BBC Voices Poll 2004
Aim:
to find out how people feel about various accent and languages across the british isles
Methodology:
The poll was commissioned by the BBC audience and consumer research for BBC voices conducted by greenfield online (Greenfield Online has a panel of registered respondents from which its survey samples are drawn. In the UK this panel consists of approximately 140,000 individuals: MORE RELIABLE)
-The final sample yielded 5,010 respondents aged 15 and over who completed the survey
-The final sample gender ratio nationally was 49:51 Male:Female.
-Social Class data was not collected.
-97% of the whole sample said that English was their first language. 26% of the overall sample said they spoke at least one language as well as English, and the most frequently mentioned languages were French
Findings and Analysis:
Celebrity voices:
Participants were asked to rank celebrities in order of how pleasant their voices sound.Respondents indicated a preference for accents relatively local to them.
-Scots said they loved Ewan McGregor's Perthshire accent, the English found Hugh Grant's voice attractive, people in Wales preferred listening to Welsh actor Richard Burton and newsreader Huw Edwards, while those in Northern Ireland found Terry Wogan's Limerick accent irresistible.
With the exception of Northern Ireland, Ian Paisley's accent was deemed the most unpleasant.
The respondents own voices:
The most wished-for accent is a Standard English accent, but 7% said they would rather have a Southern Irish accent. It's not all doom and gloom, as most people are proud of their own accents. One contributor described their voice as "nice and Welshy" and another said that they had been complimented on their lovely Newcastle accent.
More than 4 in 5 admit to changing their accent on occasions, particularly when meeting people for the first time or when talking to more senior work colleagues.
Attitudes towards accents -
Three quarters of people in the UK think they hear a lot more accents in everyday life and on BBC TV and radio than they used to, and 78% enjoy hearing a variety of accents.
In general there was a close link between pleasantness and prestige: an Edinburgh accent was valued highly on both counts. On the other hand Asian, Liverpool and Birmingham accents were all deemed both unpleasant to listen to and lacking in social status.
There was a contrast as whilst a London accent was thought to be helpful career-wise, people did not find it pleasant to listen to.
Scottish and Northern Irish respondents liked Scottish accents best of all, but English and Welsh voters put the Standard English accent out on top
Conclusion & Evaluation
In conclusion the poll suggested that people in the UK enjoy hearing other accents and many have a variety of attitudes towards different types of accents. People voted their own accent as favourite but said that they would occasionally prefer to have a different one in particular situations.
The voice poll study is thought to be reliable as it was carried out by one of the most leading organisations in the UK; BBC. The poll covered wide areas in the U.K with respondents being rather fair with the gender and the age ranges
