah!” in perfect Animalese, you can smile knowing they’re not forgetting English – they’re just practising the building blocks of speech, one adorable accent or made up language at a time.