When we usually think of sexy accents, we typically think about British accents. Or maybe that’s just Henry Cavill and Tom Hiddleston. While we may not usually think of our Malaysian accent as being sexy, travellers to our country seem to think so!
A study by Enjoy Travel, a UK-based travel site, showed that voters found that the Malaysian accent is considered the 6th sexiest in Asia and 39th in the world.
As written by the website, their ranking system is developed to ensure only the best places. It includes criteria points such as ‘editorial opinions & experiences’, ‘previous critic reviews’, and ‘consistency’.
Image Credit: Unsplash
They said Malaysia is a “tropical paradise known for its beaches, rainforests and jungle, whilst influenced by Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultures. The modern Malay language is classed as “Austronesian” whilst there are 156 indigenous languages split into 55 West Malaysian and 101 East Malaysian.”
They also noted that “Malaysian accents are becoming increasingly Americanised.” Our observation is that many Malaysian children nowadays have Malaysian accents from watching YouTube videos. Guys, time to use more “lahs”, lah! Also, words like ‘jom’, ‘walao’, and ‘aiyo’ will help you sound more Malaysian!
Ranking in Asia
In Malaysia, the Filipino accent took the top spot, as they are “Gentle and soft, the accents you’ll hear when in the Philippines are simply lovely.” We’re also happy to note that we beat out our neighbours Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia *smirks*. Thailand came in at no.48, considered “hugely tonal, but not hugely sexy.”
Here are the top 6 rankings in Asia:
- Filipino
- Arabic
- Vietnamese
- Indian
- Egyptian
- Malaysian
Top 10 in the World
Interestingly, the British accent is missing from the top 10 list, with the Kiwi accent sweeping the top spot. They wrote, “To a novice ear, the New Zealand accent might sound like the Australian accent, but Big 7 Travel readers disagree. The ‘Newzild’ dialect is outrageously charming” Time to book a trip to NZ, guys!
- Kiwi
- South African
- Irish
- Italian
- Australian
- Scottish
- French
- Spanish
- South USA
- Brazilian Portuguese
The last spot on the list was Croatian at no.50, considered the “least popular Slavic accent.”
Do you think the Malaysian accent is sexy? Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: Deva Darshan on Unsplash, tirachardz on Freepik