Voices

Respondents in South West England voted these people as having the most pleasant voices (in descending order):
1. Sean Connery
2. Trevor McDonald
3. Hugh Grant
4. Terry Wogan
5. Moira Stewart

Respondents in South West England voted these people as having the least pleasant voices:
1. Ian Paisley
2. Billy Connolly
3. Janet Street-Porter
4. Cilla Black
5. Paul O'Grady/Lily Savage

64% of South West England respondents think of themselves as having at least a moderately strong accent. 6% say they have no accent at all and 5% said they had a very strong accent.

12% of respondents in South West England say they don't like their accent and 15% say they're not proud of their accent. Over half of respondents do like their accents (58%) and are proud of their accent (56%).

According to the majority of South West England respondents (70%) the variety of accents they hear in everyday life is increasing and 76% say they like hearing this variety. Although 22% said they thought that, generally speaking, we are becoming less tolerant of this diversity. 44% of respondents agreed that regional accents are becoming less distinct as some language research suggests but (33%) disagreed with this statement.

62% of South West England respondents think that British English is becoming more Americanised. 16% disagreed that this was the case and 22% neither agreed or disagreed.

48% of respondents from South West England wish at least occasionally they had another accent, compared to the UK average of 59%. The most-wished for accent was a Standard English accent, but 8% said they'd like to have a Southern Irish accent, and 7% a Queen's English accent. The main reason people would like to change their accent is that it sounded more pleasant than their own accents.

79% say that who they are speaking to can cause them to change their accent, with 32% of those admitting that they change their accent when they meet people for the first time. The main reasons respondents do this is to ensure that they are understood more clearly.

Languages other than English
56% of South West England respondents think that speaking another language is a bonus when it comes to getting a good job, but 19% don't think being multilingual is an advantage. Although most people say they hear more languages around them nowadays than previously, 22% say they don't like hearing languages other than English. 23% think that in general we are becoming less tolerant of hearing languages other than English.

South West England opinions on accents
South West England respondents voted the Standard accent of English as their most pleasant accent and the accent most likely to help you obtain a good job. The Queen's English was voted the most prestigious accent. After respondents' own accents and the West Country accent, the Southern Irish, Cornish and the Queen's English accents were their next most pleasant accents, outranking a list of nearly 20 other UK accents and 10 other accents of English from around the world.

UK opinion of West Country and Cornish accents
The UK sample as a whole ranked the Cornish and West Country accents quite highly in terms of pleasantness. The only UK accents to outrank them in terms of pleasantness were Standard English, Queen's English, Scottish (in general) and Edinburgh. Both the Cornish and West Country accents were ranked a little lower in terms of prestige and helpfulness on the career ladder but still outranked accents from Bristol, Manchester, Northern Ireland and Newcastle.

Here are the South West findings to the following questions. The UK average figures are in brackets.

I like hearing a range of accents
76% of agree (78%)
6% disagree (6%)
18% neither agree or disagree (16%)

I hear a lot more accents around me in my everyday life nowadays than I did before
70% agree (74%)
15% disagree (12%)
15% neither agree or disagree (14%)

In general people have become less tolerant of hearing a variety of accents
22% agree (22%)
54% disagree (55%)
23% neither agree or disagree (22%)

The English language in the British Isles is becoming more Americanised
62% agree (61%)
16% disagree (19%)
22% neither agree or disagree (20%)

Regional accents are less distinct than they used to be
44% agree (39%)
33% disagree (37%)
23% neither agree or disagree (24%)

Men tend to have stronger accents than women
26% agree (28%)
38% disagree (38%)
36% neither disagree or agree (34%)

I hear a wider variety of accents on BBC television and radio nowadays than I did before
79% agree (76%)
7% disagree (8%)
14% neither disagree or agree (17%)

I would like to hear a greater variety of accents on BBC television and radio
43% agree (46%)
25% disagree (22%)
33% neither disagree or agree (31%)

To what extent do you think you have an accent?
64% said they had at least a moderately strong accent (73%)
5% said they had a very strong accent (6%)
6% of people said they had no accent at all. (5%)

I like my accent
58% agree (53%)
12% disagree (16%)
30% neither disagree or agree (26%)

I am proud of my accent
56% agree (54%)
15% disagree (17%)
29% neither disagree or agree (24%)