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Discussion: CNN: World's Sexiest Accents
Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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CNN: World's Sexiest Accents
World's sexiest accents
Because a foreign language can be the best aphrodisiac, we traveled the world in search of the 12 hottest accents
By Jordan Burchette 18 August, 2011
In the unending pursuit of love, or its less eternal surrogate, the right accent can be as attractive as bright eyes, a beaming smile and a parabolic backside.
For world travelers, a far-flung tongue promises the unknown, confirms the known and dispels the thought-we-knew.
Does our highly scientific survey exclude your favorite accent? Vote on our Facebook poll.
But no accent is sexy when it’s strong enough to crush a beer can. Which means not all accents are created equal.
It’s estimated that there are nearly 7,000 languages on earth. That’s nearly 7,000 different ways to traipse clumsily through the English language -- or to sex it up like a Justin Timberlake song wrapped in chocolate cleavage.
Which begs our list of the world’s sexiest brogues. Some of you may have a legitimate case for inclusion in the top twelve. Others -- we’re looking at you, Vietgermans -- do not.
Also on CNNGo: 7 sexy skinny dips
Our also-rans included Putonghua (especially when Taiwanese women speak it in gentle tones), Australian (as appealing as warm Foster's to some, tantalizingly exotic to others) and Japanese (the language of repressed salarymen is also strangely designed for pillow talk).
Feel free to state your objections and/or rain your accolades in the comments section below or on our Sexiest Accents Facebook Poll.
Because when it comes to accents, there are no absolutes. Except that Bronx English is absolutely horrible.
12. Argentine
Famous tongues: Fernando Lamas, Gabriela Sabatini
A historical refuge for Spaniards, Italians and Germans, the hyper-libidinous South Ameripean melting pot of Argentina has cultivated a proud, pouty tone. With its own pronunciation of Spanish letters (“ll” sounds like “shh”) and its own words (“you” is “vos”), this is a dialect that’s hard to get. (Or at least plays that way.)
Sounds like: A tightly tuned guitar of G-strings strummed by a lamb shank
11. Thai
Famous tongues: Tony Jaa, Tata Young
With five tones comprising their native speech, the traffickers of this often fragile accent turn any language into a song of seduction. Thai is largely monosyllabic, so multi-beat foreign words get extra emphases right up until the last letter, which is often left off, leaving the listener wanting more. (Or at least asking “Huh?” lustfully.)
Sounds like: R-rated karaoke
10. Trinidadian
If their accents don't seduce you, their mon boobs will.
Famous tongues: Nikki Minaj, Billy Ocean
For fetishists of oddball sexuality, the Caribbean island of Trinidad offers an undulating, melodic gumbo of pan-African, French, Spanish, Creole and Hindi dialects that, when adapted for English, is sex on a pogo stick.
Sounds like: A rubber life raft bobbing on a sea of steel drums
09. Brazilian Portugues
Famous tongues: Alice Braga, Anderson Silva
Perhaps owing to its freedom from French influence, the Brazilian Portuguese accent has a more colorful, puerile flair than its coarser European counterpart. The resulting yowl of drawn-out vowels reveals a flirty freedom of spirit that sounds like a permanent vacation.
Sounds like: The near, then far, then near again hum of a low-wattage vacuum cleaner that runs on dance sweat.
08. US Southern
Y'all, we love it when y'all call us y'all. Especially when y'all are wearing orange chaps.
Famous tongues: Matthew McConaughy, Britney Spears
There’s nothing sexy about being in a hurry, and you could clock the growth rate of grass with the honeyed drawl -- less Tea Party, more “True Blood” -- of a Southern beau or belle.
Sounds like: Molasses taking a smoking break
07. Oxford British
Famous tongues: Hugh Laurie, Sienna Miller
Authoritative. Upright. Erudite. Scholarly. Few accents promise the upward nobility of the Queen’s English. It’s a take on the language that sets hearts devoted to James Bond and Hermione Granger aflutter. And, should the speaker fail to slake your most wanton desires, eh, at least you’ll learn something.
Sounds like: A crisply ironed shirt playing a harp
06. Irish
Famous tongues: Colin Farrell, Andrea Corr
Valued slightly more in men than in women, the Irish brogue is a lilting, lyrical articulation that’s charming, if not exotic. Fluid and uplifting, it can swing from vulnerable to threatening over the course of a sentence, restoring your faith in the world again … right before it stabs you with a broken bottle top.
Sounds like: A marauding pixie
05. Nigerian
Famous tongues: King Sunny Adé, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
Dignified, with just a hint of willful naiveté, the deep, rich “oh’s” and “eh’s” of Naija bend the English language without breaking it, arousing tremors in places other languages can’t reach. Kinda makes the occasional phone scam worth the swindle.
Sounds like: The THX intro with teeth
04. Czech
Famous tongues: Petra Nemcova, Jaromír Jágr
Like Russian, without the nettlesome history of brutal, iron-fisted despotism, Czech is a smoky, full-bodied vocal style that goes well with most meats. Murky and mysterious, the Bohemian tone is equal parts carnal desire and carnival roustabout.
Sounds like: Count Dracula, secret agent
03. Spanish
Famous tongues: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz
Sensual and beckoning, but with the passion to unleash hell kept just barely restrained, Castilian is like a dialectic Hoover Dam. But then there’s the lisp. Tender, vulnerable and cute as a baby’s hangnail -- no one owns the “th” sound formed by tongue and teeth like those who speak the language of Cervantes.
Sounds Like: An outboard motor on Lake Paella
02. French
Famous tongues: Sophie Marceau, Jean Reno
The demotion of this perennial prizewinner of global brogues to second place may illustrate the declining sexuality of Old World petulance. Still, the come-hither condescension and fiery disinterest of the French tongue remains paradoxically erotic.
Sounds like: A 30-year-old teenager
01. Italian
Famous tongues: Monica Bellucci, Alessandro Del Piero
Raw, unfiltered and as grabby to ears as its president is to rears, the Italian accent is a vowelgasm that reflects the spectrum of Italic experience: the fire of its bellicose beginnings … the romance of the Renaissance … the dysfunction of anything resembling a government since Caesar. Insatiable, predatory and possessive, this is sex as a second language.
Sounds like: A Ferrari saxophone
Reader's Facebook Poll:
10. British English
09. Nigerian
08. Irish
07. Brazilian Portuguese
06. Australian
05. Italian
04. Spanish
03. British Oxford
02. French
01. Trinidadian
http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/li...=0,1&hpt=hp_c2
Sorry if your flop accent didn't make the list
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Member Since: 12/28/2010
Posts: 26,529
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Trinidadian
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Member Since: 4/1/2011
Posts: 6,382
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And just where is Icelandic?
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Member Since: 12/4/2010
Posts: 37,894
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Switch French with Italian, and
But:
Famous tongues: King Sunny Adé, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
Dignified, with just a hint of willful naiveté, the deep, rich “oh’s” and “eh’s” of Naija bend the English language without breaking it, arousing tremors in places other languages can’t reach. Kinda makes the occasional phone scam worth the swindle.
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/8/2006
Posts: 42,086
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I don't like Italian accent tbh
Spanish and French accent>>>
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 11/1/2010
Posts: 26,750
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Britney coming in at #8
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Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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Quote:
Originally posted by Katie
Britney coming in at #8
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Member Since: 3/12/2011
Posts: 10,342
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I love Italian accents, as well as french and Portuguese, Trinidadian and Australian
can't forget Spanish and British and sometimes Irish on the right people
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 11/14/2008
Posts: 24,988
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Quote:
Originally posted by Katie
Britney coming in at #8
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It's not Britney that came in #8 per say, but it's the "Southern Accent" found in America that got the ranking. They just used Britney as reference for one of the biggest ambassadors and example of how sexy the accent can be. But I just can't at Britney being cited for bringing sexy to the southern accent. QUEEN!
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Member Since: 6/7/2005
Posts: 20,766
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Quote:
Originally posted by Katie
Britney coming in at #8
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Not surprised.
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Member Since: 6/15/2011
Posts: 5,842
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Nigerian ahead of British... REALLY???
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Member Since: 11/18/2010
Posts: 33,622
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Australian >>>>
It's kind of odd to see "Southern US" make the list, as I know nobody who actually thinks this.
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 11/1/2010
Posts: 26,750
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Quote:
Originally posted by foxaylove
It's not Britney that came in #8 per say, but it's the "Southern Accent" found in America that got the ranking. They just used Britney as reference for one of the biggest ambassadors and example of how sexy the accent can be. But I just can't at Britney being cited for bringing sexy to the southern accent. QUEEN!
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OMG I didn't even read the paragraphs. I only read the language names and then commented. I meant my post as a complete joke. I saw 'southern US' and then made the reply. I swear I didn't even see her name at all.
I gotta read the whole OP before replying from now on.
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Member Since: 8/28/2009
Posts: 7,345
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Quote:
Originally posted by Moonage Daydream
Nigerian ahead of British... REALLY???
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The British accent is overrated, nothing special
Nigerian>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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Member Since: 11/12/2009
Posts: 13,575
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British & American southern
The French accent annoys me, i don't find it sexy.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 11/14/2008
Posts: 24,988
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Though I will say, one of the biggest overused stereotype about southerners is our supposed usage of "y'all". We don't use it in every single sentence. While some use it more than some, it's not said as much as other people think.
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Member Since: 10/4/2009
Posts: 16,075
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Italy
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Banned
Member Since: 4/26/2011
Posts: 547
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i would say british, and Australian and who doesn't love a canadian accent?
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Member Since: 12/28/2010
Posts: 26,529
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 11/1/2010
Posts: 26,750
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Quote:
Originally posted by foxaylove
Though I will say, one of the most overused southern stereotype is our supposed usage of "y'all". While some use it more than others, we don't used it as much as people would like to believe.
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I live on the west coast and I think we use that word more than you guys do. It's weird.
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