Are Men Starting to Sound Totally, Like 'Valley Girls'? Study

So remember like, totally in the 90s when there were like, valley girls? Well, according to a recent study led by California scientists, there are like totally valley boys, too.

Scientists are describing what they call "uptalk," a style of speech where the voice rises in pitch at the end of a sentence. Though uptalkers may typically be stereotyped as young, dumb and women (probably blonde, too), researchers from the University of California, San Diego debunk the myth that it's just chicks on their cell phones riding around in convertibles spouting out this nonsense. ("Clueless," anyone?)

A recent study recorded the voices of 12 men and women from southern California with diverse backgrounds. Both genders were asked to talk about certain subjects, such as giving directions or summarizing the episode from a television show, according to the Daily Mail.

"We found use of uptalk in all of our speakers, despite their diverse backgrounds in socioeconomic status, ethnicity, bilingualism and gender," said Amanda Ritchart, a linguist who led the study, via the news organization.

However, another study looks specifically at men's use of uptalk. Looking at 792 men at Duke University, they found that the lower a man's voice, the more powerful job he had and the more money he made.

"Our study busts the stereotype associated with uptalk that those who speak uptalk actually ask questions instead of make statements, a tendency that is suppose to be linked to insecurity," said Amalia Arvaniti a professor involved in the study, according to the Daily Mail.

The Acoustical Society of America, in which the study was presented, also detected a subtle difference in the way test subjects aksed a question and made a statement. They found that when making a statement, the uptalkers voice typically rose in pitch much later than when the question was asked.

Think you know any valley girls or boys? Share in the comments below.