New Zealand named the UK's second most attractive accent

Cheers Taika Waititi: Researchers said views on accents are largely shaped by perceptions of celebrities speaking with them on TV and in films. Photo / AP

Good as gold!

New Zealand has been ranked as the second most attractive accent to people in the UK — coming behind the Queen's Received Pronunciation accent.

It comes after New Zealand accent was rated the sexiest in the world in an extensive poll conducted by Big Travel in April last year.

In a survey, commissioned by dating site harmony, researchers asked 1000 Britons to listen to 40 different voice recordings spoken in 20 dialects and rank them on a scale of 1 to 5 based on various positive traits, including attractiveness.

The sentence read: "In Britain we can expect rain at any time of the year. While winter is wetter than summer, seasonal differences in rainfall are very small."

Received Pronunciation, as spoken by royals and other members of the upper classes, was voted as the most attractive with an average score of 3.34

The accent was found to be strongly associated with intelligence, sophistication and charm.

The Kiwi accent came in second, scoring an average of 3.06, with the suggestion that widespread popularity of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern helped the New Zealand tongue get such a high ranking.

Edinburgh was third at 2.91.

In contrast, the Cornish dialect ranked last for attractiveness, with a score of 2.28, although it associated with a good sense of humour.

Spanish and French accents do not fare particularly well either, ranking 18th and 19th respectively for attractiveness.

Researchers said views on accents are largely shaped by perceptions of celebrities speaking with them on TV and in films, with 24 per cent of us judging an accent because of the qualities we associate with them.

"The Bond Effect" means 26 per cent of people think more favourably of the Edinburgh timbre given actor Sean Connery's accent.

The survey found that one in eight people has gone on a date with someone because they liked their accent.

Rachael Lloyd, relationship expert at eharmony, said: "Accents play a part in our perception of others and sometimes we can't help but be drawn in by a particularly pleasing burr.

"But, it's important to remember that while we might find someone more appealing due to the way they speak, we need to evaluate their core values and personality traits to work out if they are a suitable match.

"Celebrities clearly have an impact on the way we perceive accents with Sean Connery still doing wonders for the Edinburgh accent, whilst the Geordie accent remains popular due to Ant and Dec."

Top 20 accents in order of attractiveness:

1. Received Pronunciation
2. New Zealand
3. Edinburgh
4. Australian
5. German
6. Yorkshire
7. Irish
8. Glasgow
9. Geordie
10. American
11. Essex
12. Liverpudlian
13. London
14. Manchester
15. Italian
16. Welsh
17. Birmingham
18. Spanish
19. French
20. Cornish