Neighbours Bad For English?

Question: Why can't the Brits speak English properly anymore?

Answer: Because they watch too much Neighbours!

Hey, don't laugh. That pretty much sums up a news report entitled Neighbours Blamed For UK Accent Change I read today over National 9 News .

Who would have thought that a soap opera would have such an impact on the British population? The middle and upper classes in Britain are apparently worried about this trend. The younger generation is speaking with a mixture of Australian and British accents.

It doesn't concern me. After all, I don't speak with either accent. While I prefer listening to the "proper" Queen's English (I am, after all, a sucker for Historical Romance novels and constantly "read" the dialogues in Queen's English), I think the Aussie flavour is pretty cool too.

Well, I initially wasn't that big a fan of the Australian accent - not if everyone sounded like the late Steve Irwin. I mean he was a great guy and all that but his thick accent was quite, err, something. But having lived Down Under for the past 8 months or so, the Aussie accent has grown on me. I kind of like it now - as long as it's not too thick!

Well, Joshua is already speaking with an Australian accent. Joanne is sure to follow suit when she starts Prep next year. So yeah, Australian accent is cool to me. So what's the big deal about speaking English Neighbours-style?