Good news for lovers hoping to sweet-talk an online date – the Irish accent is one of the least annoying, according to a new study.
Researchers found people could listen to Irish women speaking for four minutes and 32 seconds – compared to just 90 seconds for Americans.
Our Northern cousins also did well and kept listeners engaged for four minutes and two seconds.
Language specialist Yelena McCafferty said: “Our reaction to accents says more about us than the accents.
“People are attracted to accents which are familiar and it’s only natural we tend to trust somebody who speaks like us.
“It makes us think that the person is from our own community, which is important for us on the subconscious level. When we hear someone for the first time, we make assumptions because it’s our survival instinct.
“We need to see who is our friend and who is our foe.
“The North and the Republic are both musical nations so perhaps it’s the musicality of their intonations that is so endearing to others.”
Business training website The KnowledgeAcademy.com asked 500 people to listen to a five-minute passage from a famous book, spoken by native speakers from Ireland, [North and the Republic], New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, America and Great Britain.
The American, South African and Kiwi tones were the most annoying and for men. The least irritating accent was Scottish.
