I noticed years ago that some girls in their late teens, early twenties, developed an annoying (to me) habit of using upward inflexions at the end of their sentences, which turned their statement into an interrogatory.
And equally annoying (to me) was the way words slipped down from their lips to somewhere down their throats to emerge as a lazy guttural sound.
Was it something common to certain people only, an unfortunate speech impediment perhaps? I wasn't sure.
But there was no mistaking a third affliction to the spoken language.
"And I was, like...". The dreaded unnecessary and misuse of the word "like".
What I didn't know was that these affectations have a name, and even a possible origin.
Speaking from the throat is "verbal fry". Here is a funny example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5VW5FMblho
Apparently Kim Kardashian fries her vocals. I say no more.
For more on all this, wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valleyspeak
I know language is flexible and ever evolving...but do we have to follow trends brought about by the superficial, the vacuous and the ignorant?
Should we all be writing " My friends took me to meet there parents" or "I saw many car's in the showroom"...
But that's a whole other topic!
And equally annoying (to me) was the way words slipped down from their lips to somewhere down their throats to emerge as a lazy guttural sound.
Was it something common to certain people only, an unfortunate speech impediment perhaps? I wasn't sure.
But there was no mistaking a third affliction to the spoken language.
"And I was, like...". The dreaded unnecessary and misuse of the word "like".
What I didn't know was that these affectations have a name, and even a possible origin.
Speaking from the throat is "verbal fry". Here is a funny example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5VW5FMblho
Apparently Kim Kardashian fries her vocals. I say no more.
For more on all this, wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valleyspeak
I know language is flexible and ever evolving...but do we have to follow trends brought about by the superficial, the vacuous and the ignorant?
Should we all be writing " My friends took me to meet there parents" or "I saw many car's in the showroom"...
But that's a whole other topic!


Comment