Elmo speaking in the first person

“Why does Elmo refer to himself in the third person? Won't this teach kids improper English?
Elmo mimics the behavior of many preschoolers. Like most three-and-a-half-year-olds, he doesn't always have the mature skills or knowledge to speak "proper" English. However, cast members and many of the other Muppets do demonstrate the proper usage of the English language.”
—Sesame Workshop Frequently Asked Questions

One of Elmo's main character traits is always referring to himself in the third person, but even after it was fully established by Season 17, there have still been occasional instances of Elmo saying "I," "Me," and "Myself."

• News Flash: Elmo's New Game -- "Let me think.", "Idea I will tell them."
• Episode 2170 -- Scene 1 -- "Tell me more, Big Bird."
• Episode 2221 -- In a scene with Yo-Yo Ma; "I'm fine.", "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
• Episode 2254 -- Scene 2 -- "Now me Elmo."
• School Pageant: Food -- "Follow me."
• Episode 2292 -- Scene 5 -- "I love this shirt!"
• Episode 2350 -- Scene 2 -- "I gotcha, I gotcha!", "'Scuse me, Mr. Piggy", "Scuse me, could you be quiet please?"
• Episode 2356 -- "You know what jungle world reminds me of?" and "Prairie dogs, I can show you how to be a monster."
• Episode 2706 -- Scene 7 -- "Well, Mr. Smelly gave me a word, free."
• Episode 2852 -- Scene 5 -- "Thank you for letting me be a Grouch, Oscar!"
• "The Legend of Big Mouth" -- "My name is Big Mouth! Because I have a big mouth!"
• Episode 2982 -- Scene 5 -- "Hello! I'm Elmo the toy!", "Wind me up, Gina."
• Episode 3432 -- Scene 5 -- "Excuse me", "Mostly me."
• Episode 3557 -- Scene 3 -- "Careful, careful, that's my baby."
• Episode 4101 -- "It's Mine" (partially)
• Episode 4415 -- The Word of the Day segment -- "Hello, my name is Elmo."
• Elmo's Sing-Along Guessing Game, when reading questions
• Sesame Street Stays Up Late -- "Oh. Grapes for me?"
• The Best of Elmo -- "This is part of Elmo's number collection. I call it '3'."
• Learning to Share -- "Oh, hi! I didn't see you there.", "This is Elmo's train. MY train! MINE! MINE! Mine."
• Telling the Truth -- "Me?! What did Elmo do?"
• Elmo Says BOO! -- "My goodness, Mr. Count.", "Oh my goodness, Mr. Count!"
• Elmo's World: Singing -- "Uh, excuse me, pigs!"
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland -- "It's mine!"

Songs

• "Big and Small" -- "This birdie's a big guy when next to me." "Big folks and small folks [...] can still be friendly like me and you."
• "One Fine Face" -- "What you say to me."
• "Sing Your Synonyms" -- "If you know what I mean."
• "Closer to Me"
• "We're All Monsters" -- The redubbed version has Elmo speaking in the third person in the spoken intro, but in first person during the song.
• "Library" -- "Don't need my TV, when I go and read a book at the la-la-library."
• "Heavy and Light" -- "Mine's like a feather!", "Lemme help!"
• "Three" -- "That's me!" "And me."
• "My Name"
• "Sing Me a Silly Song"
• "This is My Train" -- "With a toy that I've played with before."
• "Red and Blue" -- "Red is the color of me."
• "Sing After Me"
• "Slide (Pride)" -- "Elmo is so proud of me."
• "Hold My Hand" -- "I am here for you." "I will cross with you."
• Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ("Everyone Who Likes Christmas Say, "I Do!"")
• "Hey Friend" -- final line

Acknowledgements of the speech pattern

• During the Muppets, Music & Magic event at The Cinema Arts Centre in August 2007, Elmo jokingly says that he speaks in third person because he is paid every time he says his own name.

• Elmo is asked about his third person habit in a 2010 "Ask Elmo" video. He claims to get asked that a lot and says he was just born that way.

• At The Paley Center for Media screening for Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, someone in the audience asked Elmo why he always speaks in third person. Elmo jokingly threatened that person, before responding that "it's just the way Elmo talks."

• In a May 2011 appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Elmo sings a portion of "His Eye is on the Sparrow," realizing afterwards that he said "me." He adds that he only says "me" in song.

• In episode 4270, Detective Alfie Betts (Adam Rodriguez) is able to deduce many things about Elmo upon meeting him, including knowing he always speaks in the third person. "Elmo does?" he replies.

• In ABCs with Elmo, Professor Grover sets up a lesson on the alphabet. When wondering what letter follows H, Elmo states, "I." Grover is shocked, having never heard Elmo speak in first-person before.

• Elmo impersonated Count von Count in episode 4411. His typical speech pattern ("Elmo is the Count von Count!") almost gives his ruse away to the judges, until Maria claims it's a Spanish nickname ("El Mo").

Notes

• Elmo's third-person speech has been similarly adopted by various, younger Muppet characters in many of the show's international co-productions, including Lola, Chaos, Abigail, and Tonton.
• International dubs and co-productions, such as Germany's Sesamstrasse, have Elmo speaking in the first person, exclusively.