# What's the origin of the "Valley Girl" accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418 "2022-04-25T16:08:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/1 "2022-04-25T16:08:54Z")
I’m sure many of you are familiar with it. “What-eeevar!” But is it a real accent like the one found in the Southern states or New England? Or is it affected? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/2 "2022-04-25T16:12:41Z")
It’s an accent limited to a group rather than an area. People within a group pick it up from each other. Accents are very fluid. You’d have to define what ‘affected’ means to you. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/3 "2022-04-25T16:14:58Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > You’d have to define what ‘affected’ means to you. Sorry, I meant “affected” as in “put on.” I thought perhaps it was a fashion trend or somesuch, since I’ve never met anyone in real life who had it. I realize that this is a silly reason to assume something isn’t real. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/4 "2022-04-25T16:15:47Z")
Thick Californian accents are real enough, and that one is associated to an area, hence the name. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/5 "2022-04-25T16:17:10Z")
Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/6 "2022-04-25T16:18:26Z")
I believe the accent gained infamy and exposure from the Frank and Moon Zappa song _Valley Girl_ in 1982: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Qb21lsCQ3EM/hqdefault.jpg "Moon Zappa Valley Girl") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb21lsCQ3EM) The way Moon Zappa spoke in that song was based off of what she was hearing at parties at the time from her peers (she was 14 at the time). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/7 "2022-04-25T16:19:53Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Thick Californian accents are real enough, I was seeing a girl from New Orleans. She said I had a ‘surfer accent’. I was like, ‘Chyah! As if!’ ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/8 "2022-04-25T16:22:12Z")
And she made up some of the slang just for the song ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/9 "2022-04-25T16:23:07Z")
My understanding is that it originated in Southern California mid 1980s, in the San Fernando Valley (suburban Los Angeles), hence “Valley” Girl. Like, oh-my-GAWD, gag me with a spoon! Fer-shure. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/10 "2022-04-25T16:36:15Z")
The film Valley Girl was made to exploit the popularity of the same named song, but was much better. One of the actresses couldn’t carry off the accent (like oh my god!) so she played her character as being from Malibu. Like, I don’t KNOW how hard it could be, but fer sure it can’t be that hard to rock a bitchin sound. Totally. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/11 "2022-04-25T17:35:17Z")
I’m on frequent calls with a woman born and raised in SoCal who has a strong Valley Girl accent. It is a thing. And it doesn’t require any slang to be evident. It is phrasing. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/12 "2022-04-25T18:06:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The way Moon Zappa spoke in that song was based off of what she was hearing at parties at the time from her peers (she was 14 at the time). And then my friends and I did it at school. We were also 14 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/13 "2022-04-25T19:09:29Z")
Is part of this “accent” the act of going UP at the end of every sentence like it’s a question? Or is that something else entirely? It’s a speech pattern I find very annoying, and no matter who does it, in my mind it marks them as not very bright. As in: “I met this guy? And we went on a date? And now I’ve got a rash? And I think it’s the crabs?” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/14 "2022-04-25T19:13:07Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Is part of this “accent” the act of going UP at the end of every sentence like it’s a question? Totally. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/15 "2022-04-25T19:25:34Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Is part of this “accent” the act of going UP at the end of every sentence like it’s a question Yes. It’s called [high rising terminal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal), or “upspeak/uptalk”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/16 "2022-04-25T19:26:59Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Is part of this “accent” the act of going UP at the end of every sentence like it’s a question? Or is that something else entirely? It’s a speech pattern I find very annoying, and no matter who does it, in my mind it marks them as not very bright. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Yes. It’s called [high rising terminal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_rising_terminal), or “upspeak/uptalk”. I was going to ask this. I never noticed people ending every sentence as a question until after Val-speak became popular. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/17 "2022-04-25T19:35:47Z")
I work with several people from Canada who do this all the time. My impression is that it’s mostly women to do it, but that’s from a small sample size. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/18 "2022-04-25T19:48:31Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Totally You mispunctuated “Totally?”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/19 "2022-04-25T19:49:08Z")
The high rising terminal gives me two impressions: 1. The speaker is an idiot. 2. The speaker is exhibiting insecurity. ‘I am making a statement, but I’m insecure about it and require acknowledgement that I am correct’, or ‘Is it OK that I’m making this statement?’, or ‘I am insecure. Please give me your approval.’ ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418/20 "2022-04-25T19:50:36Z")
Maybe, but at some point, it’s just how they speak. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-origin-of-the-valley-girl-accent/963418.md?page=2)