The legend goes that our American friends would be particularly fond of the French accent ... "Glamor", "sexy", "elegant", the language of Molière benefits from all possible ameliorative adjectives and arouses a certain enthusiasm across the Atlantic. French Morning set out to investigate the reasons for this enthusiasm for the French accent.
You have probably already experienced it in spite of yourself, maybe it even annoys you. You have barely had time to finish your sentence in English, your interlocutor answers you, all smiles: "Ah, you’re French! ". And quickly add: "I love the French accent, it's so cute". The more reckless will even call your accent "sexy." Stunned by these reactions, we asked the Americans. To the first question: "Do you like the French accent?" the answer is unanimous: yes.
Things get tough when asked 'why? ". Most find it difficult to express the reasons for what should be called a certain affection. And for good reason. "I don't know .. It's just…" Just what? “… Just so elegant”. Good. So the French accent is elegant. But why ? Well, well, at the risk of disappointing you, it would seem that, in the majority of cases, it is the image of Paris that gives our accent all its charm. The list of qualifiers that were given to us "romantic"; "Sophisticated"; "Artsy" all evoke the French capital in the imaginations of the Americans we interviewed.
One of our interviewees, more precise than the others, explains that: "The French accent is very distinct, nasally, throaty" and adds that "French people move their mouths well".
The appeal for the French accent does not seem to be confined to the United States. An October 2013 poll, conducted by Hotel.com among users around the world, shows that the language of Molière would be the most attractive according to travelers. In front of Italian and British English, the 8,000 or so interviewed voted French the most romantic language.