Anyone else noticed US actresses using the vocal fry part of their register?

ToneControl

I've seen quite a  few small, thin women speaking in creaky low voices

Apparently it is a thing:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/12/vocal-fry-creeping-us-speech

77ric

I’ve never noticed it, but I will now be keeping an ear open for it now. 

ToneControl

phil_b

I have noticed it and always thought it was very unappealing 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

I was listening to a Podcast on my way home from work today, and they were interviewing an American journalist. I was just thinking at the time that her lazy, drawling, nasally voice seemed totally unnecessary and really irritating.

I'd never heard of vocal fry before, but it's nice to know it's an actually recognised 'thing'. I now know exactly what it is I'm getting pissed off at!

WiresDreamDisasters

Vocal fry is very useful in the context of learning to sing, and can be used to great stylistic effect. It's also one of the building blocks of a really good and healthy scream. People being anti-vocal fry is often (but not always) rooted in classism.

And vocal fry is not unhealthy for the voice:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/is-vocal-fry-ruining-my-voice

Vocal teachers actually used it as a therapeutic device to sooth the vocal cords when you've pushed it too far when belting, for example.

wibble

ToneControl said:

I've seen quite a  few small, thin women speaking in creaky low voices

Apparently it is a thing:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/12/vocal-fry-creeping-us-speech

Yeah I noticed that back in 2011 too!

ToneControl

wibble said:

ToneControl said:

I've seen quite a  few small, thin women speaking in creaky low voices

Apparently it is a thing:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2011/12/vocal-fry-creeping-us-speech

Yeah I noticed that back in 2011 too!

My Netflix viewing is not always up to date!

Funkfingers

The sciencemag.org video implies a correlation between vocal pitch and body size. Has the increased use of vocal fry coincided with the prevalence of obesity?

The second video immediately made me think of Britain's chief practitioner of this mannerism - Dr. Hannah Fry. 

TimmyO

I'm more bothered? by the interrogative? inflection? common in US speech patterns 

Sassafras

I've only noticed how prevalent it is among French actresses.

PolarityMan

It would be funnier if there was an increase in pig squeals or gutturals.

the_jaffa

Until this thread I hadn't thought about this but I had noticed that it was something that Tom Allen does a lot.

I'm now not going to be able to not notice it I think

merlin

The vocal fry is to emulate deep pleasure/orgasm and is a really manipulative and sexualised piece of shit affectation that makes me stop listening immediately. If not sooner. 

WiresDreamDisasters

Keiko

Can't decide if it's sexy or annoying. It's not a recent thing, I noticed it years ago, pretty sure there where characters on Buffy that did it. Always just thought it was part of the american accent. They start at a fairly normal pitch, and then just keep descending and descending until you think surely they are going to stop descending in pitch now, but no they keep going unil they sound like barry white.

Sassafras

A lot of Murican voices can be very annoying.
I listen to a lot of radio. When TED radio hour, Moth radio and Radiolab are on, I sometimes have to switch off because some of their voices can be unendurable.
Obviously, some Brit voices can be horrible but they're not often so awful that I have to switch off.

breakstuff

Kinda cute when Emelia Clarke puts on her Cali from the Valley voice....



She is utterly lovely though.

Jimbro66

I find a lot of Murican female voices hard on the ears. As an example, it seems that just about every time I go to YouTube the opening ad is for Grammarly and the whining nasal female voice makes me head straight for the mute button. Plenty of other examples.

Those American teen movies are completely unwatchable because of their effected speech.


Perhaps I’m just getting old  

p90fool

Jimbro66 said:

Those American teen movies are completely unwatchable because of their effected speech.

Absolutely. My 13 year old grandson who lives near Llanelli describes that stuff as "relatable", whereas to me it conjures up images like this;

BigMonka

I didn't know it was called a vocal fry until this thread.
It's classic Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice from Channel 4's The Windsors though!