Does what you read change your speech/language?

"Sigh"


This is an annoying side-effect I've found when I start reading a particular author heavily. My speech (or at the very least my self-talk) will alter slightly based on the material I'm reading.

Right now I'm on an H.P. Lovecraft binge and he uses such interesting and out of date words and phrasing that I find myself repeating them to myself and I have to stifle the urge to use his expressions when speaking to others.

This has been a problem for me before and I have to actually avoid certain authors/concepts because of this.

Others?

Not so much when I read, but when I'm around other people who speak a certain way, I find myself picking up their colloquialisms (sp?) and occasionally a bit of their accents as well.

I went to college in Staten Island, NY, and a lot of the kids there were commuter students from Brooklyn. During my first semester there I somehow managed to pick up a Noo Yawk accent without even realizing it. It wasn't till I went home for Thanksgiving break and my brother said to me, "Duuuuude, you're talking WEEEEIRD" that I even noticed. Then I caught myself saying "Noo Yawk" instead of "New York" and I slapped a hand over my mouth like "Oh my GOD, I'm becoming one of THEM!"

I also worked a job for a while where I was speaking over the phone to a lot of people in the South. After doing that a few hours a day I found myself ending the calls with "Well, y'all have a nice day now, y'hear? Bye-bye now."

Yeah, not so much when I read either, but definately when I'm watching something like a movie or tv show or when people talk to me in person. The saying is true: you become who you spend time with.

Scott, I can't say that happens to me with anything I read. However, as a former HS English teacher and author, I find myself mentally narrating in my head after going on reading or writing binges. I'm funny like that. I will get into a reading/writing binge for 3-6 months and do it nonstop- then nothing for the next 3-6 months. Peace.

Yes, particularly with English authors.

I also find myself using expressions that are used in the current book I'm reading.

My ex-wife was like that. I could always tell exactly who she was talking to on the phone by who she was doing an "impression" of.
Thankfully I'm not, at least with reading anyway. The only two things I've been reading in the last month are The King James Bible and these incredibley profane but addictive detective novels that feature the local geography here. If I were to pick up the combined language I'd be going around saying stuff like "Taketh thine self hither and f***eth thine self, asshat!"; which thankfully I don't thinketh I am doing; otherwise I would maketh a great ass of mine self.

Scottymitch is definately on a Lovecraft kick!

Quote :

"Taketh thine self hither and f***eth thine self, asshat!";

Now that's good stuff!

White people tend to get ghetto around black people. It's hilarious.

As for writing, however, I try to add new words to my vocabulary from time to time, especially if they flow well. I look up the definition, and if it flows well when speaking and has a cool meaning or whatever, I'll give it a few tries and toss or keep it.

Some authors use ridiculous words that 99% of the population will never use or understand, and you can hardly pronounce them without sounding like a complete tool (see the end of every Bill O'Reilly show), so I won't use those words.

I read a lot of Mythology, and Arthurian Legends, and sometimes I do find myself talking in the chivalric speak of the Arthurian times. If I come across words that I like in literature, that are off the beaten path, they will surely end up in my vocabulary.

Eyesore wrote:

White people tend to get ghetto around black people. It's hilarious.

I've picked up alot of sayings and such from my wife over the years, so there's an ounce of truth in that statement in my case.