to his native yorkshire accent. now after local people stepped in to help he finally has a voice that feels right for him. alison freeman has the story. my name is richard cottingham. i m richard cottingham. but i like to be called richie. finding his voice has been an emotional experience for richie cottingham. it made me cry on tuesday, when i heard it for the very first time, many happy tears. richie, who s 26 and has cerebral palsy, said he was fed up with the american accent his speech aid gave him, because it didn t match his identity. so, he asked people with east yorkshire accents to come forward to record their voices for him. and more than 35 men, who were from the area around his home of howden, did just that. i m richard cottingham. hi, i m richard cottingham. but i like to be called richie. three were blended together to make richie s final unique voice.
now i am a yorkshireman, not an american. it means i can communicate with my own voice. what do you think is that the one? yes, i think that s the one! i think we ve got it! it is a unique blend, yeah. so the technology that they use is really clever. it s taken bits of the different three voices and blended them together to make a completely new voice. so, as richie and i have discussed, he doesn t sound like any of the original three donors. the voice that he s got is completely brand new and unique to him, and will stay that way. i think everything that we do with communication has the power to be transformative. it s taken just two months for richie to find his voice, and now, it ll last a lifetime. it feels awesome and i love it. everyone has been really excited and can t wait to hear it. i think it will take people time to get used to hearing the new me. many thanks to everyone for their support. it means so much. if you see me out and about, please come and say hello and hear
but while the survivors continue their fight for compensation, some among the younger generation are finding the historyjust too much to cope with. it is so painful that i can t even live in this city. i just can t. but i have since moved to atlanta, georgia, which i consider to be, you know, the new black wall street. when the president comes to tulsa tomorrow he will yet again address a shameful episode in the country s history. and with the murder of george floyd still uppermost, many will wonder just how much has really changed in america over the past 100 years. gary 0 donoghue, bbc news, tulsa. 0n the bbc we ve been following the story of richie cottingham,a man living with cerebral palsy who s been searching for a voice to call his own. richie uses an artificial aid that has a standard computerised pronunciation but he wanted something that was a lot closer
become increasingly popular during lockdown because people have not been able to play bridge in groups of four. however, cheating has skyrocketed, according to the games official administrators in this country. previously there was one allegation of cheating in a whole year. it has rocketed to 50. disgraceful, roger! you would never do that, would you? i disgraceful, roger! you would never do that, would you? do that, would you? i can t play bride. do that, would you? i can t play bridge- that do that, would you? i can t play bridge. that might do that, would you? i can t play bridge. that might preclude - do that, would you? i can t play bridge. that might preclude me do that, would you? i can t play - bridge. that might preclude me from cheating. i wouldn t know what i am doing anyway. cheating. i wouldn t know what i am doing anyway- doing anyway. those are the papers ou are doing anyway. those are the papers you are waking doing anyway. those are the papers you are waking p
my name is richard cottingham. i m richard cottingham. but i like to be called richie. finding his voice has been an emotional experience for richie cottingham. it made me cry on tuesday, when i heard it for the very first time, many happy tears. richie, who s 26 and has cerebral palsy, said he was fed up with the american accent his speech aid gave him, because it didn t match his identity. so, he asked people with east yorkshire accents to come forward to record their voices for him. and more than 35 men, who were from the area around his home of howden, did just that. i m richard cottingham. hi, i m richard cottingham. but i like to be called richie. three were blended together to make richie s final unique voice. now i am a yorkshireman, not an american. it means i can communicate with my own voice. what do you think is that the one? yes, i think that s the one!