Anglicised accents squeezed out in Nz

New Zealanders are dropping Anglicised accents and starting to sound more Kiwi, according to researchers.

Allan Bell, professor of language and communication at Auckland University of Technology, listened to recordings, spanning 30 years, of ordinary New Zealanders, broadcasters and public figures, including the opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. He found that people were moving away from the "Queen's English" in favour of local pronunciations.