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. 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 12. Others — we’re looking at you, Vietgermans — do not.
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
12. Thai
11. Trinidadian
10. Brazilian Portuguese
Find out which other accents made the list on CNN.
