When put to a vote against 15 different British accents, the Yorkshire accent has come out on top – being voted the most trustworthy in Britain.
With its roots in Old English and Old Norse, we’ve always thought that the Yorkshire dialect was pretty damn special. Of course, we’re biased, but now there’s some hard new evidence to back us up.
In a survey of over 2,000 people, OneBuy.com asked people to listen to 15 different British accents. It then asked them to pick who they would trust and favour in a job interview – and Yorkshire won out with 60% of the vote.
That means we’re not just the most trustworthy, but arguably also the most hireable. At least, according to the 2,221 people that took part.
A mix of employers and general public members to choose their most employable and trustworthy accent.
Yorkshire beat both received pronunciation (what we might call The Queen’s English) at 57%, and the Edinburgh accent (52%) to the top spot, with those taking part calling the dulcet tones of Yorkshire ‘intelligent’ and calming’.
Participants also said they would be more likely to hire someone with a Scottish accent, with many describing it as ‘soothing’ and ‘friendly’.
In fourth place was the Welsh accent – and last with just 4% was Birmingham. The poor old brummies were unequivocally decided to be the least trustworthy-sounding of the bunch when pitted against Liverpudlians, East Anglians, Cockneys and Glaswegians.
This isn’t the first time the Yorkshire accent has come up on top, either. It’s also previously been ranked in the top ten sexiest UK accents (admittedly, only just – it did come 9th in that study but still we’re taking it as a win).
15 of the most trustworthy accents in the UK:
- Yorkshire (60%)
- Recieved Pronounciation (57%)
- Edinburgh (52%)
- Welsh (48%)
- Newcastle (40%)
- Bolton (38%)
- Northern Irish (30%)
- West Country (27%)
- Manchester (25%)
- Essex (22%)
- Glaswegian (20%)
- Cockney (17%)
- East Anglian (10%)
- Liverpool (8%)
- Birmingham (4%)
