#LoveIt or #HateIt? 'Welsh accent' tweets studied

Comedian Rob Brydon and singer Sir Tom Jones both have strong Welsh accents. Credit: Suzan/Suzan/EMPICS Entertainment

Attitudes to the Welsh accent appear to be improving, with more people thinking it's attractive than ever before, according to research by Cardiff University.

Sociolinguist Dr Mercedes Durham analysed nearly 90,000 tweets from September 2012 to May 2013 containing the words 'Welsh' and 'accent' to see what people were saying about it.

And it's good news for those with a Welsh lilt, with people on the social networking site more likely to think that the Welsh accent is sexy rather than ugly.

Some representative tweets from the study:

  • If the Welsh accent was a person we would be dating

  • Dad said if I ever pick up a Welsh accent I’ll be banished from the family

  • *Welsh accent* "Your voice is well lush"

  • I don't get how people can say they like the British accent: English, Northern Irish, Welsh and Scottish accents are all so different