I've always prided myself in being able to detect accents and identify where someone comes from (or at least where they were born and raised). I'm from the deep South and I've lived all but a few of my 53 years here, but I don't have a strong regional accent (unless you ask my college roommate from Michigan, he thinks I do).
I'm not sure what influences how strong your regional dialect is, but that's a topic for another day. Today, we're talking about the accents that are strongest and sexiest.
According to a new survey from YouGov, people say a the Boston accent is the strongest American accent. It wasn't voted the sexiest, but it also didn't finish last.
The picks for the five strongest accents are:
1. Boston
2. Southern
3. New York
4. Texas
5. Appalachian
The picks for the five sexiest accents are:
1. Southern
2. Texas
3. New York
4. Boston
5. West Coast
The survey also found that only 36% of Americans think they personally have an accent. So maybe I do have an accent and just don't realize it.
So how sexy is a Southern accent, you ask? There are videos online that attempt to teach you how to speak that way. I didn't find many that are coaching you to talk like a Bostonian, so there may not be a huge demand for that.
Here's one that shows non-Mississippians how to speak like they're from here. And they're being dead serious, believe it or not. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to tell a natural Southern drawl from a taught one...
But I may be wrong, y'all.