"Phrasing a statement as a question" is a bit strong, what you actually hear is a slight upward lilt at the end of a simple declarative sentence, a tentative inflection, as if the speaker is afraid the listener is not going to believe him, or might object to what is being said. It's not just a regional thing because I've heard it on TV, usually by non-professional communicators, like in man-on-the-street interviews.
I suspect it originates from students answering questions in class, but not too confident the teacher will accept their response.
Your daughters' use of "went" is exactly analogus to the use of "like" I was referring to. It's no big deal when these kinds of colloquialisms or idioms creep into speech, we all do it, but when it happens all the time, you are right to bring it to their attention.
Kids usually only talk to their peers, and slang and other argot spreads like wildfire in a closed community, until it becomes "normal".. I not only speak "redneck" when around rural southerners, when speaking to family or other Tampa Cubans I sometimes effortlessly lapse into the Spanish-influenced street slang I spoke to my friends when I was living in the city. (Think of Cheech Marin).
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Re: Snob, and proud of it.
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- Snob, and proud of it.