These are the most 'sexual' langauges which make pulses race, according to experts

Global e-learning platform Preply asked participants who were willing to get their hearts racing for the sake of science to listen to sensual chat up lines in different languages.

Preply then compared their resting heart rate, at an average of 65 bpm, with their heart rate whilst listening to the chat-up lines to determine the increase in bpm.

Italian has been revealed as the most sexual languages, whilst Dutch is least likely to seduce.

Participants were fitted with heart rate monitors and asked to listen to the different flirtatious clips whilst having their pulses analysed.

The language that came out on top was Italian; with participants experiencing a 23% uplift in heart rates from 65 bpm to 80 bpm. The top five seductive languages are as follows:

Italian (23% uplift in heart rates from 65bpm to 80bpm)

Portuguese (20% uplift in heart rates from 65bpm to 78bpm)

French (18% uplift in heart rates from from 65bpm to 77bpm)

Russian (18% uplift in heart rates from from 65bpm to 77bpm)

Greek (18% uplift in heart rates from from 65bpm to 77bpm)

Analysing the heartrate data further, it seems both men and women are most attracted to the Italian language. However, women seem to be more wowed by French (22% increase in bpm) than men (17% increase in bpm).

But what makes a language sound so sensual?

Aleksandra Stevanovic, linguist and translator with a BA in Swedish Language and Scandinavian Literatures explains: “the languages perceived to be easy for singing like Italian follow the pattern of one-vowel-one-consonant, so every syllable ends in a vowel. These sound musical to human ears, which can be perceived as more ‘attractive’.”

Jo Silverwood, Head of Translation and Localisation at meta, also states: “By far one of the sultriest languages is French. It’s the je ne sais quoi that makes it sound so charming, but is this down to linguistics, or social and cultural reasons? We have a stereotypical view of the French with their stylish haute couture, fine wines, and romantic Parisienne landmarks. However, the phonemes of the French language mimic the husky, ‘sultry’ hoarseness we’ve grown to love.”

Dutch was the language that got participants least excited, with heart rates only increasing by a mere 12% from their average bpm of 65 to 73, followed by German and Japanese (15% increase from 65bpm to 75bpm).

Looking at the gender divide, men are less excited about Dutch (8% increase in bpm) than women. Women on the other hand are less desirous by Japanese (9% increase in bpm).

But why are certain languages less seductive? Aleksandra comments: “languages with lots of consonants stacked together in so-called consonant groups are perceived as non-musical. These types of languages – which include Slavic languages and German, are often perceived as less ‘attractive’.”

Tips on how to make your voice sound more sexual

Inspired by the research and looking to make your voice deliberately sound more sexual? Below Aleksandra shares her top tips:

Lower your pitch

Think of Benedict Cumberbatch. He deliberately slows down and lowers his voice; and a lower voice is also associated with higher authority and confidence – and confidence is a very attractive quality to have.

Speak slower:

By speaking slowly, you will be perceived as more confident as you won’t trip over your words or stutter – something that can happen when our brains send mixed signals to our vocal cords.

Add a sultry overlay:

Channel the likes of Scarlett Johansson and try to deliberately aspirate your vowels (send extra air). A low, husky voice that sometimes ‘breaks’ is thought of as very seductive.

Speaking about the research, Kirill Bigai, CEO and co-founder at Preply, says: “We see a lot of research unveiling the most “appealing” accents but we wanted to reveal once and for all which languages really get people’s heart-racing which is why we decided to run this study. It’s no surprise Italian was voted as the sultriest language; however, it was pretty surprising to see Russian and Greek also made the top five.

“There are many reasons to learn a new language such as helping you to grow professionally and enabling you to move to a new country. But, if you want to really catch the attention of a love interest, you can learn one of the top languages as found from our research with a Preply tutor.”