'Uptalk' may no longer be just for California Valley Girls. Have you noticed English speakers using a rising intonation at the end of statements instead of questions lately? I have, and I must admit I have broken the cardinal rule of descriptive linguists: Accept language as it is currently being used rather than criticize usage. But that new use of rising intonation has been bugging me!
These thoughts came to me after reading the article, "More men speaking in girls' 'dialect,' study shows" at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25232387. First I was intrigued by what a girls' 'dialect' might be. As I understand it, linguists don't agree on the question of whether men and women speak differently. But the raised pitch at the end of all sentences has been identified with young women in California and Australia. (Why Australia, I asked myself, but that is a topic for another time.)
In English, our pitch generally rises when we want to speak a question. For example, the statement "The children played" can be transformed into a question by letting your voice rise on the 'played.' So a rising intonation for statements as well as questions is a new ( and therefore controversial) feature of the English language.
If you are not quite sure what rising intonation is, see if you can identify at least two instances of a speaker making a statement sound like a question in this YouTube video.
'Uptalk' has been criticized for making the speaker appear to be less than credible. Adjectives like 'airhead' and 'ditzy' come to mind. But how about the use of 'uptalk' by the young lady in the video? I think she made statements into questions as part of a communication style that attempts to involve the listener. She appears to be seeking the understanding, and possibly the confirmation of her ideas, by the listener. And isn't that what we females often do? Ask a question to involve the other person?
The article states that women are often trailblazers in language, coming up with innovations first, with the males following later. And the article states that more men are now using 'uptalk.' I had always viewed women as the more conservative gender in speech, but that may be changing as well.
I'm going to start listening for more instances of 'uptalk' now. And I am going to be really embarrassed if I find myself using that language device. I would be interested to learn if you or your acquaintances are now into 'uptalk.'
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