People from over 75 nations around the world participated in a survey aimed at identifying the most beloved English accent. They voted for more than 60 English accents and the results are now in!
In short, accents from the British Isles are the most respected, with 68% of voters supporting at least one of the accents spoken in the United Kingdom.
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwestern coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, and over six thousand smaller islands.
Here are the leading accents, as follows…
US accents – 36%
Australian accents – 20%
New Zealand accents – 11%
Canadian accents – 11%
South African accents – 7%
The most popular accent from the British Isles is Cockney (London dialect)
(24% of respondents)
It is particularly popular among Brazilian users, who, as the data shows, enjoy 'charming' and 'hard to understand' accents, compared to other interviewees. It turns out that 'Cockney' is least popular among the British themselves, who are the least attached to it of all nationalities.
People like it most because it sounds absurd and funny, but almost no one likes it because it sounds attractive or friendly.
The second most popular accent is Posh English
(23% of respondents)
Mainly favored most by Spanish users, who, as the data shows, tend toward accents that are 'easy to imitate', 'inspire confidence', and 'sound intellectual'. And like Cockney, this accent is not very popular among the British themselves.
People like it most because it sounds intellectual, but its rating is relatively low in terms of trustworthiness.
In third place is Edinburgh
(17% of respondents)
Particularly popular among Russian users, who, as the data shows, are attracted to normally sounding accents. The Polish, on the other hand, like it the least.
People love it because it sounds strange and more like 'another language'. It scores low in terms of sounding intellectual and ability to imitate.
Which is the least liked accent?
American (Great Lakes, Midland, Minnesotan, Mid-Atlantic/Transatlantic & Western) and British (West Country & Lancashire) are the least liked accents. They received very few or no votes.
Still, we should clarify that less familiar accents were bound to end up at the bottom of the ranking.
Top 5 Interesting Facts
(1) Australians were the only ones interviewed who favored their own accents over all others.
(2) Attractiveness meant much more to the passionate Spanish compared to other nationalities when it came to directly comparing one accent with another.
(3) The British are big fans of musicality in accents, while for the Polish it is of least importance.
(4) The famous New Yorker accent was praised for its strange sound ('sounds like another language') and the 'cool' factor, but is still not considered trustworthy.
(5) The North West English, Mancunian and Lancashire accents, together with American New Jersey, topped the ranking for 'friendly' and 'soothing' sound.