Wednesday 29 February 2012

They're, Like, Way Ahead Of The Linguistic Currrrve

From Valley Girls to the Kardashians, young women have long been mocked for the way they talk. Whether it be uptalk (pronouncing statements as if they were questions? Like this?), creating slang words like 'bitchin' and 'ridic,' or the incessant use of 'like' as a conversation filler, vocal trends associated with young women are often seen as markers of immaturity or even stupidity.

But linguists - many of whom once promoted theories consistent with that attitude - now say such thinking is outmoded. Girls and women in their teens and 20s deserve credit for pioneering vocal trends and popular slang, they say, adding that young women use these embellishments in much more sophisticated ways than people tend to realize.

8 comment(s):

Anonymous said...

I'd heard some time ago that some linguists were of the opinion that some regional dialects were surprisingly 'advanced' despite being generally reviled as lower-class. For example, 'Brooklynese' is often mocked for it's dropped 'g' (from 'ing' endings) and other clipped or curt words and pronunciations. But it could be considered alternately that a language which gets the same information across, using less effort, fewer words/letters, and more quickly, could be seen as highly efficient. (This comment was certainly not efficient)

Gareth said...

They miss the point that by their very nature "vocal trends and popular slang" are transitory. If in a few years time you were to use todays "vocal trends and popular slang" you would be laughed at.

These people are supposed to be professionals in their field and yet they don't seem to realise that language is used like this for a reason. For centuries social groups have invented their own dialect in order to create a closed society. It may be subconscious but people use language like this in order to fit in with a group. It also clearly identifies to people who is part of the group and who is not. The more extreme uses of language like this are also intended to totally exclude others from the conversation.

Adelaide Palerma said...

Do not know how to write a good resume? Check this out https://resumecvwriter.com/blog/business-analyst-resume. There are a lot of samples!

Alena Yandis said...


Thanks for the nice blog. It was very useful for me.
brother printer customer support phone number
Brother Printer Tech Support Phone Number
Brother Printer Customer Support
Brother Printer Support Phone Number
Dell Technical Support Number USA

aryanoone said...

Thanks for sharing such a nice Blog.I like it.
norton com/setup
norton.com setup product key
renew norton
enter norton product key code to activate
norton installation with product key

Rachel Pike said...

Thanks for sharing such a nice Blog.I like it.
expresstracking
heromachine
mix
pinshape
phishtank
madinamerica

Jack said...

norton.com/setup
norton.com/setup
norton com setup product key
www mcafee com activate livesafe
McAfee activate product key
avg renewal activation
avg product key

800tollfreenumber said...

McAfee activation
Malwarebytes won t update