Women find Mancunian the most attractive regional accent according to the results of a new experiment.
The study, commissioned by relationship site eHarmony.co.uk, the brains behind the butterflies, saw a group of respondents played sound clips of men and women with 19 different accents, and then asked to score what they thought of each person based on 10 different character traits.
When split out to reflect gender, Mancunian is the regional accent women were most attracted to, followed by Irish and Australian. Men found London, Yorkshire and Edinburgh most alluring.
However, Received Pronunciation (RP) scored the highest overall, topping nine out of 10 categories (‘attractive’, ‘intelligent’, ‘friendly’, ‘honest’, ‘romantic’, ‘charming’, ‘interesting’, ‘sophisticated’ and ‘reliable’).
It was, however, ranked 11th in the ‘humour’ category, which was topped by the Geordie accent, followed by Liverpudlian and Irish.
The Edinburgh accent was the nation’s second most popular, followed by Australian and Irish. Yorkshire, American, Geordie, Mancunian, Glaswegian, and Welsh comprise the rest of the top 10.
More than a fifth of respondents (22%) admitted that the allure of some accents is so strong that they have actually gone on a date with someone because they liked their accent, with some admitting that they’ve ‘played up’ how they speak because they thought it sounded attractive.
Professor of Phonetics at The University of Reading, Jane Setter, comments: “Our preconceptions and love of certain lilts, drawls and tones when it comes to accents is mostly down to experience and stereotyping. This helps to explain why RP scores so highly across all categories; it’s the accent we associate with trusted newsreaders, plus it continues to be used as the model for teaching English as a foreign language.”
“In terms of other accents which were rated highly for attractiveness – again stereotyping is at play. Across the pond, we see the Americans as colourful and international so they’re ‘interesting’; Yorkshire folk are seen as down to earth and honest, and the Irish have “kissed the Blarney stone” and are celebrated as charming and quick witted. In terms of French and Italian not faring so well, this could simply be down to a lack of familiarity with their unique inflections.”
Jemima Wade, spokesperson for eHarmony.co.uk, said: “Here at eHarmony we’re always looking at the science behind what makes people tick when it comes to finding love, so it’s interesting to see that when it comes to first impressions, it’s not just what you say, but how you say it that can really give someone those all-important butterflies.”
“After spending time getting to know each other online, the first time you meet and say ‘hello’ on a date is a special, exciting moment. Yet while accents may be appealing at first, sparking initial interest and attraction, happy long-term relationships are about far more than that. Compatibility is key, which comes down to holding similar values, behaviours and characteristics.”
