The world’s sexiest accents, from “Ooooh!” to “Have my babies!!!”

Whether it’s the British charm of Hugh Grant, the soft tones of a French barista or a simple Aussie twang, accents can make us go weak at the knees. And, let’s be honest, hearing and learning about new languages is super fun and exciting. So, we’ve gone ahead and ranked some of our faves from “Ooooh!” to “Have my babies!”. Get ready to melt into a puddle in no time! 😉

Oooh: Jamaican

People don’t say “Jamaican me crazy” for nothing! While Jamaican English is the country’s official language, most people speak Jamaican Patois (pronounced pat-wa) first – a language that mixes West African, Taino, English, Irish, Scottish and Spanish dialects and is well-known to fans of Reggae music. As an accent, it’s as warm, vibrant and diverse as the people who speak it. And that’s why it gets an Oooh! from us.

Gaga: Italian

Even listening to an Italian speaker order their coffee is enough to make me go gaga. That’s the power of this romantic language. Did you know that it wasn’t until 1861 that Italian became an official language? True story! And it’s thanks to Italian poet Dante Alighieri and linguist Francesco Petrarch that the Tuscan dialect became the country’s national language. Before that, less than 2.5% of Italians spoke a standardised language.

Speechless: Irish

Two words: Colin Farrell. Two more words: Saoirse Ronan. Not only does this language have the power to make me absolutely speechless, but it was once one of the main languages of Newfoundland, Canada, too. If that doesn’t make you love this language even more, this might: there is no word for ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Irish! They just repeat the verb. For example, if you asked someone “Can you swim?” in Irish, they would respond with “I can swim” or “I can’t swim”, not yes or no 🤯

Swoon-worthy: Australian

Look, I may be Australian but that doesn’t make me biased. We Aussies really do have an interesting accent. What is particularly fascinating is the fact that despite the country being around 4,000km wide, our accents don’t differ much from the east to west coast, which is uncommon in English-speaking countries. Think of the United States or Britain, for example, where accents are very different depending on the region. What makes Australia so different? Well, it could come down to the country’s short colonial history, which hasn’t allowed enough time for isolated accents to develop, as well as the spread of national televised media, which has allowed a common ‘Australian’ accent to spread far and wide via TV. Who knew?

Melt-worthy: Canadian

BRB, just melting into a puddle. Unless you’ve got a trained ear, you might find it hard to tell the difference between a Canadian accent and one from the United States. Ever wondered why they’re so similar? Well, Canadian English was shaped by immigrants from the UK and Ireland, while there were also 100,000+ people from the US, which led to a mix of British and American English. This was later spread throughout the country, resulting in the accent we know and melt over today 😉

Smooooth: New Zealand

The Kiwi accent was named the sexiest in the WORLD in 2019 and if you’ve ever heard Marlon Williams sing, Jemaine Clement speak or watched the film The Breaker Upperers (hilarious, watch it!) then it will come as no surprise. English is one of the three official languages in New Zealand, as well as Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language. While Kiwi and Aussie accents can sometimes be mistaken, the New Zealand accent evolved thanks to the first settlers from the south-east of England, who brought with them softer-sounding vowels. So smooth!

Spicy: Spanish

I don’t know if it’s the lisp, but to me the Spanish accent is hotter than a spicy chorizo. While there are more than 400 million Spanish speakers and 21 countries have Spanish as their official language, the accent in Spain is unique and varies from region to region. Fun fact: Many Spanish words are also influenced by Arabic from when Arab armies conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 711AD.

Charming: British

No matter what your taste in accents, you’re likely to find at least one you like in Britain, because there are a whopping 30+ English dialects to choose from throughout the British Isles. Whether it’s a cockney accent from London or a Yorkshire burr, there’s something for everyone. My personal fave? A healthy dollop of Idris Elba, thank you very much!

Yessss: Argentinian

Spanish might already be in this list, but the Argentinian accent is completely different. It’s like Spanish and Italian smashed together with some really nice sounding “ll” and “y” sounds. Italian is also one of the most common languages spoken in Argentina (around 1.5 million people report Italian as their first language) thanks to immigration from Italy during the 19th and 20th centuries. Argentina is now also home to the second-largest Italian population outside of Italy 😱

Have my babies: French

To be honest, a French person could tell me to jump in a lake and I would honestly think it was the most beautiful, romantic, and sexy thing I’d ever heard. The guttural “r” sounds are music to my ears. Have my babies, already! It’s also worth noting that French is the official language of 29 countries, which makes it a great one for travellers to learn. If you’re a native English speaker and want to have a crack, you’re in luck because about 45% of modern English words are of French origin. So, get learning! 🥐

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