The world’s top 10 sexiest accents

Tyson Jopson
By: Tyson Jopson
26 August 2011

9 comments
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What’s in an accent, really? Why does a spicy little ‘au fait‘ with a cigarette-toting gaston get you all hot under the frills? What makes a foreign whisper get your head twisting to catch a glimpse of that elusive agent provocateur? What is it about a classic Italian or Spaniard that makes you swoon, or bumble through your next sentence until you start sounding decidedly foreign yourself?

Whether it be through a combination of history and demographics or simply down to naughty mnemonic ticklers, there are certain accents that always come out tops, and others that, well don’t.

We recently asked our Getaway Facebook community what they thought the world’s sexiest accent was. Here are the ones that made you weak at the knees, the ones that had you gagging for a hot date on the riviera and the ones that got you talking in tongues (see above for chart of results).

1. No surprise, the French took the top spot with a healthy chunk of the pie. Somehow those continental baguettes, truffles and macarons, when passed off with that ‘je ne sais quoi’ quality, come across all the more sweet.

2. A close second was the amicable Irish. Whether it is their penchant for a healthy dose of humour or a just dash of whiskey, Irish seems rolls off the tongue and into your hearts smoother than a bottle of genuine single malt.

3. Notably, in third spot, the South African accent held its own. And, according to many of our Facebook fans, is a great ice-breaker when travelling. So much so that it has even been the closing factor in more than one of those late-night European hostel hook-ups!

4 and 5. Italian and Spanish pretty much share the spoils in fourth and fifth, and whether it’s tossing paella or splashing pesto, it seems the quickest way to some of your hearts is not through the stomach but through the tip of a Mediterranean-tanned tongue.

6. The Scots settle in for a well deserved sixth place – and we mostly blame Sean Connery for that.

7, 8 and 9. With a handful of votes each, filling out the chart was Croatian, Russian and German. Languages that didn’t quite cut it, but got a fair nod from some of our fans, were Welsh, Swedish, Israeli, Hungarian and Dutch. So even if you’re not out there looking for the classic linguistic romance, it’s good to know there is something for everyone.

10. Also, definitely worth a mention, is the  surprising number of votes that came in for the classic Cape Town bergie accent! We, of course, tallied it up with the other South African accents to give us the boost, but it just goes to prove that you don’t ALWAYS need front teeth to be sexy!

So there you have it. The sexiest accents as voted by you. And, whatever it is that makes you swoon, go weak at the knees, or has you got you fumbling your words … we just love it when you talk foreign!

 


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9 Responses to “The world’s top 10 sexiest accents”facebook

  1. Nicolas says:
    August 26, 2011 at 8:59 am

    Its PAELLA (pronouncesd Pa -Eh -Ya) and the saying is “je ne sais QUOI”. Come to Spain, I will show a sexy accent or two.

    Reply
  2. Heloise says:
    August 26, 2011 at 9:00 am

    I have often wondered about sexy accents. French accents are sexy when Frenchmen speak English, but is it sexy when a Frenchman speaks German or Portuguese? And when a South African speaks French, is that a sexy accent too? Or do these only apply to speaking English?

    Reply
    • Pauline says:
      August 26, 2011 at 9:36 am

      Whilst in Switzerland we were staying in a lovely little placed owned by the Siwss man and his Portuguese wife. Believe me even whilst talking Swiss she still sounded like a Portuguese. It was really quite sweet, felt just like Rosetenville.

      Reply
  3. Joelle Holland says:
    August 26, 2011 at 9:19 am

    erm….was this survey done by South African’s by any chance???? Where’s the good old English Accent in there??

    Reply
  4. Nicci says:
    August 27, 2011 at 6:18 pm

    I am proudly South African and so of course love these results, but seriously guys, how do you define a “South African accent” in a country that has 11 official languages?! A tad biaised, per chance?

    Reply
    • Tyson Jopson says:
      August 29, 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Hey Nicci. Thanks for the comment. I do agree that the blog is a tad biased :-) I think a blog about sexy accents would be biased on any continent, and the intention was more to poke a bit of fun at the concept of a sexy accent in general. I also agree with your sentiment about not being able to group all our accents as they do differ so widely. However, every nationality constitutes a range of dialects that sound quite different from the last one (consider the English dialect spoken Tyneside vs the Cornish variation), so I chose to lump them together to avoid having a chart that looks like the inside of a Ferris wheel. Either way, what came out of this for me was a strong sense of national pride when it comes to what we sound like … and I found that kinda neat.

      Reply
  5. Mojo Man says:
    September 1, 2011 at 11:30 pm

    Your chart makes no sense. Sef Efrikkin is 4th on the list and Spanish gets a smaller slice than four others. Do the math. Is it Seth Ehfrika, Set Aafrikaa or Soufh Efike you are thinking of? Foreign indeed. Ja, well, no fine. In the USA an English accent is concidered sexy and classy.

    Reply
  6. stefanie nel says:
    September 5, 2011 at 7:10 am

    that sounds amazingly accurate………until you end up spending a couple of months at a time with the above mentioned people. i still find the Italian accent amazingly sexy….but can they actuallly understand what you’re saying in a conversation? 9 out of 10 times…..NO!!!! however, the New York accent is pretty darn gorgeous!

    Lately, i’ve come to realize, that, the accent that makes so many foreigners swoon…..(which happens to be the south african accent,) is the one i miss the most. In my opinion, nothing will ever come close to being as sexy as a true, boere, south african accent! (as long as the food, fun and hospitality accompany it!)

    Reply

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