Imitation of voices

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This topic made me think of something. I've never ever connected it to the spectrum, but:

I tend to change my voice a lot or imitate voices of familiar voices.
I can say two things in a row and sound completely different. As if two different people are talking. A very obvious change in tone/pitch/whatever it is called in English.

Sometimes it's pretty funny, because I like some voices better than others and mine. When I'm ultimately amused, sad and especially when I am angry, my voice sounds entirely foreign. I can't control it, it's not like I do it intentionally to scare my friends or family.

I have overall trouble to control my 'normal' voice and convey emotions by it instead of letting it change- that much is somewhat typically autistic, no? A monotonous voice.
Only when I sing the control over how I sound comes natural.

So is the rest somehow connected to the spectrum too? Or is it just me?

Probably. I catch myself taking on the mannerisms of other people. Working around others with english as a second language really screwed with my pronounciation for quite a while. My style is all over the place, without reason at times.

Yea, I pick up random accents of people I'm talking to.

Me too....

I can pick up the accent of whomever I am speaking to, as well, as their mannerisms and body language. I do it completely without control. It's actually hard for me to stay natural. I'm not sure I can completely.

I know I don't know how many accents, and do them almost flawlessly. People are always amazed at how well I can do them. But in addition to that, I can mimic people's inflections and enunciations as well. It seems to put people at ease, somewhat.

I know that NT's even do this to some degree. I read it in a book somewhere that it's part of how we relate to people. The mimic'ing is normal. Except that they can separate it.

Copying characteristics and voices is something i have always done and have never been able to help. If i watch an actor in a film i can then become and almost act like that person the same as i can perfectly imitate my favorite rock star as soon as i have a guitar round my neck.

Accents is another. When i first met my German g/f i couldn't help but speak the same english as she could speak but i was then talking with a German accent. Also when i speak to an American my otherwise normal english accent becomes a yanky drawl ! !!

I guess it may be some kind of developmental thing that some brains are geared up to mimic like animals copy the sounds they hear......maybe but it is quite interesting....

Alex(uk)

OK I thought it was just me that did this, I've always had a knack for impersonating accents anything from American, Australian, Irish, Scottish, German, Russian, even James Bond (Sean Connery) and Elvis, but for some reason when I just naturally talk my accent shifts in an out of various ones, alot of people have commented on it that my accent shifts from southern to geordie, to scouser and cockney or any other accent ive heard or impersonated, never known why, just happens and most the time i dont even realise it unless someone points it out.

Yes, I tend to copy the speaking style of the person whom I'm talking to. So if he speaks fast I speak fast, if he speaks slow I speak slow. His accent too. It's completely involuntary. In the middle of a conversation I find myself doing this, and then I want to stop because I'm afraid the other person will think I'm mocking him. But I don't change my voice, only the style and the mannerisms.

yeah, I think that's classic autistic. I know i've always had that skill. It takes alot of time and exposure but I can take on the properties of any voice within the limits of my biological voice pitch and depth. So I can't do high pitched voices, because my voice is too deep, and some voices are too deep for me, like Alan Rickman. I'm tried for a LONG time to imitate Alan Rickman's voice, but it's just a tiny bit too deep for me.

Either way, I often entertain people with impressions.

I can do hundreds

I can also do 50+ singing impressions

Sora,
do mean in an echolalic way? it's been copied from others or free speech?


of the speech am do have,it's basic echolalic and usually has the accent-mainly different forms of Irish [from mum/dad/their family] ,or the norwich 'farmer accent' [from sisters boyfriend and his family though he doesn't like being associated with farmers,thats what sister says it is].
a LFA-MR man am used to live with did it also,his mimiced accent was southern english,am thought he was from southern england but he's not,it's his mum he copied it off.

I can't imitate voices - I've never really tried, but I just can't get the idea to begin with.

However, I do accents well and very often. I take on the accent of my companion(s) or surroundings. I also tend toward echolalia, and in that case I use the precise accent and mannerism of whatever I am copying, though I don't alter my voice. This happens all the time.

ive been able to do that since i was very small. singing styles too.

Yes, singing as well - I can't sing other than in the accent and mannerism that I originally heard. And I never seem to like other versions of songs as much as whichever one I heard first.

I heard that someone had invented a word for the accent acquisition thing in one of those Washington Post contests - "sympaccentic." It stuck with me. I like it.

Im new to the whole AS thing. It makes me feel so much better that I am not the only one who does this. When I am talking to someone I pick up their accent, speed of speech and voice patterns. I can copy almost exactly voices that I hear. I always have to make an effort to stop myself from sounding like the person Im talking to so that they will not think Im making fun of them

Well, unlike most of you, I have no control over it. It just happens.

I can't imitate the voice of somebody I talk to automatically. Neither accent, intonation nor anything else.

I just talk to somebody and suddenly, when I say a certain phrase or a single word, I say it in a completely different voice than normal. I can't stop myself. And I cannot make myself continuing talking in that voice either.

I'm not sure. I didn't even think of echolalia before actually!

If echolalia works for voices too, then that may be it? I do some echolalia still, copy phrases and words I have heard and use them in similar situations.

But, on the other hand, I really cannot remember anyone I could have copied the different voices from. One sounds like a friend of mine. And one time, I sounded like my mother, which was pretty scary. But the rest - I can't remember having them heard before.

I am very very good at impressions, quoting film/TV dialogue, etc. My girlfriend was just commenting on it last night, and, in light of recent discussion over my upcoming AS diagnostic exam, she was saying she doesn't think I have AS because I'm so good at expressing emotions when I imitate voices. I think she is way off base with that comment - I'm sure plenty of aspies are like that, but it seems like others are master mimics because we have to be to survive.