Creaky Voice

I was reading an article the other day about how many females (primarily under the age of forty) in the United States have sort of a raspy quality to their voice. It seems most common in the Northwest and California, but I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on where this comes from. I never really noticed it in the Upper Midwest or Canada, especially in individuals that were born before the 1970s. It sounds rather odd to my ears.

Here is a link to one of the articles: http://www.kuow.org/DefaultProgram.asp?ID=9198

I've definitely heard that sort of thing before, but it's not something I've really been listening for. I don't think I ever use this.

What Josh wrote applies to me as well. I may have heard some instances of creaky voice without noticing it.

Erm... Somehow I don't think it is as common as people think. I don't know anyone that talks like that.

>> So when you say things like "canned fruit", a lot times it comes out here like "can fruit." <<

Perhaps in your idiolect it does. I would never say that. And somehow I doubt that it is limited or concentrated in the NW.

I hear creaky voice coming from young women all the time. Actresses in commercials seem to be especially prone.

If you add uptalking (ending every declarative sentence with a rising tone, like a question), and the overuse of "like," especially to replace "said," you can see a definite trend among young American women.

Example (imagine a creaky voice): "And, like, my teacher, he's like, 'turn in your homework?' And I'm like, 'I didn't get it done today?' And he's like...") It even drives my teenage son crazy.

Speak of the devil. Just an hour after I posted, I heard a lady talk with creaky voice.

<<Example (imagine a creaky voice): "And, like, my teacher, he's like, 'turn in your homework?' And I'm like, 'I didn't get it done today?' And he's like...") It even drives my teenage son crazy.>>

I cannot figure out why this pattern has spread so quickly from Southern California to other parts of the country, Canada, and the United Kingdom. According to one source that I found, using the word "like" as a filler word is now somewhat common in the speech of younger British females. I suppose it is mainly due to television and film, but why has this particular feature caught on more than others have? To my ears, not only does it sound unpleasant, but it is also very distracting. I hope to God that one day, kids will grow out of this.

As for the creaky voice, I have to wonder if this sort of tone is natural, or is it some sort of strange affection. In regards to how many people assume that its origins lie on the West Coast of the United States, I am going to assume that it's an affection, and has simply spread to other regions in the same manner that "like" has spread. However, I do not understand why females would intentionally want to sound this way.

>>>> So when you say things like "canned fruit", a lot times it comes out here like "can fruit." <<<<

<<Perhaps in your idiolect it does. I would never say that. And somehow I doubt that it is limited or concentrated in the NW.>>

I do not do this, and honestly, I have never noticed it in Seattle, Portland, or anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest. Once again, it could be something limited to teenagers only.

<<I suppose it is mainly due to television and film, but why has this particular feature caught on more than others have?>>

because people pick up wrong things fast and without effort. Their nature is tuned that way naturally. :)

I hate "like" lingo. It gives me headaches!

That's a fascinating clip. Thanks, Shatnerian.

I've definately heard this before and I live on the east coast. I believe I do it myself on occaison. I've never thought about it before, but I think younger women may tend to use "creaky voice" when expressing hesitation, irony or exhaustion. Anyone else notice this or am I imagining that correlation?

As for the valley girl speech patterns, I think they are here to stay in some form. I talked like that when I was 14 (as did most girls around me) and while I grew out of it, I definately have looser usage of the word "like" than my parents' generation and so do my peers. I hear people use "like" instead of "hum" or "uh" when buying time in mid-sentence, and I notice that I use it just before body gestures to signal a simile ("And I was like" [shrug]). So yeah, I think the word is experiencing a shift in usage in adults. But thankfully I don't think you'll hear it being used 5 times in one sentence like young girls often do.

Bus Conductor:
Look, I've warned you before. If you don't have a ticket you're gonna have to get off.

Vicky Pollard:

Oh, my God! That is so unfair! This is like, well, sexual harassment! If you like, fancy me why don't you just say so? God, this is exactly like the time Miss Rennig, who everyone knows is a total lesbian, made Candice Burton stay behind after PE, started telling her off for gobbing on Sunita Geschwani's hair. But everyone knows she only made her stay late because she wanted to get off with her, cuz when she was telling her off her legs were wide open and Candice reckons she could see her spider.

<<As for the valley girl speech patterns, I think they are here to stay in some form. I talked like that when I was 14 (as did most girls around me) and while I grew out of it, I definately have looser usage of the word "like" than my parents' generation and so do my peers. I hear people use "like" instead of "hum" or "uh" when buying time in mid-sentence, and I notice that I use it just before body gestures to signal a simile ("And I was like" [shrug]). So yeah, I think the word is experiencing a shift in usage in adults. But thankfully I don't think you'll hear it being used 5 times in one sentence like young girls often do.>>

I agree. I remember that I used to say 'like' a lot in junior high, but I use it a lot less now. I still use it in a few ways that might not appear in the dictionary though: 1) Approximation "There were like fifty people there." (Also often implies that the number is an exaggeration) 2) Quotation "Then he was like 'I'm going home.'" (Also used for reporting thoughts or responses that are not said.) I probably use it for hesitations too, but I haven't noticed it recently.

I might be mistaken, but I've always associated creaky voice with old women who speak conservative RP.

Besides, there are languages which involve obligatory creaky voice, like some American Indian and African languages, I'm not sure.

<<1) Approximation "There were like fifty people there." (Also often implies that the number is an exaggeration) 2) Quotation "Then he was like 'I'm going home.'" (Also used for reporting thoughts or responses that are not said.)>>

Yup, I do both of those, too. Actually, I'd argue the quotation bit is a useful addition to English, because it allows you to distance yourself from both the quoted speaker and the accuracy of the quote.
"She said, 'I hate that movie' " vs. "She was like, I hate that movie."
And, as you noted, to "quote" non-verbal responses.
I'm sure there's plenty of people who would bemoan that loss of clarity, but I think nearly any new tool in language is a good thing.

Liz -- I'm sure you're right that creaky voice isn't anything new to language, but I do think it's new to the speech patterns of young American women. I'd never heard it referred to as such, but listening to that mp3, I definately recognize it, and I do think it's a content dependant thing. Now I really want to know why. I have a podcast of a female TV writer who goes in and out of it. You can play it from this link here: http://veronicamars.podomatic.com/entry/2007-01-31T16_42_14-08_00