Language learners need the facts — not politically correct theory. There is good reason to believe that uptalk is not a regional variation or “language change”. It is (depending on the case) a bad habit, an affectation, or “too much information” about the speaker’s emotional state. Learners can decide for themselves what they want to imitate, but they will have to live with the consequences. All major languages on the planet use rising intonation for yes / no questions. This is even true in languages that use question particles, when those particles are omitted in casual speech (as often happens). This is even true in so-called tonal languages, such as Chinese varieties. Rising intonation is a type of universal human non-verbal communication, much like a smile or a frown. Therefore, it is *not* an example of language change — it will never be considered standard intonation for statements in English. The fact is that it makes people sound weak, submissive, and lacking in self-confidence. This may reflect reality, or it may be a type of manipulative behavior, but either way, one should not expect to (for example) ace the job interview using uptalk.

Here’s a link to the TED Talk that James is referring to:

Want to sound like a leader? Start by saying your name right | Laura Sicola | TEDxPenn

Here’s a Youtube video where a man talks about and demonstrates uptalk, overuse of “like”, and vocal fry. The fact that the speaker is definitely not a teenage girl really puts the effect of these affectations into stark perspective:

We all make our own decisions about what kind of intonation to use. This will have a major impact on how others react to us, so maybe we should make the these decisions wisely.

I'm so sorry for confusing you. It's just a random video from Youtube, they're native speakers of English.

I personally don't have anything against the uptalk intonation. But here are the observations,

This is my 2 cents.

Their video is nowhere near the best (or worst) example of “uptalk”. Still, as a rule, I’d recommend against any sort of non-standard intonation. Also, this is not in the video, Benny, but since you’re probably going to ask, people should also stay away from any sort of non-standard phonation (such as vocal fry). Unless you’re rich, famous, beautiful, or powerful, in which case it really doesn’t matter what you do.

So.. I've never heard of 'Uptalk'. I only see 3 videos on this channel. I watched more of that video and I realized..this is how girls spoke in my school. This is how the girls that were cheerleaders spoke. I live in Ohio so this was actually regular words/phrases that girls would say in my school. I personally don't see anything wrong with it. Sure it's not 'eloquent/advanced/scholarly speaking/word choice' but this is generally how teen girls speak. I don't think they're trying to imitate anyone. They're just speaking naturally. I understand though, those that are international that hearing this way of speaking might seem strange. But if you head out to California or Florida, this is how teen girls/young women talk.

Don't worry Benny, I wasn't offended at all, I just thought I'd point out there is always an element of politics to language, especially when it's a language which has many regional variants like English or Spanish.

It used to be that Received Pronunciation was the only "proper" way to speak, but thankfully we have more or less done away with that notion in the 21st century. Certain habits of intonation or the sounds inherent in certain accents can and often are deemed annoying by others but it is still important to remember that the idea of a "neutral" accent is tied up with other notions of class, position, gender and race. They don't call it "the Queen's English" for nothing.