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29 October 2014

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Voices

Time to speak up!

The Expert Voice

We asked the experts to give us the lowdown on the regional accent and dialect.

Three out of five people in this region say occasionally they wish they had another accent to sound more pleasant. One in five people go further and say they don't like their accent at all!

These are just some of the findings from a BBC poll commissioned to discover peoples attitudes towards accents, dialects and the way we speak.

Shhh...don't say a word!

So, if some of us don't like the way we sound, who do we think does have a pleasant voice?

Sean Connery ranked first in a vote to find the most pleasant voice with Ian Paisley topping the poll for the least pleasant voice.

BBC Radio Newcastles Mike Parr Breakfast Show spoke to Newcastle University language experts, Will Allen and Warren Maguire, about the use of dialect within the region.

In the interview, Will and Warren discuss the findings of the poll and explain why we may not like the way we talk.

Listen to the experts