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I've been watching the press conferences concerning the recent crash involving Asiana Airlines Flight 214, and noticed that Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, has caught the Uptalk bug, or as it is known across the pond, "High Rising Terminal" or "AQI."

What, you might ask, is Uptalk?


Very simply, it's a way of speaking in which almost every statement you make sounds like a question. It probably started on the West Coast of California, but nobody knows for sure. (It's annoying as hell, that's all I know.)

Here are some examples of what it sounds like, in case you missed Deborah Hersman's press conference:


Does Uptalk make you upchuck? -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdhJxAmUu3Y
FCTV: The Stupidity of... Uptalking? -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuP9VdTzUMc
AQI (Stephen Fry on Room 101) -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OluCvL0lRnI

Believe it or not, this has actually come to the attention of psychologists and other professionals -- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cav ... k-epidemic


I first noticed Uptalk about five years ago, when it was relegated mostly to young women from Southern California. Now, I hear both men and women of all ages speaking this way on a daily basis. I hate to think of a day when EVERYONE who speaks the English language will speak Uptalk, and in schools throughout the United States, the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance will sound like this:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America?
And to the republic for which it stands?
One nation, under God?"

Or I'll go to a play and hear:

"But, soft? what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun?
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon?
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she?
Be not her maid, since she is envious?
Her vestal livery is but sick and green?"

If you haven't caught this bug yourself, and hear friends or relatives speaking like this, it's best to nip it in the bud by saying something appropriate to them like "STOP IT!!!! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!!"

JDS

Joe, thank you much for pointing out such an annoying way of speaking.
Indeed!
I didn't know there was a name for this um, thing.

It seems this "uptalk" epidemic is a current thing much like that 70's/80's "valley girl" type of speaking was.
That annoyed the crap out of me back then, too.
"Like... gag me with a spoon!"

Sometimes on the local news, people here in Philly being interviewed speak that way (uptalk) and I can't stomach it.
To me, it makes the person speaking that way sound like some kind of an idiot.
Plain & simple.

Hello David,

I have not heard the valley girls speech but on that clip that woman is damned annoying. If I had to listen to her for more than a few minutes I would lose the will to live.

I know what DoghouseRiley is talking about in the UK. We have to sort out the local dialect let alone the style of speech we have imported from around the world and then there Essex. Recently on a comedy progamme a chap from Essex was asked what country borders England, his answer was London!! He could have answered Wales or Scotland but the dim light in head was not working at the time.

Regards
Alan

Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

OK guys--while we are on the subject of "hate speech"--My biggest pet peeve is the "gone missing", or "went missing" the newswriters/readers here, have latched onto in the last 10 or so years--What the hell happened to the word "disappeared" ?? (OK--It went missing ) Ron Rich

Ron, I have to agree with your comment regarding "gone missing," probably a case where the slang spread from the vernacular to national/international usage. Along that line, I hate to hear young people use the word "like" instead of "said."

"So, I'm like, what the ____ ?"
"And, he's like, "Dude, you aren't paying attention."
"And I'm like, "chill out!"

When I was a teenager in the mid-1970s, we said, "go" instead of "said," so I really shouldn't be critical. Fortunately, that fad seems to be confined to my generation.

The problem I see with "Uptalk" is that it's usage has spread beyond a specific generation, or geographical area. This realization hit me in the face during a recent visit to Minnesota. Normally, the first thing I notice is the very distinct regional dialect, or "Minnesota accent," -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yByv7a2KyyU -- On this last trip, I heard that "accent" combined with Uptalk, which I initially thought might be unique to the area I now live in (San Francisco Bay).

What was really bothersome was the fact that a few members of my own family were speaking in Uptalk! Now, normally, I don't glom onto conspiracy theories, and am not inherently paranoid, but the first thing I thought about was "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." (What or whom is taking over the minds of these people, making them sound like this!)

JDS

Joe,
Great point--I wonder, many times, what has "taken over" "the human race", when I view man's inhumanity to man. Ron Rich

What's really odd is if you speak in "old school"...(when respectability and cordial-ness ruled the earth...

Such as...

"I DO hope I'm not being a terrible bother to you!"

or..

"I'm quite well aware of the situation at hand"

People look at you like you're nuts.

Hello Matt,

Our children say we are just weird parents!

After saying that my wife Tan gets the brunt of it especially when on holiday with the kids.

Regards
Alan

Alan Hood
ami-man
UK

Sounds like the woman who talked like that while telling us to go to the tornado shelter last yer.