E127 - Listener Feedback Question - What is Upspeak and Vocal Fry and Why We Should Talk About It
EPISODE 127 - Listener Feedback Question - What is Upspeak and Vocal Fry and Why We Should Talk About It
What is vocal fry?
Vocal fry is the lowest register (tone) of your voice characterized by its deep, creaky, breathy sound.
When you speak, your vocal cords naturally close to create vibrations as air passes between them. Like a piano or guitar string, these vibrations produce sound (your voice). When you breathe, your vocal cords are relaxed and open to let air pass through freely, which doesn’t produce any sound.
When you use vocal fry, you relax your vocal cords but do not increase the amount of air you’re pushing past your vocal cords, which produces slower vibrations and ultimately results in the lower creaky sound.
Whether you use it or not, vocal fry is a pattern of voice use that does not cause harm to your voice. However, if you’re not satisfied with your voice, a speech-language pathologist can help improve its quality. These methods train you to produce a stronger, more powerful voice. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/is-vocal-fry-ruining-my-voice What Is Upspeak?
Upspeak, also known as uptalk or high rising terminal (HRT), is a linguistic occurrence in which a speaker uses a rising inflection at the end of a declarative sentence. This rising intonation at the end of the sentence makes a statement sound like a question. In 1993, journalist James Gorman established the term “upspeak” in a New York Times article. In pop culture, upspeak is known as “valley girl speak,” a social class stereotype popularized in the ‘80s as a riff on the dialect of upper-middle-class young women from the valleys of Southern California.
Overusing upspeak in your speech becomes monotonous for listeners and may indicate a lack of confidence, as every statement becomes a question. While linguists have derided the use of uptalk, some high-profile figures have embraced it.