# The woman on NPR? Who uses ? for , ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543 "2004-06-22T01:05:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/1 "2004-06-22T01:05:59Z")
Carnivorousplant? Who regularly posts on the straight dope? Called this reported a dukey butt. She drives me nuts. I expect her to start saying “The dead guy? Was, like, dead?” ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/2 "2004-06-22T01:39:56Z")
Information? A little more? Please? Morning Edition,? ATC, ? Puzzled?, ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/3 "2004-06-22T02:05:57Z")
I’m assuming she’s one of those people who apparently can’t seem to understand that there are actually periods available for use in English grammar. One of the people who phrases everything as a question? Kind of like the main character in “I Know This Much Is True”? It’s really annoying after the third question-sounding-sentence in a row. Ya know? ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/4 "2004-06-22T02:43:49Z")
The OP is talking about the way a woman on NPR speaks, not the way she writes. It’s a dialect feature where you intone declarative sentences as if they were questions. Called uptalking, high rising terminals, or recurrent intonational rises if you want to be technical about it. It’s been around for a long time, although its origins are unclear. Some say it comes from Valley speak, some say it arose in Australia. Go listen to some teenagers talk and you’ll probably hear it, although adults do it too. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/5 "2004-06-22T02:48:53Z")
> [@hazel-rah](#): > > The OP is talking about the way a woman on NPR speaks, not the way she writes. It’s a dialect feature where you intone declarative sentences as if they were questions. Called uptalking, high rising terminals, or recurrent intonational rises if you want to be technical about it. It’s been around for a long time, although its origins are unclear. Some say it comes from Valley speak, some say it arose in Australia. Go listen to some teenagers talk and you’ll probably hear it, although adults do it too. I didn’t mean to imply writing. Just that every one of her sentences sound like it ends in a question mark, and not a period. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/6 "2004-06-22T02:57:20Z")
I’ll try and remember her name? To post? And the program? If I hear it in the morning? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/7 "2004-06-22T03:46:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’ll try and remember her name? To post? And the program? If I hear it in the morning? > 🙂 I can’t stand her? already? just from reading? this thread?? ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/8 "2004-06-22T04:21:21Z")
Miss Alli? Who recaps Survivor? On [TWOP](http://www.telelivisionwithoutpity.com)? Does this? All the time? It’s really? Fucking? Annoying? ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/9 "2004-06-22T04:23:00Z")
Change that? Link? To [to this](http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com)? Okay? ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/10 "2004-06-22T08:05:54Z")
While we’re on the subject, there’s some woman who does the little thing in between (“The programs on NPR are supported by The Something Foundation, supporting the arts, sciences, and public radio, and The Whatever Fund, supporting public radio, the sciences, and arts. This is NPR. National. Public. Radio.”) and sounds like a robot. I think she thinks her job is to use the exact dictionary pronunciations of words, without using any personality at all, and sound like a computer-generated voice as much as possible. Also quite annoying. Not sure who the OP is talking about though. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/11 "2004-06-22T11:59:36Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > While we’re on the subject, there’s some woman who does the little thing in between (“The programs on NPR are supported by The Something Foundation, supporting the arts, sciences, and public radio, and The Whatever Fund, supporting public radio, the sciences, and arts. This is NPR. National. Public. Radio.”) Perhaps you haven’t been listening quite as closely as you thought. You seem to be describing [Frank Tavares](http://www.npr.org/about/people/bios/ftavares.html), who is, in fact, a man. He’s also a good sport - he appears on Day to Day every once in a while to do things like [reading quotes from Oscar-nominated movies](http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1693048) in his patented inflectionless tone. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/12 "2004-06-22T12:23:43Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > While we’re on the subject, there’s some woman who does the little thing in between (“The programs on NPR are supported by The Something Foundation, supporting the arts, sciences, and public radio, and The Whatever Fund, supporting public radio, the sciences, and arts. This is NPR. National. Public. Radio.”) and sounds like a robot. I think she thinks her job is to use the exact dictionary pronunciations of words, without using any personality at all, and sound like a computer-generated voice as much as possible. Also quite annoying. Then there’s Judy DeAngeles, one of the many morning hosts on 1010WINS, who every eight minutes says “I’m…Judy…De…Angeles” about as slow as humanly possible. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/13 "2004-06-22T12:28:05Z")
They have links to their stories on their site. Link to one so that we can hear her, please. Oh…wait… They have links to their stories on their site? Link to one so that we can hear her, please? ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/14 "2004-06-22T15:45:12Z")
Oh, THANK HEAVENS! I finally know who has that weird robot voice. You have just tickled me pink, **AerynSun**. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/15 "2004-06-22T15:55:52Z")
High rising terminals? Referring to something other than breasts? Could her error be any more egregious? Can I go now? ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/16 "2004-06-22T16:08:18Z")
Terri Gross, host of Fresh Air. She often uses “upspeak” (where the speakers voice always goes up at the end of a statement, turning it into a question?). ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kaitlin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/17 "2004-06-22T16:21:07Z")
There’s a girl at work who talks normally until she starts calling people to take our research surveys. So, it’s “Hello, I’m calling on behalf of the Ohio Department of Health to conduct a survey about such-and-such? You can contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx? Please leave a message if I am away from my desk?” etc. Every single sentence is intoned the same way. Then she SLAMS the receiver down. It’s a wonder anyone calls back. It IS really annoying. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/18 "2004-06-22T17:08:50Z")
> [@AerynSun](#): > > Perhaps you haven’t been listening quite as closely as you thought. You seem to be describing [Frank Tavares](http://www.npr.org/about/people/bios/ftavares.html), who is, in fact, a man. > > He’s also a good sport - he appears on Day to Day every once in a while to do things like [reading quotes from Oscar-nominated movies](http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1693048) in his patented inflectionless tone. No, no, there is a woman, too. She sounds like she’s on heavy depressants of some kind. I actually have to turn the radio off until she’s gone, because the monotone drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/19 "2004-06-22T17:41:52Z")
What really drives me bonkers is when someone with a noticeable lisp comes on to announce something. I understand that some people have speech impediments, but fer the love of pete, keep them off the air! ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543/20 "2004-06-22T17:45:24Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > No, no, there is a woman, too. She sounds like she’s on heavy depressants of some kind. I actually have to turn the radio off until she’s gone, because the monotone drives me nuts. I only listen to _Morning Edition_ and a few weekend shows, but here’s a brief rundown of the ladies who read in the mornings. Renée Montagne may be the person you’re thinking of; she is on _Morning Edition_ and has been doing the bottom of the hour (:30) news nugget since Bob Edwards left. I think of her voice as “dry” rather than having any particular annoyance factor. If she sounds like she’s on depressants, however, you may be thinking of [Susan Stamberg](http://www.npr.org/about/people/bios/sstamberg.html), who does mainly fluff interviews with softball questions[sup]1[/sup], but also reads the recipe for somebody’s Cranberry Relish each Thanksgiving. I find her voice annoying. You may also be thinking of Diane Rehm, who has a show that follows Morning Edition in some markets; she has a neurological disorder called “spasmodic dysphonia” which causes her vocal cords to contract involuntarily, making her voice very gravelly. Her show is recorded in the studios of WAMU, at American University in D.C., and leans leftward. I find her voice especially grating, but cut her some slack because she can’t help it. Of course, on my station at home, the person who reads the near-bottom sponsorhip notes (at :28 past the hour) is a local voice. What station do you listen to? Are you sure she’s not employed by your local station? 1 - e.g., this morning she talked to the author of a book who insists that advertising, especially modern advertising, can have a negative effect on adolescent girls’ self-esteem, forcing unrealistic expectations on them. I am _shocked_, lemme tell ya. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-woman-on-npr-who-uses-for/251543.md?page=2)