Today I was listening on the car radio as a newscaster gave a piece of information in a sentence that ended with his voice rising the way it does when one asks a question. It reminded me of the time when at Mass a reader of a passage from the First Epistle of John did the same thing with a wonderful statement in that letter, with the result that what ought to have been of infinite comfort to us sinful creatures seemed to be called into question: "God is love?" When I pointed out that this is about the last thing one would want to sound questionable, she was mortified, said she had no idea she was doing it.Does this oral habit have a name? Why has it become so common? In ordinary conversation it seems to serve as an invitation to ones interlocutor to indicate attention, interest, and/or agreement. Im not sure of this, but my impression is that it is more common among women.

Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

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