Have you ever noticed how you emulate people sometimes without even realizing it? For some reason we 'pick up' sayings and mannerisims that we are not even aware of and it's really quite inexplicable to me how that happens. I'm sure it has something to do with a fondness for either the person we are emulating or the saying or manner which we are repeating.
I've known people (including me) who can't go down south for more than few days without picking up a drawl and y'all and 'hon'. It's not that we're trying to grasp these changes but we do!
The saying is that "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" and I suppose when its intended that is true but if it's just that strange 'falling into' speaking like one another then I'm not positive it's a form of flattery as much as a form of repetition.
At any rate, I always catch myself when I'm speaking in a manner that is distinctly someone else's and it reminds me of that person (whoever it may be at that moment) so it's not really a bother so much as a 'tickle' that we can, and do, without thinking, mirror, repeat or emulate those around us. Something to think about.
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