Why French and Italian Accents Captivate: Linguistics of Seduction

In 2025, a meeting between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron sparked discussion about the allure of French and Italian accents. Trump complimented both Macron and an Italian journalist on their accents, contrasting with his past difficulty understanding an Indian prime minister's accent. Linguistic expert Rebecca Leigh notes that French and Italian possess a "natural flow" with "soft vowels, lilting intonation," creating an "effortless musicality." She adds that cultural associations of French with "love and sophistication" and Italian with "passion and beauty" contribute to their appeal. Foreign accents can be "disarming and intriguing," influencing perceptions. A Babbel survey indicated Italian surpassed French as the "sexiest accent" with 27% of votes, while French remained the most romantic. Babbel's Noel Wolf attributes Italian's appeal to its musical quality and distinctive phonetic features like rolling "r" sounds. UCL linguist Patti Adank notes English speakers are drawn to the melody of French and Italian, finding tonal languages like Thai or Mandarin less appealing.