Fw: Teenage speak and beyond

[Dennis Preston]

Your teen speak dialect was, I thought, based on pronunciation
differences, and context (both social and linguistic) has a powerful
influence on pronunciation.

dInIs

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Richard Vallis <rvallis at OPTONLINE.NET>
>Subject:      Re: Fw: Teenage speak and beyond
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>By pattern, I meant my proposed teen speak "dialect." I didn't think context
>would alter pronunciation. Would you still disagree?  If so, very
>interesting and enlightening to me.  I'm not a linguist, but a Ph.D. in
>music.
>
>Richard Vallis
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Dennis Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
>To: <rvallis at optonline.net>
>Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 7:28 PM
>Subject: Re: Fw: Teenage speak and beyond
>
>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header ------------------
>>  -----
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
>>  Subject:      Re: Fw: Teenage speak and beyond
>>  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  -----
>>
>>  Not facetious in the least, unless you insist that "choice" is always
>>  a fully conscious sort of behavior. If this "choice" did not exist,
>>  then about three generations of sociolinguists will have wasted their
>>  time (not to mention innumerable previous generations of students of
>>  "style").
>>
>>  dInIs
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>  >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  >Poster:       Richard Vallis <rvallis at OPTONLINE.NET>
>>  >Subject:      Re: Fw: Teenage speak and beyond
>>  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  ------
>>  >
>>  >I assume you're being facetious by declaring one chooses one's  speech
>>  >pattern to fit what one is saying.
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >----- Original Message -----
>>  >From: "Michael H Covarrubias" <mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU>
>>  >To: <rvallis at optonline.net>
>>  >Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 10:52 AM
>>  >Subject: Re: Fw: Teenage speak and beyond
>>  >
>>  >
>>  >>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header --------------
>>  ----
>>  >>  -----
>>  >>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  >>  Poster:       Michael H Covarrubias <mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU>
>>  >>  Subject:      Re: Fw: Teenage speak and beyond
>>  >>  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>  ----
>>  >>  -----
>>  >>
>>  >>  Quoting Richard Vallis <rvallis at OPTONLINE.NET>:
>>  >>
>>  >>  >  In what appears to be an attempt at speech sophistication, the
>>  >>  adolescent
>>  >>  > girl (and occasional guy) characteristically distorts the vowel
>>  sounds,
>>  >>  > especially  the  "e" as in the word best.  Best becomes "bast" or
>>  >>  "bost" or
>>  >>  > "bus."  Better becomes "batter" as the mouth opens wide to
>>  accommodate
>>  >>  this
>>  >>  > apparently classy way of enunciating.  Other vowel sounds are
>>  similarly
>>  >>  > affected by the sophisticatedly wide open mouth.  Bush becomes
>>  "bahsh"
>>  >>  and on
>>  >>  > it goes, endlessly.  What's more daunting, is that the individual
>>  >>  continues
>>  >>  > this distortion into post adolescence and beyond when a young
>>  person's
>>  >>  > apparent need for "fitting in" and peer pressure would seem to be
>>  >>  > diminished.
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  > Television personalities and actors have generally been purged of
>>  it,
>>  >>  but it
>>  >>  > maddeningly rears itself, wide-mouthed, in commercials.  What's
>>  >>  surprising is
>>  >>  > that most listeners don't seem to notice the bend in pronunciation
>>  >>  until it's
>>  >>  > pointed out to them....
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  > Richard Vallis
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  ---------------------
>>  >>
>>  >>  I wonder if this is related to the 'a' > 'ah' (think 'cat'>'cot')
>  > >>  alternation
>>  >>  that I've noticed in a few commercials. One commercial is I believe
>>  for a
>>  >>  hotline for girls town (or some similar adolescent support group).
>>  One of
>>  >>  the
>>  >>  girls in the commercial says (paraphrase) "I'd have to lose 10 pounds
>>  to
>>  >>  fit
>>  >>  into that" -- the vowel in "that" is pretty close to [a].
>>  >>
>>  >>  In another commercial, this one for the Dirt Devil Kone vacuum
>>  cleaner,
>>  >>  the
>>  >>  designer, Karim Rashid, pronounces "that" (in the phrase "that way"
>>  with
>>  >>  [a]
>>  >>  instead of the "ash" vowel.
>>  >>
>>  >>  I hate to judge someone's intentions by pronunciation but the context
>>  of
>>  >>  both
>>  >>  these passages allows me some comfort in claiming that they're
>>  attempts
>>  >>  "at
>>  >>  speech sophistication." The girl is playing the part of the vain,
>>  body-
>>  >>  conscious
>>  >>  superficial peer, and Karim is...well anyone who thinks a vacuum
>>  cleaner
>>  >>  should
>>  >>  be a fashion statement is obvious trying a little too hard to be
>>  >>  sophisticated.
>>  >>
>>  >>  Here's a url for the vacuum cleaner commercial.
>>  >>  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuJeT6aFBvs
>>  >>
>>  >>  Michael
>>  >>
>>  >>
>>  >>  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>  >>
>>  >>     English Language & Linguistics
>>  >>     Purdue University
>>  >>     mcovarru at purdue.edu
>>  >>
>>  >>     web.ics.purdue.edu/~mcovarru
>>  >>    <http://wishydig.blogspot.com>
>>  >>
>>  >>  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>  >>
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