Day 30

Italian Named the World's Most Attractive Accent

https://eikaiwa.dmm.com/app/daily-news/article/italian-named-the-worlds-most-attractive-accent/2EDJQtSxEe6Vskt6iJKogg

Vocabulary

• pitch

• vibrate

• purr

Questions

1. 6,000 people took part in the survey.

2. South African was at the top of the list in the 2020 survey

3. British English was the most polite accent in the 2024 survey.

Discussion

1. I didn’t understand their findings. I have rarely heard Italian spoken in Japan. I am curious to know how Chinese and Korean ranked in the survey.

2. Yes I do, but I don’t agree that it sounds like music. I find that Italian sounds faster than Japanese and pronunciation seems difficult.

3. This article also mentions there are accents which are attractive. I especially like the vibrating part of giorno in buongiorno.

4. No I don’t. I have never found it polite although I can’t understand words spoken in British English.

5. Yes. In Japanese the length of vowels changes the meaning of a word. For example 来て and 聞いて are completely different words.

Further Discussion

1. No I haven’t, but I would like to visit Italy and I am thinking of studying Italian before I go.

2. Yes I have been to the US. I didn’t even know that they had such a strong accent because I could understand very little English at the time.

3. Yes I do. A friend of mine lost his accent when he came to Tokyo from Osaka. When I talk to him I can’t even tell he is from Osaka.

4. Yes, that’s English. I really envy people who can speak English.

5. I don’t think they will struggle with pronouncing in Japanese. If I have to choose a word, 離乳食 is difficult to pronounce.