More men speaking in girls' 'dialect', study shows

[Sunlei]

More young men in California rise in pitch at the end of their sentences when talking, new research shows.
This process is known as "uptalk" or "valleygirl speak" and has in the past been associated with young females, typically from California or Australia.

The findings were presented at the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in California. "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.

People who speak uptalk are often misunderstood to be insecure, shallow or slightly dim, according to the team, who say this was not necessarily the case.

"One possibility is that this is an extension of a pitch pattern that we actually find in most varieties of English which is used when you're making a statement but you're [also] asking indirectly for the interlocutor to confirm if they are with you," Prof Arvaniti said. She added that "uptalk" had negative connotations which made men less likely to admit to using it, but what was clear was that it was spreading.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25232387

[treestar]

1. Oh ma god!

[unblock]

2. aka "inappropriate question intonation"

[MattBaggins]

35. Why?

If that is how they speak then so be it.

[unblock]

41. fair point. this is simply the academic term i'm familiar with.

[Liberal_in_LA]

46. interesting term for it.

[MrScorpio]

3. Watch any sitcom for examples nt.

[randome]

4. Merging of the genders is occurring on a cultural level.

Gay rights becoming mainstream is a part of this, and the Neanderthals in our midst cannot stop it.

If we survive another hundred thousand years, we may only have one gender.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[Silent3]

6. I'd prefer this merging to happen with uptalk being dropped by both genders, however.

Fur sure.

[randome]

9. Totally, dude. Totally.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[TransitJohn]

27. How would we survive a hundred thousand years if there's only one gender?

Cloning?

[randome]

28. Or we'll all be capable of being pregnant.

Evolution works in mysterious ways. Who knows what it has in store for us?
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers. It's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[TransitJohn]

32. Well, sexual reproduction is hundreds of millions of years old

I think we're pretty locked in there. Certainly for the blink of an eye that a hundred thousand years is.

[randome]

40. You may be right but we will probably crack the genetic code before too long.

Maybe we'll someday live in John Varley's kind of world where people routinely go in for a few hours' nano-surgery when they get the impulse to change gender.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Rules are made to be broken. Including this one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Lex]

5. It makes the speaker sound like a dipshit

whether they are male or female.

[MattBaggins]

36. As a New Yorker I used to think all Southerners were stupid

then I realized it was my own stupid prejudices to the sound of their voices.

just saying

[Lex]

47. Southerners think the same of New Yorkers' accents.

Just sayin'.

[Iggo]

7. I do because I raised girls.

It's totes fun and I ain't stopping.

[quinnox]

8. valley girl talk for all

Oh My Gooood!

[backscatter712]

43. Something like this?

[pinboy3niner]

10. Gag me with a spoon!

Oh, wait...

[randome]

17. Like...

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[HereSince1628]

11. It's now commonly used as an unspoken: "Are you following this?"

as well as "Do you believe this/me?"

IMO, both of these circumstances are useful parts of communication.

[HappyMe]

12. Oh no.

People should just stop that.

[randome]

13. Watch 'Night of the Comet' for a good example of valley girl talk from the 80's.

It's a schlocky, enjoyable movie.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]

[FSogol]

33. Awesome movie. n/t

[Iggo]

39. That's my favorite quotable movie.

[CurtEastPoint]

14. Listen to reporters on tv/radio...it's even there. They used to be the bastions

of proper English but not so much. The researchers says that unfairly and inaccurately, it makes the speakers sound dim. But it does. So dim.

[aikoaiko]

15. It's denotes uncertainty in self and timidity.

It's really not a good trend for either sex.

[backscatter712]

19. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[Lex]

20. Yes. This.

I would never take anyone seriously who sounded so unsure and questioning.

[MattBaggins]

37. You can't overcome your prejudices?

[Lex]

48. Are you following me around or something?

What's your deal? Settle down.

[wickerwoman]

21. So everyone in Australia is timid and unsure of themselves?

Upspeak is also called AQI for Austalian Questioning Intonation and it's one of the defining characteristics of the accent.

I certainly don't associate timidity with Australians or with their accent. I think that's conveyed much more by the volume you're speaking at and whether or not you make eye contact.

It's just another way of speaking (that happens to be really infectious). You don't even notice it after a while.

[Orrex]

25. To me, that statement says more about the listener than about the speaker

It is every bit as wrong-headed as if you had asserted than an "urban" dialect sounds unintelligent.

[backscatter712]

16. Ah, how to sound like a bubblehead!

Now you've done it - I'm adding uptalk to my impressions when I mock people!

I know, I'm a terrible person.

[Tom Ripley]

18. I have noticed this as a generational thing

[Blue_In_AK]

22. Heh...

The Californians ... SNL.

[Dash87]

23. I unconsciously do this. It's annoyING.

[sibelian]

24. I find it quite appealing.

I don't really understand the majority reaction!

I do think it's a little grating when the implied inclusivity of it turns out to be a bit fake, though.

[backscatter712]

29. It's a verbal Cavuto mark?

It uh, like is used at the end of sentences? So you can sound like totally popular and stuff? So all you need to do is add an pitch-rise to the end of your sentences? And you can be one of the cool kids?

[dipsydoodle]

30. Like Vicki Pollard or Lauren Cooper ?

[Vashta Nerada]

31. I would never listen to someone who talked like that.

Ugh. It's so annoying.

Like this:

[rucky]

34. Lake Bell did a hilarious rant about this...

[backscatter712]

38. More examples of uptalk...

Wow. If you look into their eyes, you can see the backs of their skulls!

Here's an even worse example...

[libodem]

44. It sounds a little whine

To my ears. Sometime I hear a slight, 'a', sound at the end of each word, it drags out the sound and adds to the plaintive quality of THOSE speakers.

[badtoworse]

45. Unfortunate. It suggests a lack of self confidence that I would like to see young males have.