I originally come from North America but having lived in the UK for several years I find it disturbing, when returning to N.A., to hear people inflecting the end of a statement (as though they're asking a question). It's like something out of American Pie.
Austrailians do it also, only worse!
Why is this error so widespread? Am I the only one it bothers?
Just curious to see if anyone else has noticed it and is also disturbed slightly. How do you think this will affect western culture and language?
2007-03-13 00:14:59 · 4 answers · asked by quay_grl 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I agree, 'intonation' is a better word however I've just pasted here from Dictionary.com to show that both words can apply. 'Inflection' perhaps more loosely.
in·flec·tion – noun
1. modulation of the voice; change in pitch or tone of voice.
2. Also, flection Grammar. a. the process or device of adding affixes to or changing the shape of a base to give it a different syntactic function without changing its form class.
b. the paradigm of a word.
c. a single pattern of formation of a paradigm: noun inflection; verb inflection.
d.the change in the shape of a word, generally by affixation, by means of which a change of meaning or relationship to some other word or group of words is indicated.
2007-03-13 00:30:02 · update #1
There are no errors in language.
But yeah it p*sses me off too. It's an inclusion thing. Like, if everything I say is a question? Then like, it means I'm drawing your ear closer to the sentence? Closer to the conversation? Like I'm waiting for you to say "yeah" to everything that I say? So that way it validates the point in me talking?
Unfortunately to me and you it fails to validate everything the person is saying by making them sound conversationally insecure, or stupid, or just plain wrong.
2007-03-13 00:21:46 · answer #1 · answered by splat 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That's intonation.
Inflection is applying endings to root words.
Otherwise, it developed as a way of seeking confirmation in a conversation. Instead of saying "you know?" or "see what I mean?" people started intoning the end of a statement, which prompts the listener to nod their head or say "uh-huh."
I would hardly call it an error - all Indo-European languages originally carried intonation. In ancient Greek, especially, intonation was a major factor in distinguishing different dialects. Aeolic, for example, had a recessive pitch accent, meaning that all words were intoned on the earliest possible syllable. In Russian, questions are intoned on the second to last syllable instead of the final syllable. It sounds like, "How are? you."
2007-03-13 07:19:37 · answer #2 · answered by NONAME 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They're doing it in the UK too. It is largely confined to the young. I find it as disturbing as you do. I had always assumed that it was the influence of US tv and films.
It is disturbing because it elicits the wrong response from the hearer. In fact, most of the time no response is needed!
2007-03-13 07:24:58 · answer #3 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is just more proof of the corruption of our system of education. Contrary to popular belief, a college education does not improve grammar.
2007-03-13 07:21:50 · answer #4 · answered by Preacher 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋