system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why or how does someone develop an accent after living somewhere for a while?
gpt
Linguist here. It's because we are social creatures and we want to assimilate to our nearest society. While formally known as an accent or dialect, switching accents e.g. when moving to a new town could be considered an sociolect or maybe an idiolect -- something far more individual than an accent.