My friend told me that Valley Girl talk is the dialect that everyone who studies English must be familiar with, because most of modern American conversation consists of entirely, or at least partly, of that dialect. Is this true? What IS Valley Girl talk? I forgot to ask.
Valley Girl talk: the preferred variation of English
Your friend is heavily exaggerating. There isn't much "valley girl" speak used in most American English, although overuse of the word "like", once a characteristic of valley girl speak, is very common.
- Kef
- Kef
<There isn't much "valley girl" speak used in most American English, although overuse of the word "like",>
If a person knows why he/she's using it, which is true for most users, why is it overused?
If a person knows why he/she's using it, which is true for most users, why is it overused?
The Valley Girl/Surfer Dude accent is the predominant dialect of Southern California... (Though many refuse to believe so, just as many in large southern cities, such as Dallas or Atlanta, would say we don't have southern accents).
It's not terribly important to be familiar with this dialect unless you're going to be spending time in Southern California, and even then it is not so different from Standard American that you need to pay any special attention to this specific dialect.
Or maybe after spending four years in San Diego everyone just started to sound the same to me lol
It's not terribly important to be familiar with this dialect unless you're going to be spending time in Southern California, and even then it is not so different from Standard American that you need to pay any special attention to this specific dialect.
Or maybe after spending four years in San Diego everyone just started to sound the same to me lol
Oh, and is prevalent as it is on the West Coast and in many large cities, it is by no means the "preferred" variation of English.
I don't know. What about the usage of the word "gross" meaning "disgusting"? From what I understand, that originated in Valley Girl talk. (Before, it had only meant "large" or "12 dozens).
At least from the perspective of here in Wisconsin, Vally Girl/Surfer Dude speech is actually rather looked down upon, even though some features commonly associated with it are present in everyday speech here today amongst younger individuals (such as the heavy use of "like"). In particular, it has connotations related to those who stereotypically speak such, and Valley Girl and Surfer Dude-types are generally not thought of all too highly here.
<It's not terribly important to be familiar with this dialect unless you're going to be spending time in Southern California,>
How about if one want to watch sertain TV programs and film?
How about if one want to watch sertain TV programs and film?
If anyone is interested in a more descriptive look at this phenomenon:
http://littleurbanity.blogspot.com/2007/07/teenage-girls-talk-like-that-like-for.html
http://littleurbanity.blogspot.com/2007/07/teenage-girls-talk-like-that-like-for.html
There are some TV programs that may use it a lot, but even then they don't make it so thick that it differs so much from Standard English.
"Gross" meaning "Disgusting" originated from an older form of the word which meant thick or course, and came to its current meaning through its use as an intensifier (gross stupidity) and is first recorded in the 1950s... Before "Valley girl" really became so common. It's general English, not valley girl.
"Gross" meaning "Disgusting" originated from an older form of the word which meant thick or course, and came to its current meaning through its use as an intensifier (gross stupidity) and is first recorded in the 1950s... Before "Valley girl" really became so common. It's general English, not valley girl.
this youtube video is no Valley girl, it's a British girl trying to put on a Valley girl accent but failing...
this is much better
Valley Girl by Frank and Moon Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eEvLzoSVsw
Valley girl accent is not just about using different words and having different intonation...it's about having different PRONUNCIATION...Valley Girls sound like Canadian girls althugh without Fargoish influences (like Canadian raising of /au/)
this is much better
Valley Girl by Frank and Moon Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eEvLzoSVsw
Valley girl accent is not just about using different words and having different intonation...it's about having different PRONUNCIATION...Valley Girls sound like Canadian girls althugh without Fargoish influences (like Canadian raising of /au/)
Valley girls and Canadians don't sound alike.... Maybe I'd disagree if I heard two speaking one after the other, but when I think about it, they sound completely different.
>>What's with you guys thinking that Canadians sound like Valley Girls? Seriously, we don't sound that different from Americans. I could easily pass as an American in all but the NCVS areas, where they would probably spot me as Canadian right away. And Canadian raising isn't a 'Fargoish infuence'; if anything, Minnesota got it from us!<<
You wouldn't sound non-American, you just wouldn't sound like someone from the Inland North or North Central areas (which together include the Upper Midwest, but also include upstate New York as well). The main thing that would probably be obviously non-American is the combination, to some degree, of the raising and rounding of [A] and the lowering of [{] being combined with Canadian Raising; while dialects in California may have such they do not also not Canadian Raising.
You wouldn't sound non-American, you just wouldn't sound like someone from the Inland North or North Central areas (which together include the Upper Midwest, but also include upstate New York as well). The main thing that would probably be obviously non-American is the combination, to some degree, of the raising and rounding of [A] and the lowering of [{] being combined with Canadian Raising; while dialects in California may have such they do not also not Canadian Raising.