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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMore men speaking in girls' 'dialect', study shows
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
(82,383 posts)unblock
(52,317 posts)If that is how they speak then so be it.
unblock
(52,317 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)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
(15,265 posts)Fur sure.
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]
TransitJohn
(6,932 posts)Cloning?
randome
(34,845 posts)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
(6,932 posts)I think we're pretty locked in there. Certainly for the blink of an eye that a hundred thousand years is.
randome
(34,845 posts)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
(34,108 posts)whether they are male or female.
MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)then I realized it was my own stupid prejudices to the sound of their voices.
just saying
Lex
(34,108 posts)Just sayin'.
Iggo
(47,565 posts)It's totes fun and I ain't stopping.
quinnox
(20,600 posts)Oh My Gooood!
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Oh, wait...
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]Treat your body like a machine. Your mind like a castle.[/center][/font][hr]
HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)as well as "Do you believe this/me?"
IMO, both of these circumstances are useful parts of communication.
HappyMe
(20,277 posts)People should just stop that.
randome
(34,845 posts)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
(45,525 posts)Iggo
(47,565 posts)CurtEastPoint
(18,663 posts)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
(34,183 posts)It's really not a good trend for either sex.
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)I would never take anyone seriously who sounded so unsure and questioning.
MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)Lex
(34,108 posts)What's your deal? Settle down.
wickerwoman
(5,662 posts)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
(63,224 posts)It is every bit as wrong-headed as if you had asserted than an "urban" dialect sounds unintelligent.
backscatter712
(26,355 posts)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
(4,945 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)The Californians ... SNL.
Dash87
(3,220 posts)sibelian
(7,804 posts)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.
Response to Sunlei (Original post)
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backscatter712
(26,355 posts)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
(42,239 posts)Vashta Nerada
(3,922 posts)Ugh. It's so annoying.
Like this:
rucky
(35,211 posts)backscatter712
(26,355 posts)Wow. If you look into their eyes, you can see the backs of their skulls!
Here's an even worse example...
Response to Sunlei (Original post)
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libodem
(19,288 posts)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.