Have you ever noticed that when you talk to someone with an accent you sometimes pick up the accent?
You know your having a nice conversation and you notice that all of the sudden you sound British, Spanish, or French. Why do you think that happens?
NLP calls that Mirroring and Matching. Many people do that without intending to do so - others do it on purpose as it does bridge communication between two people.
I do it with some accents without intention...... It is funny when you catch yourself and occasionally embarrassing..... glad I have think skin.. I seldom if ever feel embarrassed.
Interesting observation to pose as a question.
I used to visit family in North Carolina when I was younger for a few weeks at a time. I would always pick up the accent when I was there. I have heard that before age 12 it is very easy for children to pick up accents. Now that I am an adult it doesn't seem to happen.
this thing happened to me many times whenever i stayed in a place which have a diff regional language .. after 5/6 months my accent gets adapted to theirs'
All the time! I sound Mexican American & Wisconsinite in the same day thanks to friends & family :-). I like how songbirds do that too... The little boy birds pick up their neighborhood song.
Yes, it is dreadful, I can't help it, anywhere I go I pick up the accent, it just takes me 5 minutes talking to somebody. And if I'm talking a foreign language I also pick up whatever accent the person has, if I'm talking to a German in English, my accent goes all weird, it actually seems I don't know how to talk. But it's unconscious. I've always done it. Don't know why, but what Neil Sperling said makes total sense.
Funny....But so true....I sometimes talk in an English accent just for the fun of it..
Coming from England and now living in Canada, I find people do it me all the time. They also add the word "mate" onto the end of their sentence sometimes, but I think that is because they cannot decide if I am British or Australian.
I myself have certainly picked up many Canadian phrases but that is necessary to be understood. The more you hear something pronounced a certain way, the more your own ears get trained to it and hence you begin to speak it that way as it sound correct.
Good question.
I'm terrible for this, I went to Wales last year for a long weekend and came back home talking in a Welsh accent.
yes, I remember as a kid visiting some relatives in Missouri, and they had a little accent compared to my Minnesotan one and yes, I picked up theirs and remember thinking to myself, wow this is crazy only been with these people for a week and I picked up on their accent:)
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