ANOTHER company yesterday released results of a survey telling Scots what they already know - that their accent is the best in the UK.
Cellnet said almost one in five people surveyed said a Scottish voice was their favourite, while actor Sean Connery had the perfect dulcet tones.
The findings come a few weeks after BT announced it was considering setting up a new tele-marketing centre in Glasgow because a survey it carried out showed the Scottish accent was regarded one of the most attractive in the UK.
However, another survey carried out by recruitment specialists last month said people with Glaswegian and other strong regional accents were often discriminated against at work or when applying for a job.
The Cellnet research, carried out to allow the mobile telephone company to choose a male and female voice for a new personal telephone help service, said the Scottish accent was the second most trustworthy telephone voice behind the ''BBC English'' of the Home counties.
Throughout the UK, 18% of those who were asked selected the Scottish accent as the best, and it was most popular in the North-east, North-west, and East Anglia. More than one in three Scots said their accent was their favourite.
The next best accents were Geordie and the Home Counties, both at 14%. The Welsh favoured a southern Irish lilt (18%) as well as their own accent (17%).
When it came to selecting their ideal personal assistant for the new Cellnet service, one in four Scots chose Sean Connery, compared to one in five throughout the UK. The next most popular personalities were Anthea Turner and Dawn French.
For trustworthiness on the telephone Home Counties was chosen by 39% of the people interviewed. Scottish accents were second on 15% and West Country third on 7%. Most regions selected the Home Counties tones for trustworthiness, except Scotland and West Country which chose their own, at 41% and 19% respectively.
The survey was carried out as part of Cellnet's search for voices to greet callers to its location and message service, Personal Assistant.
Psychologist Dr David Lewis said: ''We all place an enormous amount of judgment on someone's voice, even though most of the time we are simply not aware of doing it. The research reminds us of the importance people place on accents and voices, and what they convey, particularly over the telephone.''
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