It’s getting the boot.
French has been displaced by Italian as the world’s most attractive language, the Daily Mail reports, citing a new survey from the language learning platform Babbel.
6,000 people from the US, the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany were asked which languages are perceived as “most sexy,” “most romantic” and “most passionate,” with Italian leaning into the top spot.
“There are certain characteristics of Italian that may contribute to its appeal,” Babbel language teacher Noël Wolf explained to the Daily Mail.
“The rise and fall of pitch in spoken Italian can create a musical quality, which some people find alluring and attractive,” Wolf continued.
She added: “Certain phonetic features, such as the rolling of ‘r’ sounds, can be distinctive in Italian, which to many is regarded as charming or attractive.”
Survey results showed German won for “most direct” language and British English for “most polite.”
The Post reached out to Babbel reps for comment.
The company’s 2017 survey of over 15,000 people named French the “sexiest accent” and Italian No. 2.
“English speakers are drawn to the melody of a language such as French or Italian,” linguist Patti Adank, a professor of speech perception and production at University College London, noted at the time.
“In comparison, languages such as Thai or Mandarin can sound harsh because they are using tonal distinctions,” she reasoned. “It sounds very unnatural and unexpected.”
The latest survey comes as linguists say a new dialect known as “Miami English” is taking over South Florida.
Popularized by Hispanic youth born in America, “Miami English” uses English words in Spanish forms.
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