ATLANTA, Georgia and LONDON, September 2 /PRNewswire/ --
- Hugh Jackman's Strine and Bono's Brogue Also Rank High, but When it Comes to James Gandolfini... Fuhgeddaboutit!
The way we talk says so much about who we are, where we come from, and sometimes dictates how we're treated. But it turns out that despite this Americans just aren't that hung up over the sound of their own voices.
A poll commissioned by voice-to-screen leader SpinVox and conducted by Harris Interactive(R) found that overall, 47 percent of Americans are happy with how their particular regional accent sounds in comparison with other American accents. Only five percent reported they aren't fond of the way they talk. 48 percent expressed neutrality on the matter.
U.S adults were significantly more enthused by the prospect of adopting a non-American English accent with 36 percent reporting they would like to speak like the Queen of England. The Australian and Irish accents of Hugh Jackman and Bono also proved popular, ranking second and third respectively.
If pushed on their preferences for alternative American accents, U.S. citizens most favour the "General American" accent, which is considered to be devoid of any regional attributes, and is exemplified by retired broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite. Americans would then choose Reese Witherspoon's Southern drawl over other domestic accents-just as some U.S. presidential candidates have done while campaigning in the region for local appeal. Conversely, the New Jersey/New York dialect (as exemplified by James Gandolfini in his role as Tony Soprano) was most often selected as the accent Americans would least like to have themselves.
"In an increasingly homogenized society, speech remains one of the few things we're able to use to differentiate ourselves," said director of the Advanced Speech Group at SpinVox, Tony Robinson. "Considering accent indicates geographical origin and is a powerful expression of self, it's interesting to note how half of Americans take great pride in how they talk, and the other half places little value on regional accent as a social and cultural hallmark. The American attitudes on accent are interesting when compared to English accents in Britain, for example, where there are much bigger shifts in dialects across much shorter distances."
The findings contrasted sharply with a similar poll commissioned by SpinVox and conducted by YOUGov in the UK where 75 percent of Brits admitted to some measure of 'accent envy', claiming they would like to speak with an accent that is different to their own, with their Queen's English proving the most popular choice.
At 64 percent, U.S. Southerners were most appreciative of their own accents.
"We've been looking at attitudes toward accent for sometime, and we're amazed how divided individuals in different countries are toward the way they speak," concluded Tony Robinson.
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of SpinVox between August 11-13, 2008 among 2,151 U.S. adults age 18+. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.
About SpinVox
SpinVox(R) brought together the two most popular methods of communication - voice and text - and created a new category of messaging called Voice-to-Screen(TM). Its award-winning service is now making everyday communication simpler and more powerful, creating new recurring revenues for wireless, landline, cable and VOIP carriers as well as service providers and web partners. SpinVox has already launched its service with Alltell, Cincinnati Bell, Sasktel, Rogers, Telstra, Vodacom South Africa and Six Apart and announced deals with Vodafone Spain and Skype. As a managed service provider any network or service can rapidly and cost-effectively implement SpinVox.
At the heart of SpinVox is its Voice Message Conversion System(TM) (VMCS), which works by combining state-of-the-art speech technologies with a live-learning language process. VMCS is being rolled-out across four continents in four languages - English, French, Spanish and German.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com.
Media Contacts: Ema Linaker, SpinVox, +44-7771-770317, Ema.Linaker@SpinVox.Com
Media Contacts: Ema Linaker, SpinVox, +44-7771-770317, Ema.Linaker@SpinVox.Com
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