But now everyone is sooo over that. Because the trendy new vocal phenomenon is uptalk, or ending sentences with question marks. According to the BBC, the manner of speaking—which involves raising your voice at the end of a statement in a way that might, in more normal times, indicate unease with what you're saying—is a descendant of valley talk, stemming, like many things, from teen girls in California. You can't really blame that demo, though, for its ubiquity. Men have widely adopted the trend too.
(If you've worked in a tech field, you've undoubtedly heard one of these guys.)
“We found use of uptalk in all of our speakers, despite their diverse backgrounds in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, bilingualism and gender,” said Amanda Ritchart, a linguist at the University of California who led the research.
“We believe that uptalk is becoming more prevalent and systematic in its use for the younger generations in Southern California,” she added.
Researchers were quick to say that uptalk doesn't necessarily convey stupidity, despite your reasonable assumptions. It's (allegedly) used to convey politeness and empathy with a listener; a way to bring him or her into what you're saying.
Christ, movies are going to kill when we all talk like this. “Go ahead? Make my day?”
[H/T: Jezebel]
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