Amazon's Alexa learns how to pronounce British slang

Amazon's voice-controlled assistant should soon sound more natural to Brits. The company has upgraded the UK version of Alexa with "Speechcons," an extensive list of words and phrases that can be delivered in a more lively, expressive manner. These include "whoops a daisy," "bob's your uncle" and "oh my giddy aunt," as well as "crikey," "blimey" and "geronimo!" Speechcons are part of the Alexa development platform, meaning anyone can draw on them for third-party "skills." As long as it's wrapped in an "interjection" tag, Alexa will check the word against its Speechcon bank and, if it's listed, enunciate with a little extra oomph.