I think it is worse in certain regions of the country than others. You could move. 
Uptalk and especially vocal fry are pet peeves of mine. I donāt like the use of filler words like āumā and ālikeā but they donāt bother me quite as much.
Now if we could also get rid of the apostrophe for plurals thing. Just read a post on social media from a school teacher and she does. #-o
I was unfamiliar with most of these terms, and especially surprised by the meaning of āBae,ā as Iād thought it was somehow used to confer status to another by suggesting some sort of homage or proximity to Beyonce. (No, thank you.)
As for uptalking, I have found it to be, yes, something young women do to sound friendly, nonaggressive and open to discussion when they are asked to present as the authority on some matter. Iāve come think it rests in some cultural circles, and not others.
My youngest has an infuriating habit of gliding over his words such that one hears the beginning of his sentences and then perhaps the final words, with everything else becoming a kind of aural melange. I lose my mind.
Iāve noticed some of these annoying habits in myself. If you hear a lot of it, itās easy to start using it. I think itās okay to point it out once in a while.
H helps me remember to minimize ummm and similar. I do a fair amount of public speaking and am otherwise quite good at it.
Talk like her for a day, see what she feels about it.
I noticed on some news radio programs that younger women tend to use upspeak as a way to continue making their point while avoiding interruption from other guests or the host.
"As for uptalking, I have found it to be, yes, something young women do to sound friendly, nonaggressive and open to discussion when they are asked to present as the authority on some matter. "
IMO, talking that way quickly leads to others thinking you have no authority. Itās hard for me to take anyone seriously when they uptalk or use a vocal fry.
^^I feel the same way, @doschicos.
Funny that someone mentioned āValley Girl.ā I did play it for D1 and she wasnāt as amused as we once were.
Hmmm, donāt follow social media and hadnāt hear of vocal fry. I find it underwhelming.
Fortunately my young adults donāt uptalk, nor do most people I encounter IRL.
Ugh yes it is annoying. My kiddo first week of JH started talking like Miranda sings. ?
Ha! An age old problem. My mother was from a poor family and it was very important to her to speak correctly. She couldnāt dress rich, but she could sound upper class. We, her children, were more comfortable economically and we sounded like our friends, slangy. I think we learned to speak to fit in. We could sound down home with friends and uptown with work colleagues.
To me this vocal fry and uptalk is different than using slang. Each generation uses different slang. Words ebb and flow. This is changing how you speak not words you use. I would worry that my kid would get stuck with this speech pattern. Fortunately, where we live/in my kidsā social circles it doesnāt seem to be a thing like it is elsewhere.
One kid can occasionally fall into the pattern of using ālikeā occasionally. I do point it out to them and they take it constructively because they know it is annoying when they hear others do it.
Weāve talked about this phenomenon more than once. Our son doesnāt take anyone who speaks like this seriously. It seems more common in young women than young men. Right or wrong, our son dismisses these young women out of hand and would not consider dating them. Could be why he continues to be unattached, but I must say I canāt stand the affectation either and feel the same way. When I hear that vocalization, I immediately judge and tune out.
Iām relieved that I have not noticed these patterns in the young relatives of my extended familyāit would be offputting, for sure.
they donāt always outgrow it For know when itās appropriate. The first semester my D was a grad assistant in a science lab she had a student that wrote her lab reports the same way she talked including using like repeatedly. D couldnāt believe it. There were only a few years age difference between them - I canāt imagine how a professor would feel. Though nothing probably surprises them any more.
My son does not use it as much because we keep yelling at him when he starts using those comfort words! You would be surprised how many young people who work in professional office setting also speak in such a way? I am surprised how so many high school English teachers let them get away with such poor language usage?
It always sounds to me as if the speaker is uncertain, insecure, and needing approval before proceeding. If youāre asked to present as the authority, you have BE authoritative, or you wonāt be taken seriously. Uptalking is about as anti-feminist as it gets.
Iāve gone on several college tours in the last few weeks. I noticed with nearly all of the tour guides, after finishing their spiel at each stop on the tour, would then say āso, yeahā as if to sort of reinforce that they were finished speaking. If my own college daughter uses that phrase, I havenāt noticed. My teenage boys sure donāt know ever say it but just the other day, while my 13 y/o daughter was relaying a story to me on our way home from school, she finished with āso, yeah.ā ?
If this is your biggest problem with your child, life is pretty darned good!
(See post #18,515 on the āSay it Hereā¦ā thread.)