I'm turning into a Parrot

I can't help myself. I'm sure that I'm not the only person with this "problem" but I don't know how common my "affliction" is. I'm not a trained linguist or even versed in foreign languages other than a bare minimum of Spanish and Italian. When I go to a foreign country or even to a place in the US where I hear people speaking something other than my own local version  of English I end up parroting their speech patterns after only a short period of time.

I'm from Missouri -- in my family that's Missouree not Missouruh -- and living smack dab in the middle of the US I've always been fascinated by the different American accents. We commonly encounter people speaking Minnesotan or Texan or Chicagoan or North Carolinian. There is N'Orleaneeze and Baltimorean and New Yorker and New Jerseyish and a couple Louisiana dialects depending on the amount of Cajun-ness. Arkansan has kind of a mountain and delta version. Missouri is the same way with urban and rural patterns and there are differences between St. Louis and Kansas City...especially among women.  I can often tell roughly where someone is from if I talk to them long enough. There are exceptions (Ohio and Indiana) and there are places with such an influx of variations...like California and some parts of Florida...that I can't seem to figure it out.

This fascination leads me to unintentionally picking up some of those speech patterns. I start using a hybrid version of my normal speaking patterns and pronunciations mixed with the newly acquired stuff.

It's not just American English dialects that suck me in. I have a friend from Aberdeen Scotland and another from Lviv in Ukraine. I had a fellow working with me for a while from the Ural Mountains in Russia and another from the Philippines. I seem to be willing to surrender my own speech patterns and habits to anyone. I went to Italy and came home sounding like I just moved to the US from a village in Umbria.

I don't mind it. I'm just surprised by how quickly I take on these other patterns and I hope that others don't think that I'm mocking them or making fun of their English.

However, now I am a little disconcerted about a recent development. I am a fan of The Big Bang Theory, a CBS TV situation comedy, and look forward to seeing it every week. If you are unfamiliar with TBBT look here for a clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0xgjUhEG3U&feature=related) . They recently started showing it in re-runs for an hour each evening on Fox TV. Guess what. Now I'm starting to sound like Dr. Sheldon Cooper. This will never do...maybe there is some kind of therapy.  Soft kitty. Warm kitty. Little ball of fur....