The world’s sexiest accent has been revealed and French has been officially dethroned from the coveted title. For years, people have loved the French accent for its lingering sensuality, but a new trend has emerged in the latest survey.
A language learning software Babbel polled people from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and the US to know which languages are perceived as “most sexy,” “most romantic” and “most passionate.”
The findings stated that Italian was perceived by most to be “most sexy” and the “most romantic” by the highest number of people involved in the study.
In the study, British English emerged as the language perceived as the “most polite”, while German claimed the title for being the “most straightforward” or direct in communication.
Describing why Italian appeals to many, Noël Wolf at Babbel explained that the language’s pitch plays a significant role.
She told Daily Mail: “There are certain characteristics of Italian that may contribute to its appeal. The rise and fall of pitch in spoken Italian can create a musical quality, which some people find alluring and attractive.
“Certain phonetic features, such as the rolling of “r” sounds, can be distinctive in Italian, which to many is regarded as charming or attractive.”
The bold assertion is likely to disappoint numerous individuals, particularly given that in 2017, Babbel surveyed over 15,000 people who voted French as the “sexiest accent.”
The survey also delved into participants’ perspectives regarding relationships involving partners speaking different languages.
As per the survey findings, over 70 percent of the surveyed individuals from Britain expressed that if their romantic partner hailed from a different native language background, making an effort to learn that language would enhance and strengthen the emotional bond between them.
In 2017, linguist Patti Adank, who holds the position of a professor specialising in speech perception and production at University College London, commented that “English speakers are particularly attracted to the musicality and rhythm of languages such as French or Italian.”
