The English "Bye"

Back from NY where grandpa is thankfully doing better (thanks to so many of you for your lovely good wishes) and where I experienced reverse culture shock the first few days. ...Only to experience reverse-reverse culture shock back in London.

Amongst the first thing I (re)noticed, chatting with my friend Paul on the phone yesterday, was the peculiar use of the word "bye" by so many English people. It's not that they use the word incorrectly. It's that they somehow, no matter how husky the voice, now matter macho the persona, can only utter the word with their voices floating up about three octaves above their normal range. It's something I've never quite gotten over.

There is also usually a little bit of sing-songiness involved. It's not just "bye" (sung at a high-high-C note). It's "bye-eee." A two syllable word, with the second syllable sung one or two notes lower than the first.

For example, Paul ending the conversation on the phone yesterday where we made plans to meet for dinner:

"Okay (normal deep male voice), so I'll get on the road now and call you when I'm in the neighborhood. Talk to you soon. (Immediate switch to high, falsetto voice about three octaves higher.) Bye-eee!!" He then hangs up.

Or today on the bus, a girl ranting angrily to her friend on her mobile:

"Yeah, it's rubbish. (angry, forceful, deep tone, coming from the chest) Absolute fucking bullocks. They're imbeciles. ...Oh crap that's my stop, gotta go. (Immediate switch to falsetto sing-song, even though she's still mad as hell) Bye-eeeee!!"

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I suppose we all have our cultural blind spots-- words or phrases we somehow distort without really knowing we're doing it. In New York, I heard people over and over in coffee shops and lunch places saying to the service people, "Thank you *so* much!" Basically the service people were just doing their job, not going above and beyond. And it's not that the customers looked tremendously grateful either. A simple "thank you" would have done just fine.

But, someone, please explain-- what's the deal with the English singing their goodbyes in falsetto?