Uptalk is such a downer
Wer jeden Satz wie eine Frage klingen lässt, erweckt nicht unbedingt Vertrauen. Unsere Kolumnistin über eine sprachliche Unart, die zu beruflichen Nachteilen führen kann – und ihr persönlich schrecklich auf die Nerven geht.
Iwas at the bank recently to speak with a financial advisor. My meeting there turned into a linguistic nightmare that I would like to share with you – a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved. When I’m at a bank, I want my banker to sound confident. It’s my money, after all. Now, if you’re wondering why I’m writing this, you may already have guessed the answer to your own question. This guy didn’t. Sound confident, I mean.
Although he was talking to me in statements, this financial advisor sounded as though he was asking me questions all the time. Why? Because he raised his voice at the end of each sentence, which made every single one of his statements sound like a question. I thought to myself: He’s supposed to be the expert. Why does he sound so unsure of himself? Doesn’t he know what he’s talking about?
I began to grow worried about my hardearned cash. And I started to think about the guy’s speech pattern.
I found out that there’s actually a name for it. It’s called “uptalk” or “upspeak,” because – as I said – the voice goes up at the end of the sentence. Unfortunately, this speech pattern of rising intonation or inflection has become widespread, especially among female millennials and teens. You may not be familiar with it in real life, but if you’ve seen the movies Clueless or In a World, or the TV series Girls, or if you’ve heard Frank Zappa’s song “Valley Girl,” you’ll have heard extreme examples of this.
I find uptalk intensely annoying – and I’m not alone. It sounds contrived, and as a listener, you have to concentrate much harder to determine what is a statement and what is a question. Imagine if each sentence in this column ended with a question mark instead of a period! That would be irritating, right? (This is a real question, by the way.) It’s bad enough when you hear uptalk in a bar or at a party, but in a professional setting, it can damage the speaker’s career. If you’re making a presentation, you should want to sound like an authority on your subject – as though you know what you’re talking about.
How you speak in life and at work can determine what people think of you. And while there’s no indication that people who use uptalk lack confidence or are unintelligent, it can make them sound that way.
The fact that women are particularly guilty of using rising intonation is probably due to societal expectations. Even in 2021, the sad reality is that strong, confident, assertive women are often viewed as threatening or masculine. Uptalk is a perceived way to soften this.
Me – I’m all for assertiveness and confidence, no matter what your age or gender. Don’t be afraid to say what you mean.
Don’t ask, do tell!
FASCINATING FACTS
...about motoring organizations:
In the early days of motoring, drivers could usually do small repairs themselves. As cars became more complex, motorists formed clubs to help each other. Soon, those clubs started to pay for help from mechanics.
The British RAC (Royal Automobile Club) was formed in 1897, the British AA (Automobile Association) a few years later, in 1905. AAA (American Automobile Association), called “Triple A”, started in 1902. Germany’s ADAC was formed in 1903.
Today, each breakdown mechanic helps about a thousand drivers every year.
A breakdown service van carries more than 500 spare parts and tools.
About 80 per cent of breakdowns can be fixed at the side of the road.
Today’s motoring organizations offer more than just breakdown services. They also provide car insurance, traffic reports, petrol price checks, information about electric charging points, driving courses, advice on buying a car (see pages 58–59) and much more.