Japanese prefer Glaswegian accent, says study

Glaswegians have the most attractive accent for Japanese speakers of English, a new study has revealed.

Robert McKenzie, senior lecturer in sociolinguistics at the University of Northumbia in Newcastle, questioned more than 500 people to study how worldwide perceptions of the English language are changing.

Those who participated in the study listened to speakers of six varieties of English and rated them on personality traits. The six accents used were from Alabama and Ohio in the United States, Glasgow, Scottish standard English, moderately accented Japanese English and heavily accented Japanese English.