Do american accents sound weird to non americans?

[Shurikens and Lightning]

Ok so it is pretty understandable that it is hard to realize your own accent so I have a question, do american accents sound foreign to non americans? Like do russians think our accent is thick? Or any other nationality.

I know about southern accents, Im from New York so I notice those, and they do sound different and sometimes utterly hilarious considering I am currently residing in the south. But in the end does the average American accent sound funny to non americans?

 

[Lexodus]

YES.

 

[GodsOneMistake]

Just to point out, there are a lot of varieties of the "American" accent... I personally find the southern accent very annoying, even more so from women for some reason, i'm not sure why.

 

[Lord George]

Yes you all sound like Yanks.

 

[Clashero]

A regular American accent is pleasant. Think, for instance, Jon Stewart. That guy has a pleasant voice. I like the sound of Southern accents, and the stereotypical New York Tough Cop accent always cracks me up.
However, accents as those exhibited in shows like The Hills, anything by Paris Hilton ("and, oh, like, oh my god, she was like, like, awesome, and i was like, oh. my. god") make me want to go out on a killing spree.

(I'm from Argentina)

 

[TikiShades]

A regular American accent is pleasant. Think, for instance, Jon Stewart. That guy has a pleasant voice. I like the sound of Southern accents, and the stereotypical New York Tough Cop accent always cracks me up.
However, accents as those exhibited in shows like The Hills, anything by Paris Hilton ("and, oh, like, oh my god, she was like, like, awesome, and i was like, oh. my. god") make me want to go out on a killing spree.

(I'm from Argentina)

That last one is Valley Girl.

 

[new_age_reject]

Yes.
But often in a good way.

 

[Shurikens and Lightning]

Those valley girls are aliens not americans. Only they would spend that much money on shoes.

 

[spiral knight]

"American" Accents sound weird to Americans, let alone the rest of the world. Each region seems to have it's own spin on language. I live up near Boston and ever time I get on the 'T' I hear voices ranging from the stereotypical "Southie" ((South Boston)) to just about every thing else.

 

[Crazy Elf]

Not weird, just annoying.

 

[branalvere]

The rest of the English speaking world is so used to american accents in media that it's water off a duck's back.

 

[chimmers]

You seriously asking that question?
Subtitles on American shows are a life saver sometimes...

It is odd when you think of people who speak the "same" language not understanding each other, but it happens plenty in one country nevermind across oceans.
BBC subtitled Sweet Sixteen even, that was odd

 

[Azhrarn-101]

Depends rather heavily on which American accent (region) and the person using it.

A southern accent can sound awesome, but also beyond awful, depending on the voice of the person speaking it. Same goes for every US accent I can think of.
(in fact, that's true for pretty much all accents of various languages around the world I suppose.)

So essentially, YMMV.

 

[SwiftBlade18]

i think you do get some americans with what i would consider a normal voice...however the large amount i would say have a whiney quality lol

i also dont get how americans can confuse an english accent for australian....

 

[TaborMallory]

I would imagine any foreign accent would sound strange to anybody.

I've had many people tell me I have a faint Russian accent (I really have no idea where it came from); this coupled with my indifference to cold temperatures (I don't feel the cold until it gets below 40°F / 4.4°C) makes people think I'm Russian.

 

[JenXXXJen]

Not really, I'm English but I've been raised on Disney and American TV, it just sounds normal to me.

 

[Mackinator]

YES.

YES

 

[Aloran]

Yes, but there's nothing wrong with it

Question to the americans: Do British accents sound odd to you?

 

[Guitar Gamer]

not really to canadian's (I would know) but of course different regions have different accents so anyone from washington (I can't spell right) or any other close to it have little to no difference to me but most texan's probably will.
Here's a question: do canadians generally sound the same as americans from the northen states?
and to kinda answer the above question they don't generally sound wierd to canadians but again it depends how thick it sounds (I know a kid from the UK who I couldn't for the life of me understand for at least 2 weeks)