The UK’s fastest talking cities (is your area on the list?)
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With the average person in the UK speaking at 189 words per minute, it’s fair to say that Brits like to pack a lot of words into their sentences.
As part of their recent study, the online tutoring experts at Preply have mapped out the fastest talking cities in the UK, and the results are interesting!
Taking a seedlist of the ten most populated UK cities, the team delved into YouTube data corresponding to each city and analysed the transcripts of local news stations and podcasts to determine the average words said per minute in each city.
The question is… which city took the top spot?
According to the results, Leicester takes the crown for being the fastest-talking city in the UK, with residents’ speedy chatter allowing them to speak an impressive 254.8 words per minute.
From locals to celebrities, if you’re talking to anyone from Leicester, one thing’s for certain… you’ll need to learn to pick up the pace.
Leicester City’s YouTube channel is a prime example, as the talk of all things football from transfers to match debriefs, had a whopping 716.00 words spoken per minute on their video about Abdul Fatawu Joining Leicester City. Whilst over on BBC Radio Leicester, Andy Pierce’s interview with the band Courthouse had dialogue equating to 180.40 words per minute.
Glaswegians follow closely behind for their fast-talking at 218.13 words per minute, securing Glasgow the spot of the second speediest talkers in the UK.
Football emerged again as a fast-talking topic in Glasgow, as Celtic FC’s pre-season exclusive interview with Matt O’Riley was recorded as 398.50 words per minute. Radio hosts show no signs of slowing things down either, with Go Radio averaging 224.75 words per minute and Pure Radio Scotland at the slightly slower but still speedy 123.67 words a minute.
Ranking as the third quickest-speaking city in the UK is Liverpool, with Liverpudlians averaging a rapid 210.39 words per minute in their everyday conversations.
See how other cities rank below…
The fastest talking cities in the UK
| City | Average WPM | |
| 1 | Leicester | 254.84 |
| 2 | Glasgow | 218.13 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 210.39 |
| 4 | Bristol | 195.15 |
| 5 | London | 192.98 |
| 6 | Nottingham | 181.44 |
| 7 | Sheffield | 174.72 |
| 8 | Leeds | 173.94 |
| 9 | Birmingham | 164.21 |
| 10 | Edinburgh | 132.27 |
