uptalk

American  

[uhp-tawk] / ˈʌpˌtɔk /

noun

1. a rise in pitch at the end usually of a declarative sentence, especially if habitual: often represented in writing by a question mark as in

   Hi, I'm here to read the meter?

---

uptalk British  

/ ˈʌpˌtɔːk /

noun

1. a style of speech in which every sentence ends with a rising tone, as if the speaker is always asking a question

---

Etymology

Origin of uptalk

First recorded in 1990–95; up- ( def. ) + talk ( def. ). Uptalk was first noted especially among teenage girls and young women, though it is used among the general population

Example Sentences

But there's another equally hated speech feature that is achieved at the other end: the high-rising terminal intonation pattern, or "uptalk."

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2022

Yes, perhaps philosophers, scientists and mathematicians, when they pontificate, should speak in uptalk?

From Scientific American • Aug. 7, 2021

But while a space analogue to uptalk might strike Earthlings as strange, it wouldn’t hinder communication that much.

From Slate • Aug. 31, 2020

Of course, there was a reason young women used uptalk, as linguists would later point out.

From Washington Post • Mar. 20, 2019

The dialect known as uptalk — speaking like this?

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2013