DEVELOPING TREND: California Boys Are Starting To ‘Talk Like Girls’ According To University Researchers
More young California men are starting to talk like girls, according to new research.
Language experts believe an increasing amount of men have started ‘uptalking’ – raising the pitch of their voice at the end of a sentence as if it were a question.
More boys have started to pick up the upward intonation- usually associated with girls – according to the study.
In the study carried out by the University of California, San Diego, 12 women and 12 men were asked to read map instructions and describe events from a TV show while linguists monitored their voices.
The research concluded that the habit, also known as ‘valley girl speak’, is becoming more common among young men.
Linguist Amanda Ritchart told New York Magazine: “We believe that uptalk is becoming more prevalent and systematic in its use for the younger generations in Southern California.
“We found use of uptalk in all of our speakers, despite their diverse backgrounds, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, bilingualism and gender.”
Linguists were also able to identify a difference between the pitch changes in statements and questions.
The increase in pitch begins significantly later in statements, though it was also found that non-uptalkers found it hard to tell the difference.
