# The Antipodean rising (questioning) inflection question, in reverse

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-antipodean-rising-questioning-inflection-question-in-reverse/620790>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 3, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-antipodean-rising-questioning-inflection-question-in-reverse/620790 "2012-05-03T21:09:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-antipodean-rising-questioning-inflection-question-in-reverse/620790/21 "2012-05-04T21:44:43Z")

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> [@si\_blakely](#):
>
> I’m from the Bay of Plenty, but with English and Christchurch roots - I’ve got flat intonation as well. None of my childhood friends had much of a terminal rising inflection, either. In the 70’s when I grew up, TVNZ/RNZ newsreaders had to have something approaching BBC style RP.
> 
> Si

I grew up in Wellington and really only noticed it when [Lyn Of Tawa](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT7mupw8QXY) (Comedienne Ginette McDonald) brought forth the accent in glorious pastel shades. I don’t think I heard it in the southern/eastern suburbs where I grew up, but Tawa really wasn’t that far away and once it was on the telly, I certainly noticed rising inflections in the wild.

But I think the OP ws asking how we perceived _different_ accents.

I said before that I noticed some strong US accents, but I grew up with mum’s side of the family speaking in strong Glaswegian brogue and dad’s family still verbally stuck in Central Otago.

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