Origins
The origins of HRT remain uncertain. Geographically, anecdotal evidence places the conception of the American English variety on the West Coast – anywhere from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest.
With respect to the southern hemisphere, Allan (1990) suggested that the feature may have originated in New Zealand.
It is unclear whether the American English varieties and the Oceanic varieties had any influence on each other regarding the spread of HRT.
One theory is that it arose from the habit of some young people (in Australia, anyway) ending virtually every spoken sentence with:'You know?'. Omit the words but keep the inflection and you have HRT.
It will be apparent that the 'You know?' usage is closely related to other usages devoid of meaning such as the use of 'like', 'whatever' etc. The rapid spread of all of these across the English-speaking world is safely attributed to TV.
Read more about this topic: High Rising Terminal
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“Grown onto every inch of plate, except
Where the hinges let it move, were living things,
Barnacles, mussels, water weeds—and one
Blue bit of polished glass, glued there by time:
The origins of art.”
—Howard Moss (b. 1922)
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“Lucretius
Sings his great theory of natural origins and of wise conduct; Plato
smiling carves dreams, bright cells
Of incorruptible wax to hive the Greek honey.”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)