weird characters in compiler warnings output

["Abarbanel, David \(US SSA\)" <david.abarbanel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am running gcc v4.1.1 on linux 2.4 and was wondering why I am seeing weird characters around certain identifiers when warnings are printed.  Is this normal? See the example below:

test.cpp: In function âint main()â:
test.cpp:7: error: âcoutâ was not declared in this scope
test.cpp:7: error: âendlâ was not declared in this scope
 
Thanks,

Dave Abarbanel