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Topic: Are Valley Girls our future? Yikes! Scary.
| Author | Message |
| hawkmail | Posted – 8/15/2007 2:26:20 PM | show profile I had an unbelievable conversation with an editorial assistant at a major women's magazine this morning. Here is a quick snapshot: "Editor X is like working on like a story that will like really, really like show lots of really, really cute stuff. Like colorful and like cute. Your client's stuff will totally be, like, perfect." Oh my God! I was appalled. The constant use of the word "like" is so prevalent and seems to be the normal speech pattern for the younger people who are now entering the workforce, seemingly regardless of education. Are we looking forward to a future 10-20 years from now where this type of communication is the norm among business people??? |
| WinonaWriter | Posted – 8/15/2007 2:29:32 PM | show profile Let's hope not! I have a hard enough time listening to it from my 12-yr-old daughter and her friends...and they're not even that bad with it. |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 8/15/2007 2:37:54 PM | show profile It astounds me that people such as that girl get hired, yet I had the damnedest time finding a job when I first graduated and a few years later after being laid off. That's like, totally, really, like, random and stupid. |
| fake.it.til.you.make.it | Posted – 8/15/2007 4:44:26 PM | show profile It's not the wave of the future. She's just young and maybe a little immature. "Like" is a place holder or verbal pause, just like "um" is for many. I'm from Southern California and worked hard my senior year in college (6 years ago so I'm not too old) to neutralize my Californianness so that I don't sound too laidback and surfer-ish when I entered the big scary world of full-time employment... |
| keltoi2 | Posted – 8/15/2007 5:01:27 PM | show profile Hawkmail, show a little respect. You were speaking to a future TV newscaster. If, of course, she's cute and perky in person. Fer shur. |
| wineaux | Posted – 8/15/2007 5:01:52 PM | show profile I too am from So Cal, and it wasn't too long ago when I completed college (7 years). I hadn't realized just how much I was butchering the English language until I moved to N. Cal and was doing pr and event planning for a non-profit in the arts. My colleagues were far too sophisticated to put up with all of my "like," "totally," and the rest of the garbled crap I spewed daily. I'd get the raised eyebrow, and once during a luncheon the director kindly told me that people would take me seriously when I stopped talking like a tween. Now on the East Coast, I thank my lucky stars I used N. Cal as a springboard to better language. I still slip up sometimes, however. The other day I saw something really gross and bellowed "gnarly!!!". My husband almost choked on his lunch. He's a New Yorker and never did enjoy my, uh, colorful speech. I imagine if that girl really heard herself, she'd be appalled. I think sometimes you get into a bad habit and aren't even aware of how stupid you can look. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/15/2007 5:39:17 PM | show profile So if it's just because she's youthful -- and actually a Tolstoy in the making -- and like is just, like, a placeholder, you're wondering why she got hired instead of someone who talked like they had some substance upstairs? Sometimes I think that perky and appealing are safe and non-threatening attributes that make people around them feel better. You never see cheery little Chelsea or Totally Tiffany, like, brood -- and you don't have to worry about either of them, like, getting better at what you do than you. And there's something tranquilizing about vacuous, upbeat chatter. Remember the scene in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days where they're having a budget meeting and everyone's presenting their ideas for stories? Everything, whether it was trends in spike shoes or dealing with cancer or death had to be, like, "upbeat." |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 8/15/2007 5:56:38 PM | show profile Writesonwater, you do have a point. But one can be perky and upbeat without sounding completely vacuous. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/15/2007 6:38:03 PM | show profile Agreed, Mag Girl. Wineaux, sounds like your Californian speech rehab's going well -- congrats! ;) When you look at the patterns that so often plague young women's speech, some patterns seem to emerge. Think Devil Wears Prada and the way the office workers interacted, vs. the main character's girl friend. There's the wispy, little-girl, voice that, no matter how grammatically correct, still robs a woman of credibility and if she's good-looking puts her at risk of coming across as a sex kitten. At some point, girls pick this up --and some women never learn to abandon this. The Valley Girl thing may grate but I'll take it over a grungy or superior jaded snarl any day. Then there's a sort of naive, sunshine eager-to-please thing that eventually (usually) gets left behind for a more assured, confident and sophisticated demeanor. Hopefully, the "nice" part doesn't get lost in the maturation process. |
| MsWebWriter | Posted – 8/15/2007 6:45:27 PM | show profile Guilty at times ... I'm almost 27 and I've realized that I throw a "dude" in the front of my sentences sometimes ... and I'm a die hard girl from this rotten apple. I think polish comes with time and work experience. I had to learn how to speak professionally, just like I had to learn how to write professionally. But I don't think you have to remove all color and uniqueness from your casual speech. Case in point -- Wineaux, you should have rolled your eyes at your husband and said -- you must have liked my SoCal vibe at some point dear. You married me! ;) |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/15/2007 8:37:18 PM | show profile Mag Girl -- you're right, vacuous is way beyond perky or upbeat. Generally, I tend to smile a lot and remain fairly upbeat. I actually had to tone down my inner Pollyanna when I went into broadcasting and print -- you can imagine. When I have to, I can whine or snarl with the best of them now. ;) But as you can see, I have to smile after I do so -- like in the move, "but upbeat!" |
| Vox-o | Posted – 8/15/2007 9:28:03 PM | show profile writesonwater, future Tolstoys are not editorial assistants. And they aren't editors either (maybe there is an exception or two out there, but not many). Even though wanna-be writers kill or die for EA jobs in order to become editors, I think they are making a mistake. You can only spend so much time helping others to find a voice before you lose your own. For instance, if I wanted to someday have a gritty novel published, I'd do better to become a cock fighter than be an EA, all the while I practice practice practice. Back to topic, she's a kid, thus the "like" thing. Most 22 year old types have a nervous speech pattern, such as speaking perfectly and eloquently yet raising the pitch at the end of every sentence so that it always sounds like a question. They are young, don't get worked up over it. S/he was nervous in speaking with you. |
| hawkmail | Posted – 8/15/2007 11:17:12 PM | show profile Keltoi, that's exactly what I'm afraid of! I also think this speech pattern isn't exclusive only to young women. I hear guys speaking this way, but perhaps to a lesser degree. "Like" is everywhere. I just don't know why this is accepted by parents, teachers and managers. Is it because it's so pervasive that no one bothers to pull people aside and correct them? Where are all the overbearing, hyper-competitive parents who are so invested in their child's career success when we need them? Sadly, I think it's just become accepted. |
| Doctor Who (the hell cares) | Posted – 8/18/2007 3:48:06 AM | show profile As with the bird flu virus, the rising inflection and mechanized deployment of "like" don't recognize international borders. You hear more and more of it in Australia as well. |
| Hryupnwt | Posted – 8/18/2007 8:04:39 AM | show profile It's like really, really annoying, dude O-mi-god! I find the use of the word "like" infuriating. I work with a 27 year old woman that peppers every sentence at least 3 or 4 times with the word. (She's no Cali girl.) It's hard to listen to and I can't quite take her seriously at meetings even though she's a very bright individual. Her manner of speaking is a turn off and I keep thinking she's younger than her actual age. Her background is teen magazines so I try to cut her some slack but ... I hope it's a "phase" she'll grow out of sooner than later. |
| Metro Writer | Posted – 8/19/2007 8:42:28 PM | show profile I find words such as "like" and "cool" when used a lot rather annoying, but that's not what bothers most people (especially employers and supervisors). A pleasant, easygoing, and upbeat personality counts for a lot more than skills and vocabulary. By coincidence, that's why mediocrity usually reigns over competent but straightforward. There are very few Anna Wintours in the world. Most of the successful people are those who know how to suck up and make their supervisors look good. |
