You're listening to Away with Words, the show about language and how we use it.

I'm Grant Barrett.

And I'm Martha Barnett.

Hey, guys.

Today, I'm talking to you in the so-called lifestyle influencer accent.

I'm using rising tones, which make it sound like something's always coming next.

Now, this so-called accent is not so-called accent is not so much from a place as from a platform,

that is, platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

Because if you watch certain online videos, you're going to hear that kind of speech.

And there are reasons for it.

Those rising tones perk up your curiosity as you're

waiting for the next statement. So you keep on listening. And of course, that's what online

influencers want. And it makes sense, right, Grant? I mean, this is a way of holding the floor.

Yeah, there are a lot of ways that we hold the floor.

When we speak, we can drag out a word.

We can toss in a lot of just so we're making a sound and somebody else can't speak.

But this one is pretty interesting.

The influencers speak has got something.

Yeah, I mean, it's a tool.

It's something that online influencers cultivate for a purpose, and that's keeping eyeballs

on the video that they're trying to popularize.

Another example of that is the so-called Gen Z shake.

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