We are always asking questions, even when we’re not. A new study suggests that “uptalk,” phrasing your statements with a rise in pitch at the end, isn’t just something young women do: it seems to be expanding to other demographics, including young men.

In Southern California, anyway, young people tend to uptalk no matter their gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, suggests a small new study presented last week at the Acoustical Society of America’s annual meeting.

“The use of uptalk is certainly more than just stereotypical ‘Valley Girl speak’ in Southern California. In fact, uptalk serves several purposes in the speech of SoCal speakers, and it is used by both men and women, at least those of young age, though there are also gender differences in the use of uptalk,” write authors Amanda Ritchart, a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego, and Amalia Arvanti, a linguistics professor at the University of Kent in the UK.