Accents are one of the most hotly debated topics, especially when it comes to dating or job hunting. How you sound may not make or break your chances of getting a second date but unconscious biases about accents do affect how we see people.
Luckily for those in Edinburgh, the accent was named one of the top five most trustworthy accents in the UK, according to a study by Match. It came in just after Geordie, with Received Pronunciation taking the top spot in a study of over 2,000 Brits.
This was a stark contrast to Glaswegian which was included as the fifth least trustworthy and fourth least sexy accent. Despite this, both James McAvoy and Lorraine Kelly landed in the top 10 celebrities with the sexiest accents for their respective genders.
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Match’s dating expert Hayley Quinn said: “When it comes to attraction, your tone of voice can be your superpower in creating the spark.” Their research found that 17% of people believe they can tell if they’re going to find someone attractive just from hearing their voice.
One in seven Brits even thought that having a nice voice, or the lack of one, is a deal breaker for dating. Whether sexy or trustworthy, having a nice voice could determine how lucky in love you are, especially in early days of a relationship.
However, Hayley was quick to add people shouldn’t change their accent to be perceived as more attractive. She said: “What accents are attractive or not is highly subjective, and down to an individual's associations with that accent.”
Hayley noted that "whilst an Edinburgh accent made it onto the most trustworthy list, and Glaswegian the least trustworthy, James McAvoy, who has a Glaswegian accent was named in the top 10 of sexiest accents."
The top five most trustworthy accents are:
Received Pronunciation (aka The Queen’s English)
Yorkshire
Welsh
Geordie
Edinburgh
The five least trustworthy accents are:
Brummie
Scouse
Cockney
Essex
Glaswegian
Trustworthy does not automatically equal sexy though as Southern and Northern Irish took the two top spots for sexy accents respectively but did not enter the top five for trustworthiness. Other sexy accents were Geordie, Welsh and Received Pronunciation, also known as the Queen's English.
Hayley added: “What accents you find attractive might come down to your upbringing and what accents you were exposed to at home. The accents of your exes that suddenly remind you of the spark you felt with them and maybe even TV characters you’ve had crushes on over the years can also increase their sense of attractiveness.”
Good news for both Glasgow and Edinburgh as the accents also made the top 10 for most sincere accents, with Edinburgh coming in at number three behind Yorkshire and RP. While Glaswegian may not be the sexiest accent, Match's research found it could make you appear funnier which could go some way to explaining why so many clips of Scottish people speaking go viral.
With one in five Brits caring more about the sound of your voice than the pictures in your dating profile, singletons might want to spend a bit of time fine tuning those voice prompts. Hayley’s top tip for your voice prompt is to have “a calm delivery” and focus on pausing rather than rushing through it, as these suggest “the universally attractive quality of confidence”.
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