Re: AMC: The uptalking? It's got to stop?

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 14:17:10 -0400, Laney wrote
(in article <tscrg.3652$IF2.32@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>):


<seerialmom@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1152208217.616250.234520@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Laney wrote:
No spoiler space, since it was on yesterday's ep, too.

I don't know if the actress playing Colby is "uptalking"
to make the point that Colby is an extremely vapid,
annoying teenager, with typical, cliche inability to
speak properly, or if it's just the actress' own vocal
tic, but it's driving me absolutely up the wall that
every-damn-thing that comes out of her mouth sounds
like a question. If it was to make a point, fine, point
made, please stop now. If it's some sort of habit, the
director needs to say something, so that she can please
stop, _now_.

Nails. On. A. Freaking. Chalkboard.

Aged cheese, indeed.


Laney

Now I'm really confused. WTH is "uptalking"? Is it like Cher in
"Clueless"? And if that's how teens talk isn't it really "in
character"?

I don't remember that in Clueless -- Cher was just sort
of a valley girl type. What I'm talking about it the habit
of raising your voice at the end of every sentence. Try
it in your head -- or out loud, assuming you're alone, or
don't mind people thinking you're odd. ;) It's basically
the vocal difference between "We're out of milk." and
"We're out of milk?" The vocal cue is to raise your
voice "up" at the end if you're asking, not so much if
you're telling.<<

I'll just add that when Laney says "up" or "raise your voice up," she means
in _pitch_, not in volume. Try basically any couple of sentences that are
_not_ questions (and see how your voice either stays the same in pitch at the
end, or goes down), and then a bunch that _are_ questions, and hear how your
pitch is higher at the end, to give it that interrogative cadence. Like
this:

You did _what_?!

as opposed to

You're the reason I'm moving to France!

A normal person would have "I'm moving to France" all at the same pitch
(unless you wanted to emphasize "France" - but it would still end on a
down-cadence rather than an up one), probably with "You're" as the
highest-pitched word in the sentence. Whereas with the first example, "You"
and "did" are probably at the same pitch, while "_what_?!" goes up
exponentially into near-squeaky territory. :-)

Aisling "knows a lot about voice stuff"
FAC Will Cortlandt
Jewelled Frango 2001

.

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