Air Hostesses' Voices
A point which I spent many minutes (I’m talking many. Like, hours of minutes. This isn’t just because I am so intrigued over the question; rather it was because I couldn’t sleep at all on the flight, even if it was a 747, which means that I don’t get scared because I can’t feel the turbulence. It is, after all, like sitting in a cruise ship in a swimming pool….if that analogy makes any sense whatsoever). Had I finished my sentence? No. Right, so air hostesses’ voices….why must they always have that sing-song lilt (come to think of it, why was Lilt (as in the drink), called Lilt? What’s that about?), to them? It’s a little bit Welsh… Bear with me here, as a lilt in speech is going to be hard to convey via text (but I’m sure you all know what I mean already). The larger the text is, the higher the tone of voice. Depending on the hostess, or host indeed, this also sometimes indicates a higher volume too, but not always.
Does that make any sense at all? It sort of does in my head, and it's much funnier too. But I think it's one of those things that require audio for it to work. I could, if I was that anal and high on myself, record me saying it and post it here, but I'm not that anal, and not that high on myself. It’s a bit similar to pilot talk, which is always accompanied by a clearing of the throat, and long pauses. The long pauses always confuse me, as they could mean one of many things.
“Goooood afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We’re now………..” Now, before he, or indeed she, says anything else, he could either have simply died, or just have completely forgotten what he was about to say, which I’m sure happens more often than we’d like to think. Or, for those panicky flyers, it could also mean that he has just noticed that we don’t actually have any fuel left/the wings have fallen off/or he has just been shot. Either way, and with both these interesting traits, I’m not sure if they are a requirement, or if it is just something you pick up as you go along. Does anyone know? Do you think other pilots/air hostesses can spot a rookie by the way they talk? If the pilot actually finishes the sentence in one go, its like, “Oh God. Check that new guy out… He just totally finished his sentence without a pause. I mean, he didn’t even cough.” I’m fairly certain that pilots don’t talk in that sort of surfer way, but you never, ever know.
Anyway. This was just a thought I had, after being ill for 3 days, and not having slept for 2 days.