AQI: Upspeak

You would have had to have been a hermit for the last decade or more not to have noticed the progressive creep in the incidence of tonal rise at the end of a statement.

�

Q. Once again in English

A. Making statements sound like questions, so going up a few tones at the end of each sentence. But did you know that this syndrome had a name: AQI

�

Q. AQI

A. Australian Querulous - or Questioning - Intonation. It is also known as HRT, that is High Rising Terminal and in North America, rather less grandly, as 'upspeak' or 'uptalk'.

�

Q. Why AQI

A. Because it was, until relatively recently, an Australian phenomenon.

�

Q. Not any more

A. It is certainly well established in the UK, largely it seems, as a result of the popularity of Australian soap operas. (There are, of course, traditional UK dialects which feature HRT, such as Belfast and Bristol, but that's a different matter.) It is also on the increase in the USA and Canada, most particularly on the West Coast, though this is unlikely to stem from the influence of Australian TV programmes.

�

Q. Who uses it

A. It was first identified as a device in the language of young Australians, particularly young women. One theory for its development suggests that it came about because users lacked confidence. It seems unlikely, however, that the whole Australian female population under a certain age was struck simultaneously by insecurity, so theories which propound that AQI users are heard as being friendlier and more attentive are likelier.

�

Q. Any other theories

A. It is possible that this linguistic anomaly began in response to the huge influx of non-Anglophone immigrants to post-Second World War Australia. The English-speaking Australians found that it was a way of asking for feedback, to find out if the listener was following what they were saying.

�

Q. How about the USA

A. HRT seems to have risen out of the popularisation of LA 'valley-speak' - viz. the TV programme California 90210 and lampooned in the song 'Valley Girl' by Moon-Unit Zappa - emerging as a widespread teen practice in the mid '80s. In recent years, its distinctive 'intonation contour' has threatened to become a genuine dialect shift.

�

Although the questioning tone can suggest indecision, deference or apathy, a 1992 linguistic study of a Texas sorority found that upspeak was used most commonly by group leaders, suggesting that the tentative sound can also serve as a way of getting attention, involving listeners and enforcing consensus.

�

Q. Any other recent sound shifts in Australian English

A. Recent work at Macquarie University and elsewhere has indicated that the way many young Australians pronounce their vowels has undergone a radical change since the 1960s, especially with the 'o' sound, which has moved further forward in the top of the mouth to the point where 'loan' now starts to sound somewhat like 'line'.

�

Q. Are there moves to block the spread of AQI in the UK

Not in any official way. However, a few months ago, in mid-2001, Stephen Fry appeared on the BBC TV show Room 101, and he chose AQI as one of the items he wished to send into the room. Not surprisingly, then, there's a rather 'chappish' site dedicated to stopping the spread of this linguistic trend. Find it at http://www.stop-aqi.co.uk/

�

For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

�

By Simon Smith