3 ms·

Why is it so prevalent in people generally?

by ctrlp 1y ago

rglover 1y ago
Because they think it makes them sound Smart? Because it's safer to fit in with the crowd than to Not? Because having a genuine personality is Difficult?
- _DeadFred_ 1y ago
  The point of language is to have shared communication. That people adopt language standards isn't a moral failing, and accent is a legitimate part of it as it's more organic/instinctual to human interaction than grammar/diction classes.
  - rglover 1y ago
    True, but this particular style was born out of a region where people are largely known to be smug and arrogant about their intelligence/"betterness" than other people. Not sure I'd call it a moral failing as much as a marker of who to avoid (much like a dangerous plant having bright colors or scents).
  - ctrlp 1y ago
    It's not an accent, it's an affect.
- alabastervlog 1y ago
  As far as I can tell, it's an "I am not done talking yet" thing in many contexts. That's why people employing it usually drop the uptalk for their last sentence in a string of sentences (unless it's an actual question). I reckon it took off because of telephones.
  - AStonesThrow 1y ago
    I freakin' hate telephones, and I always have, and the Dowager Countess of Grantham was correct in surmising that they are torture devices of the highest caliber. I always try to prefer virtual meetings with video and all the trimmings, especially screen-share capability. If not, in-person. Telephoning is like a last resort. I've pondered using TTY/TDD even though I have no physical impairments, but most agencies seem hostile to that sort of barrier and most of the time, I find myself needing to pass voice-recognizing gatekeeper AIs first. When I was promoted to "sysadmin" in my first job they set me at a desk with a computer and a PBX telephone. (It was an office at a gov't defense contractor...) The computer I could relate to on an intimate level; the telephone scared the living bejesus out of me, and I prayed it never to ring. A disembodied voice in your ear, especially one that interrupts everything you're doing and demanding a real-time conversation across space and time, that's incredibly rude, yet normalized for 100 years. I have PTSD and other disabilities, and I can get completely rattled and downright hostile/aggro when someone calls me and I'm not prepared, I'm not at my desk, no notes in front of me, even if I'm relaxing at home I just can't deal. I may answer the phone while on a bus or train, but I certainly won't sustain a conversation that way. Outgoing calls are sometimes OK but often end in disaster as I become increasingly frustrated. Now it's not uncommon for someone who's standing at my front door to telephone me. What the hell, I'm less than 3 yards away in here, please don't send me across Cyberspace when you're manifesting in meatspace... On a phone call I have no idea what office I've reached, what is a person's job title or role with a company, what their face looks like, when they may be taking a breath or using other physical cues to aid the conversation. So much metadata is lost in phone conversations that they are wholly dehumanized and require a revolution in etiquette, just to keep the peace. Here's your uptalk origin: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb21lsCQ3EM&si=3j3bYd_0rPa8hcHR https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb21lsCQ3EM&si=3j3bYd_0rPa... "Valley Girl, she's a Valley Girl!" I'm not autistic and I can read expressions and body language, but perhaps autists are the evolutionary result of disembodied telephone conversations taking out the human element from verbal communication. It is simply amazing that even with apps and ubiquitous Internet and website portals that I still require the telephone to get important business done (and I'm always, always ticking "it's something else/other/Live Agent/Oh god this is an exception to all your rules please send me a human being").
- ctrlp 1y ago
  I would assume the opposite. People use it to sound dumb, not smart, so as to sound non-threatening, but also so as to sound non-assertive. It's used to defuse potential conflict or perceived disagreeableness. Generally the affect of a late-stage conflict-adverse institutionalism that punishes assertive or dominant behaviors. Uptalk is the "I'm showing my belly" of English affects.
  - nativeit 1y ago
    More damning reasons for why we should simply go back to literally showing our bellies.
muzani 1y ago
It turns a sentence into a suggestion rather than a command.

Why is it so prevalent in people generally?

by ctrlp 1y ago

Why is it so prevalent in people generally?

Because they think it makes them sound Smart? Because it's safer to fit in with the crowd than to Not? Because having a genuine personality is Difficult?

_DeadFred_ 1y ago
The point of language is to have shared communication. That people adopt language standards isn't a moral failing, and accent is a legitimate part of it as it's more organic/instinctual to human interaction than grammar/diction classes.
- rglover 1y ago
  True, but this particular style was born out of a region where people are largely known to be smug and arrogant about their intelligence/"betterness" than other people. Not sure I'd call it a moral failing as much as a marker of who to avoid (much like a dangerous plant having bright colors or scents).
- ctrlp 1y ago
  It's not an accent, it's an affect.
alabastervlog 1y ago
As far as I can tell, it's an "I am not done talking yet" thing in many contexts. That's why people employing it usually drop the uptalk for their last sentence in a string of sentences (unless it's an actual question). I reckon it took off because of telephones.
- AStonesThrow 1y ago
  I freakin' hate telephones, and I always have, and the Dowager Countess of Grantham was correct in surmising that they are torture devices of the highest caliber. I always try to prefer virtual meetings with video and all the trimmings, especially screen-share capability. If not, in-person. Telephoning is like a last resort. I've pondered using TTY/TDD even though I have no physical impairments, but most agencies seem hostile to that sort of barrier and most of the time, I find myself needing to pass voice-recognizing gatekeeper AIs first. When I was promoted to "sysadmin" in my first job they set me at a desk with a computer and a PBX telephone. (It was an office at a gov't defense contractor...) The computer I could relate to on an intimate level; the telephone scared the living bejesus out of me, and I prayed it never to ring. A disembodied voice in your ear, especially one that interrupts everything you're doing and demanding a real-time conversation across space and time, that's incredibly rude, yet normalized for 100 years. I have PTSD and other disabilities, and I can get completely rattled and downright hostile/aggro when someone calls me and I'm not prepared, I'm not at my desk, no notes in front of me, even if I'm relaxing at home I just can't deal. I may answer the phone while on a bus or train, but I certainly won't sustain a conversation that way. Outgoing calls are sometimes OK but often end in disaster as I become increasingly frustrated. Now it's not uncommon for someone who's standing at my front door to telephone me. What the hell, I'm less than 3 yards away in here, please don't send me across Cyberspace when you're manifesting in meatspace... On a phone call I have no idea what office I've reached, what is a person's job title or role with a company, what their face looks like, when they may be taking a breath or using other physical cues to aid the conversation. So much metadata is lost in phone conversations that they are wholly dehumanized and require a revolution in etiquette, just to keep the peace. Here's your uptalk origin: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb21lsCQ3EM&si=3j3bYd_0rPa8hcHR https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb21lsCQ3EM&si=3j3bYd_0rPa... "Valley Girl, she's a Valley Girl!" I'm not autistic and I can read expressions and body language, but perhaps autists are the evolutionary result of disembodied telephone conversations taking out the human element from verbal communication. It is simply amazing that even with apps and ubiquitous Internet and website portals that I still require the telephone to get important business done (and I'm always, always ticking "it's something else/other/Live Agent/Oh god this is an exception to all your rules please send me a human being").
ctrlp 1y ago
I would assume the opposite. People use it to sound dumb, not smart, so as to sound non-threatening, but also so as to sound non-assertive. It's used to defuse potential conflict or perceived disagreeableness. Generally the affect of a late-stage conflict-adverse institutionalism that punishes assertive or dominant behaviors. Uptalk is the "I'm showing my belly" of English affects.
- nativeit 1y ago
  More damning reasons for why we should simply go back to literally showing our bellies.

muzani 1y ago

It turns a sentence into a suggestion rather than a command.