Poll finds French no longer 'sexiest' language in the world

French has lost its place as the world’s ‘sexiest’ language accent, a new study has found, with another European language topping the podium instead.

An accent or speaker of the ‘language of Molière’ was pipped to the post by Italian, in a new OnePoll survey of 6,000 people for language learning app Babbel.

The poll questioned language learners in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the UK and US in December 2023.

The top three sexiest were:

• Italian

• French

• Latin American Spanish.

“There are certain characteristics of Italian that may contribute to its appeal,” said Noël Wolf, Babbel language teacher, when the poll results were first revealed. “The rise and fall of pitch in spoken Italian can create a musical quality, which some people find alluring and attractive.”

The same poll found that German is considered to be the “most direct” language, and British English the “most polite”.

The latest results contrast to the company’s 2017 survey of more than 15,000 people, which named French as the “sexiest accent or language”, and put Italian in second place.

Romance languages

But the French language needn’t worry; it was still voted the world’s ‘most romantic’, with a third of participants voting for it in this capacity. Participants of British nationality were most likely to vote for French in this way.

The poll also found that more than half (53%) of people felt that it is sexy to have a romantic date with someone whose mother tongue is not their own.

Participants of French nationality were most likely to consider learning their partner's language if the situation arose, with 79% agreeing.

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