Summary: This article highlights that linguists, who once that the vocal trends of young women were markers of immaturity and stupidity, now believe that the way in which young women use these vocal trends in more sophisticated ways than many people realize. These vocal trends include uptalk (pronouncing statements as if they were questions), slang (current slang includes YOLO (you only live once) and 'wicked'), the use of 'like' as an filler word, and vocal fry (raspy sound at end of sentence)*.The article emphasizes the idea that young women start vocal trends when the author states "As Paris is to fashion, the thinking goes, so are young women to linguistic innovation" (Quenqua, 1). Although the article suggests that women start vocal trends, it mentions that these vocal trends spread to other groups. One article mentions that a 2011 study demonstrated that men use the word 'like' more than women while another study highlights that the most common uptalkers were fathers with young women. Dr. Eckert of Stanford stated that uptalking was a way for these fathers to show that they were friendly and were "not asserting power in the situation" (Quenqua, 2). The article also states that like uptalking, vocal fry can have several uses. These uses include trying to sound more authoritative or disinterest.
*Example of Vocal Fry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L0eJp7V2Zs ("Why don't you come up sometime and see me?")
Knowledge Issue: To what extent can the human sciences affect language?
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