BBC Voices

Aims
In November 2004, the BBC conducted a survey to determine people's attitudes towards regional accents and languages across Britain. 

Methodology
Conducted by Greenfield Online, an online poll asked participants to rank celebrities in order of how pleasant their accent sounded to them. 5010 people took part in the survey, all drawn from Greenfield's members, all aged 15 and over. The sample, however, was not weighted to reflect gender, social class, age or geographical demographics. The participants had a middle of the range spread concerning age; 25-64s were over-represented, whereas <25s and >64s were under-represented. The participants were taken from 63 identified areas across Britain, with 97% saying English was their first language and 27% saying they spoke another language as well as English.

Findings
The survey found that the most consistently preferred accent in the poll was that of Sean Connery, with his distinct Edinburgh tones. Newsreader Trevor McDonald sealed second place, with Moira Stewart and Pierce Brosnan placing close to the top. Interestingly, the poll found that people tended to prefer accents that were regionally very similar to their own. English voters ranked Hugh Grant's accent highly, with Scots giving the nod to Ewan McGregor and the Northern Irish showing preference for Terry Wogan's voice.

The survey's respondents were also found to occasionally wish that they had a different accent. 59% of participants sometimes thought they would be better off with a different accent, with Standard English and Southern Irish being the most 'in-demand'. Reasons given ranged from hoping others would understand them better to simply wanting to sound more pleasant. However, some people did actually like their own accents. Some considered their own to be prestigious, or helpful when applying for jobs.

People who live in the South East also identify less with actually having an accent. For example, 95% of the Northern Irish, 79% of the Welsh and 87% of the Scots believe that they have at least a moderately strong accent, compared to 63% and 64% of the East and South of England respectively believing the same. 4 in 5 people also admitted to changing their accents on certain occasions, such as talking to more senior work colleagues. Or after drinking alcohol, which is significantly more hilarious and bewildering.

Conclusion and Evaluation
Generally, people prefer accents that are similar to their own and closer to home. The celebrity part of the survey can be scrutinised to an extent, as people may already have some sort of preference as to who their favourite celebrity on the poll is - however, this could also just be because of their accent. People who don't like their accents are more likely to prefer having a Standard English or Southern Irish tone in order to sound more pleasant. Overall though, the representation of men and women in the survey was very well balanced and the age range ensured that only those with a well-developed opinion were able to take part in the survey.