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Comment by bluishgreen | Hacker News Reader

When I talk to people who have language problems (I was a TA at a US university, so I meet a diverse set of language skill levels in my students), I notice that I sometimes copy the amount of broken-ness in their language (involuntarily). This is not in a condescending way, because I can sense they become comfortable at once. To understand this in a different way, try to imagine one person speaking broken English and the other person just completely keeping up his fast fluent pace in all his replies. That would seem pretty rude.

What I wanted to get at is this, pecking order might not be the only reason to copy verbal styles. Empathy might be one more reason. Does this study control for this?

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You are simply reducing the power differential between you and the less articulate individual since they perceived you stand superior on the speaking dimension to begin with. You are being humble and inviting. This seems to be an implementation of the principle described in the article, and consistent with the implied hierarchy when one imitates another's speech patterns.

There was a post on this a while back, the idea was that copying helps you communicate because you are using the same style as them. So you are instinctively trying to match so you understand each other better.

Called building rapport:

"There are a number of techniques that are supposed to be beneficial in building rapport such as: matching your body language (i.e., posture, gesture, etc.); maintaining eye contact; and matching breathing rhythm."

source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapport

I am Spanish and my English is good but not perfect. Any way when I find myself talking English close to people who´s English is worst than mine, I change my pronunciation to one much less accurate (almost Spanish pronunciation of English words). I just don´t feel confortable pronouncing properly (well kind off properly) in that situation, I just hide my ability. (maybe to avoid the mythical Spanish envy?).

It's also a lot easier to understand. I am constantly asking my German colleagues to pronounce that word 'as if they were imitating my accent', so I can get some idea of the spelling, and not just a smudge of weird consonants.

I cannot actually speak German, but isn't German relation of pronunciation to spelling much clearer than in English (for which it's notoriously intractable, see the famous "ghoti" joke)?

Yes, it's phairly phonetic, but there are a few different 'h', 'ch', and 'k' sounds that were initially completely undistinguishable to my ears.

Spanish here. I remember that back in high school or uni people would make fun of you if you tried to make your pronunciation sound a bit more English.

I think that's changing nowadays. People are more exposed to English via TV series and movies and stuff.

With regard to your point, whenever I'm London and find myself having a conversation with someone with a cockney accent. After a few minutes, I start to mimic their accent. I can't help it. I love the accent.

Aye! that bloody cockney...

I do interviews over the phone. Often I find myself subtly copying the local dialect of the interviewee. I don't really do this on purpose, perhaps it's some kind of an automated mechanism to make myself more understandable or bring myself on the same level with the interviewee.

What's a "TA"?

It's a teaching assistant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_assistant

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