'Pero like': Why Miami's Latino-influenced accent is one of the most 'attractive' in the nation

Move over, Southern and New York drawl—there's a new accent that's turning heads. The Miami accent, influenced by the vibrant Latino culture, has been ranked among the most 'attractive' and 'sexy' in the United States, according to a new study by Brandwatch.

The organization collected data between Feb. 2023 and Feb. 2024 about the top 50 most common accents in the country, highlighting every mention online and breaking down how many of these posts were praising the accent in some way.

Any online post that mentioned the accent in conjunction with terms like attractive, sexy, charming, and others was tallied to establish the final score. The higher the score, the more appealing the accent was considered.

Miami's accent gathered with 21,450 mentions, ranking seventh in the country behind Southern (76,950), New York (70,460), Californian (45,360), Texan (42,330), Bostonian (34,110), and Midwestern (33,000).

The Miami accent blends a flow, rhythm, and pronunciation heavily influenced by Latino immigration and Spanish. However, its scope doesn't end with how it sounds but also has started including grammatical changes, creating a completely new dialect known as "Miami English."

For example, in Miami, you can hear the expression "to get down from the car," a literal translation of "bajar del carro," instead of "we got out of the car," which is the standard English grammar."

Another case involves celebrations. In Miami English, you might hear people say they "make a party," akin to the Spanish "hacer una fiesta," instead of 'throwing' a party, or that someone married "with" someone else, instead of "to".

Another phrase 'native' to Miami is 'pero like. According to The Miami Hurricane, the student newspaper of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, "'Pero like' is one of the most common phrases used among Miami locals. 'Pero' literally means the conjunction 'but' in English (...) The phrase is a very casual way of continuing a thought and conversation. This one might catch on pretty quickly for those who start to use it."

As one of the most bilingual cities in the US, Miami is predominantly populated by Hispanics and Latinos. About 72.3% of Miami's population are Latino immigrants or have Hispanic heritage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Top 10 most attractive accents in America, according to the study

1. Southern - 76,950 mentions
2. New York - 70,460 mentions
3. Californian - 45,360 mentions
4. Texan - 42,330 mentions
5. Boston - 34,110 mentions
6. Midwestern - 33,000 mentions
7. Miami - 21,450 mentions
8. Chicago - 20,990 mentions
9. Minnesotan - 16,160 mentions
10. New Orleans - 15,590 mentions