Query: Pronunciation changes

[Grant Barrett]

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I live in California and am very aware that young women and girls are
speaking in a different way from older people (such as myself). I don't mean
vocabulary or even inflection (that way of saying everything as if it's a
question) but the actual change in vowel sounds, as in the word "Dad," for
instance, which seems to have moved a bit toward "Dod," and also the way they
say their r's, which is somehow curlier than the usual way. Does anyone know
how such an accent originates? It doesn't come from the influence of a
foreign language. It isn't regional--it's all over the country, though maybe
it started here (and maybe not). Any information would be appreciated.

Thank you--
J. DuPrau
JDUPRAU at aol.com