www.alphadictionary.com

I've been saving these two articles for some time now, hoping to put them into this section. As it's now up and running, here they are:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28785865
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28708526

I'd love to hear, that is read, what you all think about this pronunciation pattern. Love it or hate it, it's out there and thriving, so what do we do with or about it?

Certain kinds of questions demand to be spoken in uptalk. Many men uptalk the sentence, "Do you mean you are not dressed yet?" When uptalk is spoken in declarative sentences it is out of place.

Uptalk is not nearly as odious as the English language habit of some of the natives of the Indian subcontinent. In this case, all sentences are in the imperative mode which, in English is only expressed by tone of voice or ALL CAPS. When a simple sentence such as, "Please come in," is put in the imperative mode it grates on the nerves. It comes off like a command from a drill sergeant. I notice that some Indians who learned their English at their mother's knees have this characteristic. If an Indian learns English as a second language from an American teacher he/she seems to escape this kind of inflection.

I'm not at all sure that uptalk is completely new in British English. I am sure it has always been there as long as I can remember. In earlier days though, I would say that it was used in the context of repeating the sense of what someone else had said, possibly prefaced with "Do you mean to say,..." as a way of questioning the sense of what had been said. Now it is much more often used with simple statements, which are not intended to be questioned and I find this confusing and unhelpful on the side of the speaker. My daughters (both in their 40s) use it frequently but they did not learn it from me.

I worder if Philip's explanation explains our governor Bobby Jindal's effect on many who deal with him, which native Americans call "my way or the highway"? Oh...forgot. If you don't do it Bobby's way, you are no longer appointed.

Uptalking has pretty much run it's course hasn't it? I'm apparently so unconscious I hadn't noticed the Indian Imperative tone.

M. Like-the-Indian-accent Bailey