# Vocal Fry- Can we please make it against the law? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677 "2012-03-03T21:56:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/1 "2012-03-03T21:56:32Z")
I’m hearing it a lot on the radio, and Melissa Block of NPR’s “All Things Considered” is one of the worst offenders. I makes me grind my teeth and want to drive my car into a telephone pole. > [@](#): > > A curious vocal pattern has crept into the speech of young adult women who speak American English: low, creaky vibrations, also called vocal fry. Pop singers, such as Britney Spears, slip vocal fry into their music as a way to reach low notes and add style. Now, a new study of young women in New York state shows that the same guttural vibration—once considered a speech disorder—has become a language fad. Vocal fry, or glottalization, is a low, staccato vibration during speech, produced by a slow fluttering of the vocal cords. [MORE](http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/12/vocal-fry-creeping-into-us-speec.html) I say we go back to calling it a speech disorder and send people to therapy for it. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/2 "2012-03-03T21:59:02Z")
No. Some of us just have gravelly voices. I agree it does sound odd when women do it excessively though. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/3 "2012-03-03T22:06:55Z")
I’ve also heard it described as creaky voice. The Olson Twins do it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/4 "2012-03-03T22:08:07Z")
I think Fry should give up singing and stick with his holophonor lessons. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/5 "2012-03-03T22:15:49Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > No. Some of us just have gravelly voices. I agree it does sound odd when women do it excessively though. If your voice is naturally gravelly, more power to you. You’re not who I’m talking about. I’m talking about young women who do it deliberately. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/6 "2012-03-03T22:33:17Z")
Um… some youtube examples of people actually speaking this way? The only person I’ve heard that sounds anything like this [explanation mp3](http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/vocalfryshort.mp3) was some actress from before my parents were born, not something I associate with young women. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/7 "2012-03-03T22:35:43Z")
There’s a pretty good example [here.](http://popcrush.com/kesha-britney-spears-vocal-fry-speaking-trend/) Edit: [Even better example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsE5mysfZsY). This one is someone doing an exaggerated version for effect, but it makes it easier to understand what she’s referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/8 "2012-03-03T22:37:42Z")
Is it that sort of low, strained voice that I think of as “valley girl talk?” If so, I hate it. Hate hate hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/9 "2012-03-03T23:03:35Z")
[Languagelog](http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3626) had a post on this a while ago. Their conclusion? It’s not a new thing by any means, moderate use is unlikely to be damaging and there haven’t been enough studies with far-ranging enough populations to say whether it’s increased in the young female demographic. My opinion? It’s a thing that people do and calling attention to it like this is just going to embarrass people who didn’t realize they’re doing it and encourage others to increase their use of it, just to annoy you. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/10 "2012-03-03T23:22:56Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Is it that sort of low, strained voice that I think of as “valley girl talk?” If so, I hate it. Hate hate hate it. My personal theory is that the increasing use of vocal fry was kind of natural counterpoint to [uptalk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptalk), (which also is considered to have “valley talk” origins, though I kind of disagree). This is because rising intonation traditionally indicated uncertainty, so the vocal fry came into use more and more in order to counteract that. It strives create an illusion of authority. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/11 "2012-03-03T23:31:23Z")
Mae West was a practitioner. Apparently it peeled her a lot of grapes. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/12 "2012-03-04T00:00:05Z")
Listening to that “even better example,” I couldn’t help but think of Amber (aka Cutthroat Bitch) from _House, MD_. ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/13 "2012-03-04T02:21:43Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > My personal theory is that the increasing use of vocal fry was kind of natural counterpoint to [uptalk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptalk), (which also is considered to have “valley talk” origins, though I kind of disagree). This is because rising intonation traditionally indicated uncertainty, so the vocal fry came into use more and more in order to counteract that. It strives create an illusion of authority. I find vocal fry much less annoying than uptalk. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/14 "2012-03-04T02:43:17Z")
Yet another thing that I never noticed before that will, now that I am aware of it, annoy the hell out of me. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/15 "2012-03-04T02:57:19Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Yet another thing that I never noticed before that will, now that I am aware of it, annoy the hell out of me. > > Thanks. I just heard the first example of it on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/16 "2012-03-04T03:09:41Z")
I’ve heard “vocal fry” for years. I think it’s also called “[creaky voice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creaky_voice)”. Like uptalk, I always thought of it as a West Coast thing. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/17 "2012-03-04T03:33:18Z")
Is that what Jessica Simpson is always doing that makes her sound like she’s trying to give the effect of singing from her bed and inviting you in? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/18 "2012-03-04T07:01:47Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m hearing it a lot on the radio, and Melissa Block of NPR’s “All Things Considered” is one of the worst offenders. I makes me grind my teeth and want to drive my car into a telephone pole. > I say we go back to calling it a speech disorder and send people to therapy for it. Opinion I heard from a doctor many years ago: Being a teenager is a disease. Fortunately, it tends to be what they call a “self-limiting” disease. This is good news, since no effective therapy is known. “Valley girl” speech disorders may simply be but one symptom. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/19 "2012-03-04T08:26:26Z")
> [@kirk1168](#): > > I find vocal fry much less annoying than uptalk. I once had a spanish class with a girl who valleygirled her spanish. I’m pretty laissez faire about speech patterns and even I wanted to slap her after a classworth of it. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677/20 "2012-03-04T11:36:49Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > My personal theory is that the increasing use of vocal fry was kind of natural counterpoint to [uptalk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uptalk), (which also is considered to have “valley talk” origins, though I kind of disagree). This is because rising intonation traditionally indicated uncertainty, so the vocal fry came into use more and more in order to counteract that. It strives create an illusion of authority. Do you really think anyone consciously changes their speech pattern to seem more or less authoritative? When women fry the trailing end of their sentences, they sound like diffident teenagers with quaking knees reading a book report in front of the class. I agree it’s related to uptalk, sans the BS psychoanalysis. It’s just what young girls do because a lot of other young girls do it. In 15 years it will be something else, and someone will be characterizing it as a function of their confidence (or lack thereof). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vocal-fry-can-we-please-make-it-against-the-law/614677.md?page=2)