What does the American accent sound like to people from non-American English-speaking countries?

Let me tell you about India. Most Indians think (or used to, till recently) that the American accent existed only in Hollywood movies (I'm not kidding), so on the rare occasion they hear a real American talking they're like "Hey, he talks like those guys in the hollywood movies" These days with all the news channels and internet, very few still think so :-P

Oh My gosh, that is such a cool question! I'm American (born & raised) and I've been curious as to how we "sound" to people around the world. I speak to people from around the world all the time--and I wondered if I sound silly or fake to them, especially since I am a black woman: I wonder how my "perfect American English" sounds to them. Good Question--I'll be checking back to see the responses.

The American accent is fast gaining grounds in countries where English is spoken as a second language (wherein there exists, still, a perception that correct English means speaking it like the white man), replacing the British accent which used to dominate the earlier part of the 20th century. This is evident from the way many English radio dj / presenters speak the language on air; where speaking correct English means speaking it like a white man. It sounds fake and ridiculous. The American accent can at times be very loud and arrogant. My experience at the immigration dept saw a group of americans talking loudly as if they were in a reality TV show; as opposed to British expatriates who are more inclined to swallow their sound. Slower than Britspeak, the American accent is easier to catch but Americans tend to speak slower when they are talking to 'foreigners'. How condescending is that? I remember watching Omarosa of 'The Apprentice' pacing her words when talking to Isaac Mizrahi who she mistook for some European. Some white house intern there? It's no wonder The White House is so screwed up when it comes to foreign policy. Americans must try to broaden their knowledge of the World. Some young yankeephiles might think it as 'cool' and 'hip'. They are at loggerheads with the Anglophiles and the Austrophiles. It's all very silly when they could just speak with their own accent like when the French speaks English. Apart from that, I think like anywhere else in the world, there is no one singular American accent. Bush, Bill Clinton or Katherine Hepburn, each do not speak in the same accent. So do Oprah and Whoopee Goldberg. But then of course when you hear Bush talks, it's not the accent that bugs you. The man's vocabulary is screwed (dissemble? misunderestimated?) and he said some of the dumbest things. God help us.

3) Like ducks quacking. It's hard to understand at times because you talk too fast or too much highschool slang is used. For example: What exactly is pop quiz? (We don't have pop quizzes) Watching American movies/TV is a normal thing, I have hundreds but every now and again my family and I run into dead ends. We always miss a sentence or two in the scene because of the speed of the talking. No offence, but the black american teenagers, understanding their fast talking is worse at times. I had problems in understanding these quoted sentences. "Are you trying to tell me you speak fag?" (Does fag mean gay?) "And Courtney and Whitney-"dyke-adelic"? (Does dyke-adelic mean lesbians?) You see, I can guess but it's confusing unless you just say the proper word. Since watching Friends and being on internet 4-6 hours per day, I've picked up some American english which I use in everyday speaking now. I'm British and although American English is strange at times, my mum (in her 50's) now occassionally speaks in Californian accent, using the words "whatever" "Like totally" "cool".....she sounds like teenage rich girl in high school!! Makes me cringe! She only does it when she's very happy, often because she's lost a lot weight. I'm happy for her though, it's very amusing but like all annoying things you'd have be there.

I'm Italian and I've learned English in London.Actually I like both,the English and the American accent.I remember that my English native teachers sometimes spoke about American accent and they were quite annoyed by it.I can feel the difference.American accent is like to hear somebody speaking with a potato in his mouth but I repeat,I like it

Sounds cheap , phony and fake. Most ppl can fake an american accent. No offence its not like its the worst accent in the world

it sounds like Donald Duck