American Accents Are Perceived to Be The Most 'Uneducated' Abroad, New Study Finds

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Could your accent be holding you back when you travel internationally?

7,500 people in the U.S, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Canada were all interviewed about foreign speakers in their county, as well as their own fears when speaking in a foreign language.

Americans ranked as the most worried about how their accent is perceived. 54 percent of them said they feel anxious about the accent in a foreign country, while 34 percent said they wish to get rid of their accent when communicating in a different language.

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On the flip side, American voters rated French accents as the “sexiest” (40 percent), Italian as the most “passionate” (40 percent), Caribbean accents as the most “friendly” (37 percent) and British accents as the most “sophisticated” (44 percent.)

Results from the study also showed that female respondents (42 percent) and younger respondents (47 percent) believe they have more anxiety than the global average (38 percent).

But luckily for American and British citizens, they were found to be most likely to overcome the anxiety they have when speaking in a foreign language.

source: people.com