Valleyspeak
Valleyspeak or Valspeak is the common name for an American sociolect . Originally the term was used to describe the special way of speaking of the Valley Girls of the San Fernando Valley in California in the 1970s. Initially it was a local fad, similar to surfer slang or skateboarding slang , although many forms of expression later found their place in everyday life in California.
Origin of the term
The name gained popularity through the single Valley Girl published by Frank Zappa in 1982 . The song contains passages spoken by his 14-year-old daughter Moon , which illustrate the linguistic dynamics and youthful carelessness of Valspeak. Expressions like grody to the max spread through the song. In some cases, Moon also used vocabulary from the surfer scene, such as tubular or gnarly , through which these words found their way back into the vocabulary of the Valley Girls.
On television, Laraine Newman first used the speech in 1976 during an episode of Saturday Night Live . The Valley Girl stereotype was also embodied by Tracy Nelson in the sitcom Square Pegs , citing Zappa's song as the source of inspiration. Since then, the sociolect has been used, often clichéd, in numerous media.
distribution
Some idioms, e.g. B. the hedge expression like , are now a common part of American colloquial language . Elements of the Valleyspeak can even be found worldwide, especially among young English speakers. Lately the speaking style has developed a predominantly symbolic character regardless of its actual meaning.
Speech melody
The use of a high rising terminal can often be found in Valleyspeak. Pure statements are occasionally emphasized like questions. Thus, statements sometimes appear as gentle interrogations. This technique is called uptalking in English .
Web links
- Origins of Valspeak , YouTube video with Tracy Nelson from Square Pegs DVD commentary.
- cs.utexas.edu: "Valspeak" text translator
- Eils Lotozo: The way teens talk, like, serves a purpose . In: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . . Citing Muffy EA Siegel: Like: The Discourse Particle and Semantics . In: Journal of Semantics . 19, No. 1, 2002, pp. 35-71. doi : 10.1093 / jos / 19.1.35 .
- Frank and Moon Zappa 1982 with David Letterman about the Valley and its language (YouTube video, from 5:20 min)
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Weemawee Yearbook Memories: Tracy Nelson and Claudette Wells", a featurette on the DVD release Square Pegs: The Like, Totally Complete Series ... Totally (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2008).
- ↑ Trevor Cralle: The Surfin'ary: A Dictionary of Surfing Terms and Surfspeak. Ten Speed Press 2001, ISBN 1-58008-193-2 . P. 308