4 ms·

Can anyone help answer or point in the direction of where to learn more about what/why humans begin to mimic and adopt other characteristics or full words of ot

Can anyone help answer or point in the direction of where to learn more about what/why humans begin to mimic and adopt other characteristics or full words of other languages? The reason I ask is I inherited/learned from my Mom this thing where within a couple of hours of being around another language or accent will unconsciously start adopting parts of it to a noticeably embarrassing degree. I'm at the point now where I am aware enough about this trait that I can tolerate myself but I have always been left wondering why some people seem to change how they speak faster and more drastically than others. My uneducated guess the answer I seek is somewhere to be found in the studies of human evolutionary biology and childhood development.

vinnyvichy 3y ago
https://sites.bu.edu/ombs/2014/02/28/reopening-our-critical-period-as-adults https://sites.bu.edu/ombs/2014/02/28/reopening-our-critical-... "Inhibition of this enzyme by Valproate allows the reopening of pathways in the brain, increasing neuroplasticity, thus reopening the critical period." I hear the side effects are pretty severe, though.
- padolsey 3y ago
  Ooh intriguing. I’m learning mandarin at the moment, and also happen to have some sodium valproate lying around for my epilepsy. I’m not currently taking it but I could give it a go and report back.. :D
escapecharacter 3y ago
You have a case of Zelig.
Wolfenstein98k 3y ago
Some people experience a form of "empathy" stronger than most, which means they end up almost mimicking anyone new or different. Often seems to come with insecurity too. No idea why, it appears to me to be a personality facet that is there from birth.
- burner420042 3y ago
  > It's called mirroring. People often do it unconsciously when the connect with others. I wanted to respond to both. It's not a stretch to argue that in certain cases the person is mirroring because they're insecure. Empathy as a defense mechanism? I mention it because back in college there were a few times where I witnessed a person mimicking an exchange student's accent almost immediately, and later claiming this always happened to them. Both were painfully insecure.
  - trimethylpurine 3y ago
    I think it's more likely that a lot of people just happen to be insecure, without any causal relation to mirroring. Sharing inflection, accent, and mannerisms yields a wealth of context that aids both the listener and the speaker in acquiring detailed insight about one another's culture, language, and meaning. I suspect that people who don't mirror might sadly be unaware of these subtle but rich details, even in their own communication.
FridgeSeal 3y ago
Very anecdotal, but I’ve been told that one reason is your brain adapts the advent of the people you’re listening to, in order to make it easier for you to understand them. I have no claims about the scientific validity of this, but it sounds nice.
golemotron 3y ago
It's called mirroring. People often do it unconsciously when the connect with others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
whycome 3y ago
It might be your natural affinity for learning other languages showing up in weird ways. Do you speak other languages? Have you tried to learn? Children learn language by listening and mimicking. Maybe you're still primed to do that. Maybe it's a hereditary disposition. Are other family members good at learning languages? Music?
emmelaich 3y ago
It's almost unavoidable at some point. I'm guessing it's variable though! also, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelig

vinnyvichy 3y ago

https://sites.bu.edu/ombs/2014/02/28/reopening-our-critical-period-as-adults https://sites.bu.edu/ombs/2014/02/28/reopening-our-critical-... "Inhibition of this enzyme by Valproate allows the reopening of pathways in the brain, increasing neuroplasticity, thus reopening the critical period." I hear the side effects are pretty severe, though.

padolsey 3y ago
Ooh intriguing. I’m learning mandarin at the moment, and also happen to have some sodium valproate lying around for my epilepsy. I’m not currently taking it but I could give it a go and report back.. :D

escapecharacter 3y ago

You have a case of Zelig.

Wolfenstein98k 3y ago

Some people experience a form of "empathy" stronger than most, which means they end up almost mimicking anyone new or different. Often seems to come with insecurity too. No idea why, it appears to me to be a personality facet that is there from birth.

burner420042 3y ago
> It's called mirroring. People often do it unconsciously when the connect with others. I wanted to respond to both. It's not a stretch to argue that in certain cases the person is mirroring because they're insecure. Empathy as a defense mechanism? I mention it because back in college there were a few times where I witnessed a person mimicking an exchange student's accent almost immediately, and later claiming this always happened to them. Both were painfully insecure.
- trimethylpurine 3y ago
  I think it's more likely that a lot of people just happen to be insecure, without any causal relation to mirroring. Sharing inflection, accent, and mannerisms yields a wealth of context that aids both the listener and the speaker in acquiring detailed insight about one another's culture, language, and meaning. I suspect that people who don't mirror might sadly be unaware of these subtle but rich details, even in their own communication.

FridgeSeal 3y ago

Very anecdotal, but I’ve been told that one reason is your brain adapts the advent of the people you’re listening to, in order to make it easier for you to understand them. I have no claims about the scientific validity of this, but it sounds nice.

golemotron 3y ago

It's called mirroring. People often do it unconsciously when the connect with others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirroring

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

whycome 3y ago

It might be your natural affinity for learning other languages showing up in weird ways. Do you speak other languages? Have you tried to learn? Children learn language by listening and mimicking. Maybe you're still primed to do that. Maybe it's a hereditary disposition. Are other family members good at learning languages? Music?

emmelaich 3y ago

It's almost unavoidable at some point. I'm guessing it's variable though! also, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelig https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelig