Policing young women's voices: Upspeak and other vocal tics

[mr479]

I'm interested in what other people out there think about this interview. Personally, I think the SLP said all the wrong things. She's right about one thing, though: She's old! 

Thoughts?

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/23/425608745/from-upspeak-to-vocal-fry-are-we-policing-young-womens-voices

Edited August 16, 2015 by bettercallsaul

[TakeruK]

I am not in SLP but we sometimes discuss this issue in my field too, especially when it comes to aspects of our career such as giving talks and asking questions in a seminar, or even the way we talk about issues at group meetings.

In my opinion, I don't think anyone should be advised to "correct" their voice in order to "fit in" with the norm. The norm in my field is like the norm in many areas--strong, authoritative voices are listened to, and voices that sound "different" (feminine, accented, quiet) are less likely to be listened to. In fact, I've sat in meetings where female colleagues say something and no one hears them until another person (male usually) repeats it.

I speak with an accent and in an oral presentation class, the instructor suggested that I get speech therapy in order to "fix" my accent so that I sound more like a Caucasian person. Well, she didn't say "Caucasian person" but the implication was that I didn't sound like society's expectation for a professional. 

I think this is rubbish and instead of teaching people to sound more like some arbitrary set of norms, we should educate our colleagues to understand different voices (whether it's a feminine voice, "upspeak", an accent, or whatever). Let's celebrate diversity in our voices rather than reinforce existing discrimination.

[fuzzylogician]

Yeah, linguists weren't at all happy with that interview. There is an open letter to Terry Gross about it floating around Facebook. 

Here are a couple of other relevant recent articles by linguists about this issue, and I remember reading a few more recently. I am happy to see that people are not putting up with this crap anymore. 

http://qz.com/474671/move-over-shakespeare-teen-girls-are-the-real-language-disruptors/

https://debuk.wordpress.com/2015/08/03/how-to-write-a-bullshit-article-about-womens-language/

[mr479]

I think this is rubbish and instead of teaching people to sound more like some arbitrary set of norms, we should educate our colleagues to understand different voices (whether it's a feminine voice, "upspeak", an accent, or whatever). Let's celebrate diversity in our voices rather than reinforce existing discrimination.

I couldn't agree more. During my recent orientation, our clinic director told us that she would frequently correct our grammar, things like "He don't", "She ain't", "I've went", etc., which is very common around here. This reminded me of something Dr. Perry Eckert said in that interview and I wrote this in my journal after the whole orientation experience: "Her (the director's) whole message was, you better not speak that way if you want to get a job and succeed in the world... Do we want to be a part of that message, or do we want to be a messenger for change?"

Edited August 27, 2015 by Pennsatucky

[mr479]

"Contrary to what some speech patholgists will tell you, cocal fry is not bad for your vocal folds."

http://blog.dictionary.com/vocal-fry/

Edited September 1, 2015 by Pennsatucky

[mr479]

*vocal fry

[SLPQ]

Although vocal fry is becoming more present, it is still considered a misuse of the voice. More research has to be done on the long term affects of vocal fry use. 

"Future knowledge of the extent of vocal fry usage in college students may have very important long-term consequences for vocal health. Researchers need to consider the long-term consequences of the prolonged use of vocal fry in SAE speakers, its possible contribution to voice misuse, and its implications for vocal hygiene. Colton et al³⁷acknowledge glottal fry as normal mode of vibration but note that the habitual use of fry is atypical and possibly a form of vocal abuse. There are two reasons why vocal fry is referred to above as “misuse” and should be considered by the clinician as a potential hazard to voice health.³⁷(p81) First, because it is difficult to produce glottal fry with sufficient loudness volume, a person may be likely to show increased tension of the vocal mechanism when attempting to increase loudness. Second, individuals who use glottal fry are reported to experience vocal fatigue.³⁷ Much future research is needed to understand the degree to which each one of these variables may contribute to vocal health."

1-s2.0-S0892199711000701-main.pdf

[mr479]

Yes, but as the linguist points out in this interview, there are languages that use creaky voice for phonemic contrasts, and none of those speakers have been rushed to the hospital for speaking! The claim that vocal fry is dangerous to the voice is unsubstantiated in the scientific literature. 

Edited September 14, 2015 by Pennsatucky