Modern speech

[woolfy42]

Has anyone noticed that kids today are raising the picth of their voice at the end of sentences, and worse, no and go are sounding like noy and goy.- don't know to spell them!

[Buenchico]

Coming from East Anglia, I expect EVERYONE to raise the pitch of their voice at the end of a sentence.

For example, an enquiry as to where someone is going should be correctly delivered as "Werya GARN?" , with the stress (and raised pitch) being on the second word. (My Ipswich accent has, through the use of rising tones at the end of a sentence, often been mistaken for Australian - even when I was in Adelaide!).

Chris

[slinkycat]

Can't say that I've noticed that woolfy, but then again mine are (almost) grown up, language isn't a static thing though, and hasn't every generation added their own modifications and fads,usually transient, eg who would say "groovy" these days?

[terambulan]

the words tumble out so fast and run into each other, that it sounds garbled. Easier to pretend deafness than have mumbo-jumbo repeated - lol

[fredpuli47]

You're not alone Chris. I'm from the Cambridge side of the Suffolk border and for the first years of my practising in East London, some 30 years ago, I was thought to be Australian!

There was a fashion for accusing Australian soaps, like Neighbours, for causing this rising pitch in the speech of the impressionable young. That always seemed unlikely since even the keenest young soap addict would only be exposed to the accent for a few hours a week. No, I blame the Singing Postman and the proximity of East Anglia to London.

[woolfy42]

Yep, question speech is very irritating, originating in Australia and America. The no and go thing seemed to have started when kids watched Neighbours on TV where the New Zealanders all say their no's and go's in that strange way. The unnecassary use of the word 'like' all over the place is even worse. Good examples of most of most of these can be seen in tonights episode of The Inbeteeners!

[woolfy42]

And the black peoples use of 'aks' instead of 'ask' is even worse! Why would British kids copy that?

[Quizmonster]

Unlike Fred, I DO believe the rising tone at statement ends came via Australian soaps. The few hours of weekly exposure to the speech patterns of the actual programmes failed to guarantee kids would NOT go on speaking thus to fellow-addicts in real life.

As regards aks, until around 1600, the regular literary form of the verb meaning ‘ask' was 'ax', based on earlier forms 'acsian' or 'axian'. 'Ax' remained until then the commonest form throughout the Midlands and Southern England, whilst 'ask' was essentially just the Northern form of the word.
It is, therefore, not just confined to specific racial groups but - even now - largely dialectal. I believe 'aks' is still quite commonly used in Lancashire, for example.

[woolfy42]

Thank you - very interesting, Quizmaster.

[Quizmonster]

Woolfy, it's of no great consequence, but I'm QuizmONster. I mention it only because there IS an AnswerBanker with the user-name QuizmAster. Cheers.

[woolfy42]

OK - I knew I needed to get my eyes tested.

[Answerprancer]

Ah yes the "Australian rising inflection" where everything they say becomes a question - very irritating. Have you noticed that when a fractious teenager is called to order they go "Nnnnnnno-ahh!!"

[T&S]

http://en.wikipedia.o.../High_rising_terminal

Apparently Stephen Fry banished it to Room 101.

[juandelacruz]

To raise the voice at the end of a sentence is common in Wales. Surely the more variety we have in English, the stronger the language is? When you've listened to Irish, Jamaican, West African, Glasgow, Geordie, Deep South USA, Indian and Chinese all in one day, it's a joy.