variants
or less commonly up-speak
: uptalk
Speak with confidence. Lots of people have speech patterns that convey uncertainty. Eliminate upspeak—giving the last syllable a higher inflection.—Kathryn Rem, The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Illinois), 21 June 1998
… the giddy upspeak of the L.A. Basin (Hi? My name is Mary?) …—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2000
upspeak
intransitive verb
or less commonly up-speak
upspoke
ˈəp-ˌspōk
also up-spoke; upspoken
ˈəp-ˌspō-kən
also up-spoken; upspeaking also up-speaking; upspeaks also up-speaks
There's this linguist? Cynthia McLemore? Who studied female students at the University of Texas? Who up-speak a lot? And she found out that up-talk may very well serve a useful purpose. All those up inflections? They draw attention to what one says, McLemore claims.
—Bonnie McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 28 Nov. 1993
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share