History Main / TheEchoer

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Kenku are crowlike BirdPeople. They were first introduced as only giving bird-like squawks in 2e, without any mimicry ability. In 5e, they gain the minicry trait that is their only way to speak, usually communicating by repeating words and phrases that they heard rather than constructing sentences themselves. With ''Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse'', the minicry requirement was removed, allowing kenku to speak common and one other language.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes:'' In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/04/09 April 9, 1995 comic]], a shapeshifting alien copies Calvin's appearance. Since it doesn't know English, it just copies the few phrases it heard Calvin say: ''"Grittings. Ma nam is Kahlfin. Heeryor lunboks. Hoffa gud tay askool."'' But by the end of the day, it's learned enough English to form new sentences.

[[quoteright:269:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_echoer_calvin_image_6459.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:269:At least it beats StarfishLanguage.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bunnicula}}'': Zigzagged with a MonsterOfTheWeek when the titular character and his fellow pets accidentally released a bird that can steal sounds. Among other kinds of sounds, it can steal people's voices and repeat the last words they said in a StupidStatementDanceMix of all the sounds it acquired until that point.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Played with. The episode "Assignment: Earth" has the mysterious Gary Seven conduct a covert operation on Earth during a 1968 orbital platform launch. While at his workstation, a secretary named Roberta walks in. Gary Seven needs to know what happened to two other agents on the same assignment, so he has Roberta sit at a dictation machine: an electric typewriter with a microphone and speech recognition software. When the machine starts typing every word Roberta says, she gets increasingly flustered, and Gary Seven is compelled to switch it off.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': In Campaign 2, Kiri is a young NPC kenku whom the Mighty Nein rescue from a swamp. Because she is so young, she doesn't write much, so she mostly repeats what the Nein say around her. She gets exposed to a lot of curse words and inappropriate terms that she is apt to repeat at inopportune times, and [[NotInFrontOfTheParrot once repeated some things said in private between Caleb and Nott in front of the rest of the group]]. The company once put out an official Kiri plush that used the voices of the Mighty Nein.

->'''Echo:''' Hello, traveler. Do you need help with anything?
->'''[[PlayerCharacter The Traveler]]:''' What are you doing?
->'''Echo:''' What are you doing?
->'''The Traveler:''' Stop copying me!
->'''Echo:''' Stop copying me!
->'''The Traveler:''' What's your problem?
->'''Echo:''' What's your problem?

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

[[folder:Comic Strip]]
* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes:'' In the [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/04/09 April 9, 1995 comic]] (pictured above), a shapeshifting alien copies Calvin's appearance. Since it doesn't know English, it just copies the few phrases it heard Calvin say: ''"Grittings. Ma nam is Kahlfin. Heeryor lunboks. Hoffa gud tay askool."'' But by the end of the day, it's learned enough English to form new sentences.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'': After being rebooted by Spinel's Rejuvenator, Amethyst reverts back to what she was when she emerged and parrots everything everyone says - and mimics them by shapeshifting, too. [[spoiler: She eventually turns back to normal.]]

* ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'': After Superman delivers the villainous Lex Luthor and his BumblingSidekick Otis to a prison exercise yard, Luthor announces to everyone present that no prison can hold him for long, and... Luthor gets no further, due to Otis echoing his every statement like a loudspeaker on delay. Luthor barks at Otis with an irritated "Will you shut up?!".

* In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Starfighters Of Adumar]]'', the documentarian of Wedge's diplomatic mission uses a Protocol Droid's head as a recording unit but it ends up damaged to the point that it can only repeat everything it hears. This is used to troll the team's disliked Diplomatic Adviser.

* ''Myth/ClassicalMythology'': A mountain nymph named Echo is one of Zeus's many, many consorts. Hera comes to find her with him and after she tries to protect him (on his orders), Hera curses her so that she can only speak words that have been spoken to her. Later on, she becomes infatuated with the vain and cruel Narcissus. The exact details of what happens after differ depending on interpretations (he ends up killing her and Aphrodite curses him to fall in-love with his reflection, he falls in love with his reflection and they both die of a broken heart, etc), but all versions end with both dying, Echo's voice living on after her death as the origin of the acoustical phenomena of the same name.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': This happens when the zombified members [[spoiler:of the Draketooth family]] echo some of the words that are spoken around them (not necessarily ''to'' them). When one of them falls in a trap that Vaarsuvius had fallen into previously, [[spoiler:V freaks out as the zombie (repeating Nale's previous words) tell "your fault", reinforcing V's guilt that V is responsible for their deaths]].

[[folder:Web Video]]

--> '''Jester:''' If someone asks you what your name is, you say, "I am Kiri".
--> '''Kiri:''' ''(mimicking Jester)'' I am Kiri!
--> '''Jester:''' And then if they say, "Are you nice?", you say, "Yes, I am very sweet."
-->'''Kiri:''' Yes, I am very sweet.
--> '''Jester:''' And if they say something you don't like, you say, "Go FUCK yourself!"
--> '''Kiri:''' Go FUCK yourself!

** ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': Subverted with Hollywog. He is a "bird" (for the Etherians, although he is furry and with bat wings) that repeats whatever other people say, frequently using this to communicate himself. He seems unable to say anything on his own excepting "holy", until near the end, when the Sorceress offers him the chance to be free instead of returning to Beast Man. Surprisingly, Holly speaks with his own voice for the first time: "Do you take me for a dunce? I want to stay with you," making everybody laugh.

** ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': In the episode “Prickly Pair”, Steven grows a cactus that resembles himself and repeats what he says, eventually causing tension when it starts reacting to his stress and anger and repeating hurtful things he said in private while the other Crystal Gems are around.

-->'''Starscream:''' I have tried ''every'' interrogation technique, and nothing is working! I would just eliminate [Arcee and Cliffjumper], but the code they carry is too valuable! If only I could break them open and just take it!
-->''*Soundwave points to their war-torn planet, Cybertron*''
-->'''Starscream:''' No, I will ''not'' take the prisoners to the surface! Why should I let [Shockwave] have all the glory?
-->'''Soundwave:''' ''*playing back Starscream's voice*'' '''"The code they carry is too valuable!"'''

* In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Starfighters Of Adumar]]'': The documentarian of Wedge's diplomatic mission uses a Protocol Droid's head as a recording unit but it ends up damaged and only apply to repeat everything it hears. This is used to troll the team's disliked Diplomatic Adviser.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In the episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E25MirrorGem Mirror Gem]]", Lapis Lazuli, trapped within a mirror Pearl found at the Galaxy Warp, is unable to properly communicate. As Steven spends the day with it, she is able to communicate with Steven by repeating everything she sees, eventually being able to edit the "footage" to construct her own sentences.
** In the later ‘’ WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' episode “Prickly Pair”, Steven grows a cactus that resembles himself and repeats what he says, eventually causing tension when it starts reacting to his stress and anger and repeating hurtful things he said in private while the other Crystal Gems are around.

* In the later ‘’ WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'' episode “Prickly Pair”, Steven grows a cactus that resembles himself and repeats what he says, eventually causing tension when it starts reacting to his stress and anger and repeating hurtful things he said in private while the other Crystal Gems are around.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Kenku are crowlike BirdPeople and exceptional [[VoiceChangeling voice mimics]]. Depending on the writer/dungeon master, they have no voices of their own and can only communicate by repeating snippets of other people's speech.

Suggested Indexes: AnnoyanceTropes, {{Dialogue}}, {{Exposition}}, ImageSource.CalvinAndHobbes, QuoteSource.VideoGames, RepeatIndexIndex, VoiceAndVocalTropes.
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* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': In Campaign 2, Kiri is a young NPC kenku whom the Mighty Nein rescue from a swamp. Because she is so young, she doesn't write much, so she mostly repeats what the Nein say around her. She gets exposed to a lot of curse words and inappropriate terms that she is apt to repeat at inopportune times, and once repeated some things said in private between Caleb and Nott in front of the rest of the group. The company even once put out a Kiri plush that used the voices of the Mighty Nein.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': In Campaign 2, Kiri is a young NPC kenku whom the Mighty Nein rescue from a swamp. Because she is so young, she doesn't write much, so she mostly repeats what the Nein say around her. She gets exposed to a lot of curse words and inappropriate terms that she is apt to repeat at inopportune times.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Kenku are crowlike BirdPeople and exceptional [[VoiceChangeling voice mimics]]. Depending on the writer, they have no voices of their own and can only communicate by repeating snippets of other people's speech.