BBC Voices

Aims:

BBC commissioned a poll to find out how people feel about languages and accents across the British Isles.

Method:

Participants were asked to rank celebrities in order of how pleasant their voices sound. There were 5010 respondents with a ratio of 49 male: 51 female.

Findings:

In the UK Sean Connery's Scottish Accent was voted most pleasant for many. Pierce Brosnan was also high up on the list who was born in Ireland, raised in England and has lived in America for 20 years. Trevor Mcdonald was second on the list however as his authoritative voice was appealing to many.

The respondents preferred accents that were more local to them. Scottish respondents liked Ewan Mcgreggors accent while the English respondents preferred Hugh Grants accent. Billy Connoly, Cilla Black, Paul O'grady and David Beckham's were all not favourites amongst the respondents.

Analysis:

People mostly had preference to the accents that were local to them. This could be due to them often hearing these accents so they have a better understanding of the accent and dialect and are able to relate to it more.

Conclusion:

The results from the respondents varied depending on where they came from in the country e.g the scottish prefer Ewan Mcgreggors. The scottish accent was the most preferred, however people thought Standard English was more helpful in getting jobs.