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A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
and
stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...
originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, from the
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
commuter communities of the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
. The term in later years became more broadly applied to any female in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
who embodied
ditziness Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, or wit. It may be innate, assumed or reactive. The word ''stupid'' comes from the Latin word ''stupere''. Stupid characters are often used for comedy in fictional stories. Walter B ...
, airheadedness, or greater interest in
conspicuous consumption In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen co ...
than intellectual or personal accomplishment.


Valleyspeak

Valleyspeak or Valspeak is an American English social dialect and accompanying vocal features, best associated with Valley girls, though elements of it have spread to other demographics, including men called "Val dudes". This sociolect became an international fad for a certain period in the 1980s and 1990s, with a peak period from around 1981 to 1985. Valleyspeak is popularly characterized by both the steady use of
uptalk The high rising terminal (HRT), also known as upspeak, uptalk, or high rising intonation (HRI) is a feature of some variants of English where declarative sentences can end with a rising pitch similar to that typically found in yes-or-no questions ...
and its vocabulary.


Language ideology

Due to its place at the center of the entertainment industry, California is one of the main sources worldwide for new cultural and youth trends, including those of language. This lends itself to explicit language ideologies about dialects in the area as they receive more scrutiny than dialects in other nearby regions. Linguistic characteristics of valleyspeak are often thought to be "silly" and "superficial" and seen as a sign of low intelligence. Speakers are also often perceived as "materialistic" and "air-headed". The use of "like" or the quotative phrase "be like" are often ideologically linked to California and Valleyspeak despite the now-widespread use of the terms among youth, which results in them also receiving the "superficial" cast. In the national understanding, California speech is thought to be a product of the combination of Valley girl and surfer dude speech, and "is associated with good English, but never proper". A study on regional language ideologies done in California in 2007 found that, despite its prevalence and association with California in past decades, Californians themselves do not consider "Valley girls" to be an overly prevalent social or linguistic group within the state. State residents listed factors such as immigrant populations and north–south regional slang as more relevant than Valleyspeak within the state. Amanda Ritchart, a doctoral candidate studying linguistics at the University of California San Diego, analyzed 23-year-olds (college age students) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities, specifically in the Southern California region. After this study, Ritchart once stated, "Women used uptalk more frequently than men did. Their pitch rose higher overall, and the rise began much later in the phrase." Even though the gender difference is notable, the majority of both men and women speak in uptalk in Southern California. In fact, 100% of the participants used uptalk when they asked a confirming question, such as "Go all the way to the right in the middle where it says Canyon Hills?" According to the article "What's Up With Upspeak?", when women use Valleyspeak, it is assumed that they have "inferior speech" patterns. For men, the high rise of intonation usually "plateaued" at certain points, especially in situations where they didn't want to be interrupted.


Features and qualifiers

The sound of Valleyspeak has these main habits: nasal sound; fast-paced run-on sentences; breathiness; uptalk, or the sound of a question; and
vocal fry The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound productio ...
. *
High rising terminal The high rising terminal (HRT), also known as upspeak, uptalk, or high rising intonation (HRI) is a feature of some variants of English where declarative sentences can end with a rising pitch similar to that typically found in yes-or-no questions ...
(also called "up speak" or "uptalk") is a defining feature of Valleyspeak. Statements have a rising intonation, causing declarative language to appear interrogative to listeners unfamiliar with the dialect. Research on uptalk has found a number of
pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: *Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy *Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics *''Pragmatics'', an academic journal in ...
uses, including confirming that the interlocutor follows what is being said and indicating that the speaker has more to say and so their conversation partner should not interrupt them (also called "floor holding"). Another use is as a confirmation statement of general agreement, such as "I know, right?" or simply "right?". The difference between the intonation of a question, confirmation statements, and floor holding is determined by the extent of the rise and its location within the phrase. The high rising terminal feature has spread and been adopted outside the geographical area and groups originally associated with Valleyspeak including, in some cases, men. (However, in some varieties of English, usage of high rising terminal emerged independently and/or has been documented as preceding Valleyspeak by decades, such as in Australian English and New Zealand English.) * "
Like In English, the word ''like'' has a very flexible range of uses, ranging from conventional to non-standard. It can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, filler, and quotative. Uses Comparisons ' ...
" as a
discourse marker A discourse marker is a word or a phrase that plays a role in managing the flow and structure of discourse. Since their main function is at the level of discourse (sequences of utterances) rather than at the level of utterances or sentences, disc ...
. "Like" is used as a filler word, similar to "um" or "er", as in, "I'm, like, totally about to blow chunks." When "like" is functioning as a discourse marker, the word itself does not semantically change the phrase or sentence. Instead, it provides time for the speaker to formulate what they will say next. The word is always unstressed when used in this way. It is important to note that "like" does not always function as a discourse marker in Valspeak. Consider the following two sentences: "It was like 8 feet deep" and "I think that, like, it is entertaining." Even though both sentences contain the word "like," they employ it differently. In the former, "like" serves as an adverb that is synonymous with "approximately," whereas the latter "like" is a discourse marker, adding no additional meaning to the sentence. Furthermore, "like" is frequently used to introduce quoted speech. For example, a person can recount a conversation by stating, "So, um, I'm like 'Where did he go?' and she was um, like, 'I don't know, I haven't seen him.'" * "To be like" as a
colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...
quotative A quotative (abbreviated ) is a grammatical device to mark quoted speech in some languages, and as such it preserves the grammatical person and tense of the original utterance rather than adjusting it as would be the case with reported speech. I ...
. "Like" (always unstressed) is used to indicate that what follows is not necessarily an exact quotation of what was said, but captures the meaning and intention of the quoted speech. As an example, in "And I was like, 'don't ever speak to my boyfriend again'", the speaker is indicating that they may or may not have literally said those words, but they conveyed that idea. "Be like" can introduce both a monologue or direct speech, allowing a speaker to express an attitude, reaction, or thought, or to use the phrase to signal quotation. * Particular slang terms, including "to be all" or "to be all like" used in the same manner as "to be like", "whatever" or "as if" used to express any disbelief, "totally" meaning "quite" or "very", "seriously" as a frequent interjection of approval or an inquiry of veracity, "bitchin'" meaning "excellent", and "grody" meaning "dirty". *
Vocal fry The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound productio ...
is usually spoken by young adult women in the United States who speak American English. This speech pattern can be characterized by "low, creaky vibrations" or a "guttural vibration". Researchers have studied two qualities of this speech pattern, such as the ''jitter'' (variation in pitch) and ''shimmer'' (variation in volume). When women tend to speak with these mannerisms, they are perceived as less competent, less hirable, less trustworthy, or less educated. Prominent examples are
Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
and
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
.


In popular culture

* In Los Angeles, "vals" (inhabitants of "the Valley") were derided for their perceived other-ness in the late 1970s. Valspeak and the term "Valley Girl" were given a wider circulation with the release of a hit 1982 single by
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
titled "
Valley Girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, ...
", on which his fourteen-year-old daughter
Moon Zappa Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967) is an American actress, singer, and author. She is the daughter of musician Frank Zappa. Early life Moon Zappa was born in New York City, the eldest child of Gail (née Sloatman) and musician Frank Zapp ...
delivered a monologue in "Valleyspeak" behind the music. This song popularized phrases such as "
grody Grody is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bill Grody * Kathryn Grody (born 1946), American actress and writer {{Short pages monitor