you left out one which has spread like wildfire the last few months (besides UHMMM)it is a click as I call it every time the person opens their mouth to start a sentence,kinda like chewing gum with your mouth open kind of a sucking click-I swear these things are done to get your attention for trivial things which the person want you to listen to. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Debbie Grattan is a top-rated professional female voice over talent with more than 25 years of experience delivering voice over services worldwide. All the best to you in navigating our wonderful world of words! Can you comment on a growing trend of, what one person termed, manufactured precision diction? I have to smile when reading, as I am also of an age, and profession, where language skills, word choice, and vocal delivery are so important. One listener from Massachusetts wrote: "We are writing to express our concern about the prevalence of the vocal fry affectation adopted by too many of your broadcast correspondents. Can you tell us about the car accident you witnessed today? Thank gawd to learn Im not the only one who bitches about these assaults on English. I have assumed theyre trying to sound British, which may also account for the glottal stop (i think thats the correct term) in words like curtain, mountain, sweeten etc. I do not want to hear anyone speaking with mosquito tones. Ive noticed the upward shift in tone can be as much as an octave. I would rather have my guests say the word "like" a lot or me say the word "like" a lot and have a richer, deeper, better conversation that goes more places than have everyone be buttoned up and stifled as guests and you never hear the word "like.". For me, the whole So thing is one of these pet peeves that makes me want to smash whatever device Im hearing the word played upon. Manhattan is apparently now Manhadden. Kudos. Im a Southerner but I absolutely hate it. the talking heads are using these words in such sort of ridiculous ways that they make whatever theyre saying sound kind of foolish. we had a surprise english test? I've said this before, I'll say it again. used instead of OK Unfortunately most people dont even notice they have been infected, or they simply dont care, leaving people like me to go crazy. I mean This completely unnecessary phrase seems to just be a habitual way to start sentences for many people. Youre not crotchety. infomercial voice overs and direct response marketing, Voice Over Trends 2023: Less Looking, More Listening, Is the Golden Age of Voice Over Gone? The one voice that NPR does have on hand that presents a good marriage of youthful freshness and traditional diction while remaining pleasing and understandable is David Greene, currently on Morning Edition. Anywho.. Worst laugh is definitely Dan Pashman (The Sporkful). Heres what makes me hit mute/delete on any podcast, youtube speaker, Radio, etc. Today IS the first day of Spring Start the answer with a yeah., I love these comments! Vocal fry refers to a low, glottal, animal-like sound that speech pathologists consider a vocal disorder. She doesn't mind sounding human. Out of protest, I might start writing the word out as ta, since that is how people are pronouncing the word. I heard a woman on NPR listing causes of something and at the end of each item her voice went up. Thank you so much, Debbie and Baz! and our Double negatives. And, therein lies the issue. Fly them in and leave them in the outback. I think theres a time and place, but certainly the workplace is not the place. The whiny and drawn-out words, how can I cite an example? All this said, very few reporters or hosts speak on air exactly as they do in person. I hope youll be disturbed too. On a personal note, being, English , that is to say, we invented English, therefore, regardless of colour, creed, religion. A major part of the Biden plan is to sort of prioritize pandemic assistance. Alison MacAdam April 30, 2015. Credit: Emily Jan. I watch a lot of YouTube news videos and even a simple yes/no question is nearly always answered by starting with So, I mean.. My personal least favorite is Bill Littlefield (Only a Game) for some reason I can't explain. Or it can negate what they just said, or preface a criticism or negative comment. I was about to write a comment concerning the misuse of me and I when I read yours. When he was starting out, he found editors "strip[ping] away [his] character" by removing vernacular and colloquialisms that felt unique to him. Either Feb-roo-ary or Feb-yoo-ary is acceptable. And the speech pattern that led me to your page is the one Ive observed in the voice overs on virtually all home improvement shows. Im not in it with any Cornholio who believes the Bill of Rights was ammended such that no government edict can mandate the wearing of masks or otherwise intrude on their bottom-shelf 40 brains belief of their right to cough and sneeze on me. I relate to it now as it is the absolutely worst thing ever and the commercial uses the cymbals to change it into some great thing, which it is not. These hip speech patterns are used by women in, I would say 90% of the conversations Im involved with or hearing out in public. Drives me crazy every time. While for many VO artists, like you and me, we strive to have a more refined and adjusted voice, that is more pleasing to the ear, I do find that in general media such as TV, film and especially commercials, the prevalence of this is a reflection of the prevalence found in the general population. Im only 40 but I feel like a rambling old person yelling at the TV any time I watch it. The sad thing about podcasters is that they have not taken any diction or public speaking classes. In Australia we get really annoyed with well spoken presenters on TV pronouncing t as d, eg very impordant and cute kidden. This cymbal sound bite, arent event how a professional drummer would play, or maybe would not immediately make this sound unless the cymbals were damaged somehow. Just because theres a stringor SHTRingof letters composed of an s, t and a nearby r, doesnt mean that English suddenly and surreptitiously morph into German pronunciation. Initially I read your comment as a knock on the Canadian pronunciation of sorry. He joins us. 4) Replacing the good old annoying no problem with the nearly arrogant no worries. I know which zoo program youre referring to and I cant watch it either. 3) HGTV shows are the worst for this offensive language. Ironically, the girl in the last video does vocal fry throughout (I managed less than a minute of the video). Much of what else is mentioned here Ive not heard or not noticed. What is the affectation where the speaker draws out the end of every sentence as if theyve just ran out of breath, but still want to get that last word out. The inflection pattern the hosts use in every sentence of every voice over is exactly the same. The sht thing I noticed way before Michelle Obama, which is sad because she is otherwise very well spoken. The NPR Podcast. Some of the family members have a better capacity to use words, language & phraseology than others that still use upspeak, vocalfry, text slang & whining. This may be better: You missed uh, um, well you know( the three words used together). It seems that amazing has become the new awesome. She is best known for her role in the NPR Morning Edition and All Things Considered. I have a friend who can code switch very well. I dont think most people realize how annoying it is, especially when it becomes a pattern of speech, which it often does. Is it a geographical thing? When I meet a person under the age of 40 who does not speak in this manner, I am surprised and delighted, and will go out of my way to let them know how much I appreciate their ability to communicate properly. I was thinking that I was the only hearing the incorrect use of the schwa during a recent newscast. Once you learn a second language its hard to speak it incorrectly. Your observations are wonderful & interesting. While he generally wants to be playful on his show, he said he's since tried to be more sensitive to when subjects require serious delivery. I just wanna know whats the reason behind it so i can try to stop being annoyed hahaha. And, like a highly contagious virus, it is possible that by simply reading this post, you too will become afflicted! Please shut up!!! THANK YOU for this! upspeak, vocal fry, constant buzzwords, overworked filler phrases, etc. It is also a great conversation interrupting tool used by those who just love to talk and butt in at every opportunitydya know what I mean? I am a white dude on the radio, and no one has EVER tweeted at me critiquing my voice. You might think of Terry Gross' velvety timbre. Whenever I hear someone begin a statement with Look, I long to interrupt and say, Im looking.. You can shream ashuss g t v. The 2021 Dream Home is looking good and wanting you to win it. If the person is on TV, I have to change the channel. What are they like. Food more and more often is being pronounce feud. I commonly hear comferble, tempature, and Febooairy. At work, I am surrounded by intelligent and well-educated women in their 20s to 40s who speak this way. What brought me here was the irritating way young females pronounce thank you. I forgot about another sentence I hate, But what to do with them then? For example, a word with almost any vowel (most commonly an a) is pronounced, instead of with the actual long or short vowel sound for that letter, with a somewhat nasal awww ie the schwa. For some people, its their dominant speech pattern and they seemingly cant escape it. Finally, it is a bid to keep the floor. (Thuh ocean, thuh actor). The latest speech fad that I am noticing a lot, here in the UK, in presenters on the radio, interviews, everywhere in fact, with seemingly well educated people, is that they are suddenly starting to drop their Ts in the middle of words-poveree(poverty) clariee(clarity) etc theyre all doing it. What happened to Have a good day/afternoon/evening/morning ? Someone mentioned literally here and now that I think of it that one annoys me when I hear the younger members of the family use it, as well as actually. my grammar and punctuation was intended as sarcasm but the rest was serious. An awful conversational bridge. Yet literally all of my female colleagues get constant criticism for how they speak or sound" He told me, except for two pronunciation corrections, he has never received a complaint about his voice or speaking manner even though, by his assessment, he uses "like" and "um" just as much as the women on the NPR Politics Podcast. Firstly, I would like to say that I quite enjoyed reading your article. What is that? We all must remember to keep our minds sharp and active. I cant stand people pronouncing words that end ing like the end with een, i.e. Now its bad enough that nine times out of ten, the politician decides to answer some other question that (s)he deems more appealing. The one I cant stand is S-backing where they say shhtreet, shhhtrike, dishhhtraction. The kids immediately say, I cant read cursive. I can focus and absorb what they are saying so much more easily. You know This phrase is increasingly being usedat the beginning of the sentence as a lead-in. Lately, I have noticed by newscasters and others on TV the word expecially, which of course does not exist. What is it called when people stress the end of the last few words of a sentence as if they are using. Has anyone experienced this verbal hostage taking? I wonder if anyone was listing to the message and if the listeners are able to verify the accuracy or validity of the content. The tone, rhythm, and inflections grate on the ear. Sam Sanders, host of NPR's It's Been A Minute, records a segment at NPR West on September 24, 2018. I agree with many of the annoying speech discussed here. This is a huge trend on YouTube right now and its quite annoying. This listing or auctioneer way of speaking is an affectation from vlogs. If he catches that he's saying "you know" a lot, he'll try to cut down on using it. and radio. They're actually choosing their path and doing the steering.". Heres a new video we created to demonstrate some of the more common patterns you hear today. e.g. METAPHORICALLY no one? Am I alone in this? She regularly records commercial voice overs for radio and tv as well as infomercial voice overs and direct response marketing for children's toys, health, fitness and beauty products. Its rampant. and then I got stuck in trafiiiiic, so I was late for woooork, people are off siiiick, we have more to doooo, I had t skip luuuunch ad nauseam. Thankfully, people have stopped using in terms of before every statement! He told me: That is a sign that I've opened them up, they feel comfortable and they're talking in the way that they just regularly talk. Unfortunately the word, the shouting and the angry demeanor are now used by many standup comedians in place of jokes. One of the reasons the patterns become so widespread, particularly with the current trend of vocal fry, is the feeling of belonging it gives young women. I hear it all the time paint-inG almost sounding like guh at the end of the syllable. It may be a form of ageism, but there is truth to every stereotype. Like yourself, Im thinking its a trend. Its one of my many pet peeves in newscaster-speak, and I hear this one all the time especially from Rachel Martin on NPR. As a result, many teachers stopped teaching it. Speaking as an African American woman, if being more inclusive is the aim it fails. ", In the ensuing #PubRadioVoice conversation, now-host of Weekend Edition Sunday Lulu Garcia-Navarro tweeted about a similar experience. Ive been studying this intonation for a while (this is the first place Ive found it even being acknowledged), its so common. Likely popularized by Michelle Obama and Oprah. Investigating these complaints opens a window into a long-running debate in the public radio community: what or more precisely, who should NPR sound like? I cant stand when people say I cant even or I just cant with her or some nonsense like that, and they just end it right thereOr when people say YEAH you are with misplaced emphasis. Yet literally all of my female colleagues get constant criticism for how they speak or sound. In I Have Some Questions for You, Makkai has carefully crafted a novel that inhabits a strange interstitial space between a whodunit, a crime novel with a few elements plucked from found footage . When I go into the 4th, 5th grade classes, I write my name on the board in cursive. after. This is supposed to be pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable: STUdent. "We ought to be able to hear all of that in the voices that the audience is hearing, whether that voice is the voice of somebody in a community somewhere in the middle of the country or that voice is the voice of a host or reporter for NPR. Charlotte, dropping the g has been around since I was a young teen, in the early 70s. Its been shortened from I know, right? (Aka, IKR?) Why bother with all the words when you can trim it down to one. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I find this is a topic worth discussing in a public forum, not to berate anyone for their colloquial style of speaking, but to intelligently address the issues with poor speech. I am sick of cymbals that end a commercial etc. The most recent annoying speech pattern to me is the habit of adding an ah sound to the end of a word. I find it close to impossible to think that these sounds are solely mimicry. My husband watches CNBC a lot (financial channel) and even listening to various serious commentators and guests you can hear many examples of these patterns. Its so common and I cannot believe speakers do NOT hear this on playback?!? Excellent analysis!!! They even create elaborate spoofs, like this send-up of the "annoying" podcast voice. Where did it come from and what were they thinking? Basically, many people, young people and more often women, will take a short vowel sound and make it a schwa sound ie. I appreciate its a casual, off the cuff chat with the 2 male hosts (in their late 30s possibly) who are intelligent & one was a teacher in London! If I hear this on TV I change the channel. Isnt it a long-standing fact, that all beings respond to melodious speech far more positively than, for example, a shriek. I mentioned this to a retired teacher, just a few minutes ago, and his response was that class size continues to grow and teachers have less time and ability to be task-masters on things like this. Im glad to discover I am not alone. It wasnt just that the election campaign this year was ugly, right? Im low on fuel so Im gonna stop and fill up Fine. Thats litteriiiiing, and he just kept walkiiiiing That isnt exactly it, but its similar. Mostly female but males do it too. Merry fucking xmas. Its easy to overlook poor speech when an attractive face is delivering the information. "They can feel more comfortable, confident and relaxed, because they feel like they have command of this instrument and their performance," said Hansen. I mean, how did people even get through the day before the internet was invented! If you pronounce the T (soft or hard) in button, youll get some strange glances, because literally no one here pronounces it that way. Yeah, naa, yeah is, similar to the Yeah, nowait, what?. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this subject. And please read through the comments for some very interesting insights and observations from other readers. Lisa P. hit the nail on the head. I came here to see if anyone else had noticed that young women are suddenly dropping the T sound in the middle of wordsor if maybe theyd been doing it all along and I only just noticed and am now hearing it everywhere. These little speech micro trends seem to pop up every now and then, then fade away over time (thank God!). My vote for most annoying speech affectation goes to the word to. Ive heard narrators doing it on youtube videos. You paying attention? Other reporters hone their delivery as well. Our language is being bastardised for their own purpose, throat fry, non-pronunciation, just being annoying. Like things like like because its just, like, beyond ubiquitous and you already know about it. Dont run into nobody! (a parent to a child) Then in addition to vocal fry they have to insert the word super at least once into each sentence. Dont get me started on the vocal fry. Youre not insane. An interesting one this one. Playin, doin, shopping, talkin, and just today consultin. And, while you're at it, also check out Amanda Hess' take on the vocal-fry debateaka Why Old Men Find Young Women's Voices So Annoyinghere. Many shop assistants think they are being kind referring to me as Sweetheart or Hun. My goodness! He has also shortening him and them to em. But instead it sounds like I went to the STOre, then the gas STAtion, and then got something to EAT.. . Real News (Host): When do you think we can fully re-open schools, 5 days/week? I say borough as burrow and mirror as mirror, not meara. As a naturalized American citizen I am paying attention to my execution of sentences and the intonation. OMG! She has studied Alexander, Linklater, LeCoq, Stanislawski, Michael Chekhov, Meisner, Roy Hart, Suzuki, Viewpoints, and many other acting, voice, and movement techniques. I m hearing the phrases theres no doubt about it and theres no question about it and the variations: no doubt about it, no doubt, no question about it, and no question. Now I can add that to my list. I realize its really too early to be voting for Most Annoying for 2021, but this ones definitely been frosting my butt. Really? NOW, I substitute. I may be a little looser with my language, grammar, slang with my close girlfriend than in a business or unfamiliar situation. I want to shout at them all and saystop being sheep all of you, keep your individuality, its much more interesting, and real. Stop adding, subtracting, and manipulating language to influence or control the listener. It appears "almost exclusively among women, and young women. I have asked you not to do that! I say something, along the lines of, Thats one way to ensure I dont talk; you dont have to listen to me. Then, I walk away seething, and loathing him more and more. If I were grading you, your report would get, at best, a C-," the listener from Missouri concluded. A reporter asks a politician something like, Do you support the bill before congress that blah, blah blah [whatever the details]. Beyond annoying. One of the most irritating forms of up talk or vocal fry is when a woman is explaining her day and each sentence is drawn out at the end with an upward inflection, then the next sentence is hooked on at the end with the same down to up trajectory and drawing out the last word to crescendo. I may be alone in this one lol, but i hate it. Thats what it sounded like to me in your video. Im not trying to be critical or mean, but it used to be if you had a speech impediment, you went to speech therapy and got rid of it before you went on public media. Awesome and absolutely. These are examples of bad grammar, mispronounced words, and slang. They rise the inflection of the words at the end of every sentence. Ive get so annoyed when people do that!! The voices on NPR are more diverse than ever. Its almost excusable (almost) to hear uptalk from an entry level early 20-something, however, Im really not sure how a middle aged VP becomes an uptalker. I also cannot stand everyone using the word Amazing to describe everything that is good. Thanks for your comment and video. The number one ear-bleeding one is shtraight down the shtreet there are theesh trees and a shtop shign. 4) adding definately before every verb As a young woman who sometimes subconsciously dips into this lower vocal register, I don't even notice when radio reporters speak with vocal fry. at the start of your answer to each question I asked, and also your The T-dropping is especially irritating because it sounds like something a very young kid would do and I HATE when adults talk like toddlers. Re-reading your article I see your use of annoying phrases was intentional and very effective. Him: Im like did you see that? Simstrom ascribes those criticisms to gender: "I have long had a theory that part of what people take issue with about our show is women speaking authoritatively about science.". Watch ANY interview with a woman and they do this. There are so many more. ago Agree, I have shuddered more than once when she consistently uses mildly incorrect grammar. Many men do this also, although its usually not as noticeable as creaky voice in women, because mens voice are deeper to begin with so the pitch drop doesnt contrast as much with their normal pitch/phonation. Second one: the pin/pen merger. Even in filipino words like palapag theyll say palapag-gah'the gah sounds like when you pronounce the letter G. They do this do the last letter of the last word of the their sentence. Paige, Yeah, no. This is a difference due to where one was raised to speak. Just as NPR's reporting can expose listeners to new ideas, listening to national radio is an opportunity to hear voices from many backgrounds. She has performed in television, film, stage, voiceovers, and commercials. The sad thing is people who should know better obviously dont.murlean. There are several blogs online, written by women who think society needs to stop being critical of their way of talking; i.e. Eckert, the linguist, found that the biggest users of vocal fry are actually men. And, I feel its time to bring the old standards back. Where Youre welcome implies that you went out of your way and accept their thanks as your praise. Reporters get these complaints directly, too. It makes me terribly sad. Thats probably (not proaly) one reason kids cant spell them correctly later. If, however, its something that is correctable, I would like to know how, (NOT to be more pleasing or acceptible to him), so that I might be less annoying to more diplomatic persons like yourself . Another more recent pattern I hear most often by women is speaking in the low register of their voice. They want profit without first investing in professionalism, imo. UGH!!! You sound as ignorant as the people youre skewering. In fact, theres a show on HBO where EVERY lady character has a speech impediment. Lets take a selfie of you and I. I have been trying to figure out why so so many people in TV commercials speak with a lisp. So, after reading literally every single comment, I am pondering the question; is it ironic that were all complaining about an enormous range of vocal variants (or variations?) 2001 - 2023 Debbie Grattan Voiceover Talent | Site Map | Privacy Policy. It was the most annoying thing I had ever heard. I agree with you with every fiber of my being. The voices on NPR are more diverse than ever. This past year has seemed a bit empty at times when social isolation has become the new normal. the kind of and sort of virus has been making the rounds of cable news hosts and pundits, and its literally driving me crazy, you know what i mean? The bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants from foundations or business entities, contributions and sponsor-ships.