As an AuDHD person with Echolalalalalalalalalia 🙃, I find that my accent/idiolect has changed as I’ve aged and been exposed to different accents of all types in the U.S… I just kinda pick up certain things I like.
For example I like:
- The British pronunciation/spelling of Aluminium and Banana
- The Irish pronunciation of three (my grandfather who was not at all born in Ireland also used it though)
- Upper Midwest sayings and phrases - Ope!, Oh ya sure!
- Extended "Wwweeeelp"s
- I bounce ALL around my register in speaking sometimes. I’ve sometimes been described as sing-songy.
But also dislike certain aspects of things and seek to avoid them at all costs…
- Cot/Caught, Pen/Pin - NO MERGERS! Ever. They must be different sounds.
- Glottal Stops in place of consonants are a no go - pronounce the whole thing dang it!
There’s a whole lot more of course, but I need to finish this post so I can go be an unregulated mess after a long (and particularly annoying) day of work.
So what about y’all? I’m super curious to know!
I sound like whatever the main character from the show I just watched sounds like
That does sound quite fun, honestly.
I didn’t know, until a year or so ago, that Echolalia was something atypical in the first place.
Hmm…Does deliberate grammatically messed up English count (native language is German)? To see off my spouse in the morning, we don’t say “Viel Spaß bei der Arbeit und gute Fahrt” but instead “Safe drivings, good workings!” (or the other way around). Oh and our word that, depending on intonation, facial expression and such, has as many meanings and use-cases as “fuck” is “swa”. It’s a filler, an exclamation, a word to show affection or a word/sound we say when we mean “I’m fucking sad from that movie and am gonna cry”.
I am an aspi, English is my second language, and it has been my primary language for 5 years. Learned it mainly through music, games and cinema. Spoke to Americans, English people, Australians, French, Scottish - all sorts of folks. Most people get surprised when they learn where I’m from, because my accent is a “well-spoken mix of Australian and eastern-european”.
I also find it fun to pick up and collect fun mannerisms, utterances and such. I am fascinated by Jewish-american jargon, I admire (but never paly with) AAE, and here in Europe it’s easier to mix and match things across cultures.
I also have to disagree with you on glottal stops - I adore them and often find them uniquely expressive, but I respect your right to your own tastes.
Love this