American - funny, Russian - unfriendly: how foreigners perceive accents of English

According to a new study, many Americans worry about how they sound when traveling abroad, writes Travel + Leasure. But they shouldn’t worry - most often the American accent is perceived as friendly, unlike the Russian one. Although, for example, in Italy, the accent of US residents is found funny.

Фото: Depositphotos

The developers of the Babbel language learning application, along with a lecturer in language, linguistics and communications at the University of Manchester Alex Baratta, conducted a study during which they asked representatives of different countries about how they perceive one or another foreign accent.

About 7500 people in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and Canada were interviewed about their opinions about foreigners speaking their native language, as well as about their own concerns about speaking in a foreign language.

The results showed that Americans are most concerned about how their emphasis is perceived abroad. 54% said they were worried about their accent when they spoke a foreign language, and 34% expressed a desire to get rid of their accent when speaking a foreign dialect.

Abroad, an American accent is most likely to be considered "friendly" (34% of non-US respondents said so), "direct" (27%) and "assertive" (20%). Canadians are most likely to find an American accent "approving" (23% of Canadian respondents), while Italians are most likely to find an American accent "funny" (25% of Italian respondents).

On the subject: Accent in a foreign language: why it appears and how to get rid of it

The French accent is rated as the "sexiest" in the US (40% of American respondents), while the Italian accent is rated the most "passionate" (40%). Americans also find the Caribbean accent to be the most "friendly" (37%), while the British accent is the most "sophisticated" (44%).

Overall, the Spanish accent is considered the most "friendly" (39% of all respondents), while the German accent is considered the most "simple" and "assertive" (29% and 33%, respectively), as well as the most "professional" (26%). The French and Italians boast the most “stylish” accents (30%). The French accent is also perceived as the most "complex", "intriguing" and "sexy" (30%, 19% and 37%). And the Swedish accent is considered the most “intelligent” and “trustworthy” (24% and 15% respectively).

On the other hand, American accents are considered the most "uneducated" (16%), Russian the most "unfriendly" (18%), and German and Russian the most "harsh" (38%).

The study also showed that women (42%) and young respondents (47%) are most often worried about how they sound compared to the total sample of people surveyed around the world (38%). Americans and Britons more often than others safely overcome anxiety about conversations in a foreign language.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Learn English by movie: top paintings by language proficiency

10 typical mistakes in learning English and how to avoid them: tips from professionals

25 free online services for easy learning English

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.