“Melodic,” this is the most relaxing accent in the world according to science

Warm, charming, funny, scary… a person's accent affects his image among others. When listening to him, the brain works and analyzes the words it hears, forming a subconscious opinion about this person. A new study by SpaSeekers has revealed that some accents are quieter than others. One, in particular, is said to be the most relaxing in the world. “There are a number of different factors that can influence how relaxed we feel in an accent. For example, there are trends about how 'relaxed' an accent is versus how 'friendly' it is.” One of the study's authors, Dr. Chris Montgomery, a lecturer in dialectology, explains.

Researchers conducted a survey of 1,500 people. They were asked to rate each tone on the following factors: from relaxed to unrelaxed, easy to difficult to follow, and friendly to hostile. First surprise, out of the 10 most relaxed accents in the world, 40% of them come from European countries. In the top 5 dialects, we find Spanish dialects (36% of votes) and New Zealand dialects (37%) respectively in fifth and fourth place. French, famous for its charming accent, reaches the more relaxed accent platform. Its soft tones and consonants put it in third place with 38% of the votes. In second place we find the Australian dialect, Have a nice day, buddy! This dialect is known for the absence of a strong pronunciation of the letter 'r' – we are talking about a 'non-routine' language (like Standard British English) – and for the use of inflection at the end of sentences. In Australia, sentences often resemble questions.

At the top of the platform Spa SeekersIn the first step, the most comfortable accent for 41% of survey participants was Italian. This dialect, because of its variable intonation and rhythm, has a reputation for being melodic, “musical” or… Molto melodico ! That's why the Italian accent is soothing to most people. Grazie and presto!