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Subject: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
I have this question that I'm not sure can ever really be answered.
I understand the basic history of valley girls (and dudes)
Semi-landlocked teens,...with not much to do in the valley, found a huge hang-out spot...the Galleria...it became a daily or weekly thing to do...eat at food park,..shop for rad stuff..hang out with friends...arcades...meet people..mall cruising stuff.........it was the best thing to do in the valley so everyone got in to it (to the max).
???
But the question I have is more about their lingo and twang. Valspeak,..I know it has some roots in "surfer talk"...but I don't how it got created and widely used. For example,..was there originally ONE girl who invented the certain twangs and idioms...to say..and she then got her friends to do it with her....and then other girls at school or in the mall heard them speaking and copied it...and so on...and it spread....
You know what I mean ? Was there one creator....or did the girls of that time just all sort of doing it and it all came together....and if that's it ... how do they all ~just start talking like that...out of no where...
If anyone knows...or was a Val back in the early days of it...please help me out...
My question is sort of hard to explain properly...but hopefully someone one can help.
Thanks - Mahalo
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
that's an interesting question. I grew up in NJ and I can remember talking like a Valley girl, but that wasn't really how we talked normally, it was more of mimicking what we saw on TV/movies whatever... kind of like people don't copying a character you seen on sat. nite live or austin powers... I think "square pegs" was our (my) main source for valley girl inspiration, as my parents would never take me to/let me watch something like valley girl or fast times at ridgemont high or anything..(as it was, my parents wouldn't let me watch *PG* movies cuz my brother said they were *bad*, too--he was mean to me sometimes)
anyway, that doesn't really answer your question. to do that, you'd probably have to get all into semantics/linguistics/etymology study.. i'm sure someone out there has done a study or dissertation/thesis on the evolution of language in the valley girl speak (like ebonics, no?)
:)
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
It is kind of like ebonics,...but i think it is/was much more intentional.
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
Quoting:
anyway, that doesn't really answer your question. to do that, you'd probably have to get all into semantics/linguistics/etymology study.. i'm sure someone out there has done a study or dissertation/thesis on the evolution of language in the valley girl speak (like ebonics, no?)
:)
End Quote
We were actually talking about the accent, dialect compared to written prose and the use of fillers in our A-level english class earlier this week. The linguistics and charactertics of the typical 'vally girl' came up, as putting 'like' in each senatnce got us talking on where it all came from. Once we get back onto the subject i will let you guys know if i come up with any answers!
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
I was cruising the archives and I found this old post. I can't believe the question came up about VALSPEAK and the instant reply was not: Frank and Moon Zappa, "Valley Girl."
The song was a smash hit in early '82. The phrases from the song consumed teen culture nationwide within weeks. The movie "Valley Girl" came out in 1983.
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
Actually, "Val speak" has several linguistic roots.
Part of that is the surfing culture of Southern California. And while "The Valley" is land locked, it is only 20-30 miles form the beach. In LA, that is nothing. Even from the far side of LA, the beach was only a 30 minute drive (or 1 hour bus ride) away.
Also there is the influence of the Jewish culture. This is where that whiney monotone came from. If anybody has ever listened to Fran Dreisher, you know what I am talking about. While the words like "grody" and "fer sure" were the speak, it was not complete without the high-pitched monotone.
Also add in the often bright pastel colours, in either solid colors or patterns like dots. Also hair at the time was worn "fluffed", giving that infamous "big hair" look.
I lived in the heart of the San Fernando Valley during that time, and saw it all in living color. Part of it was a mini-migration of upwardly mobile Jewish families from the Fairfax area of LA. By this time Fairfax was being slowly dragged down by poorer areas moving in, so those that could often moved to "The Valley". This is also where a lot of the fashion came from, especially for women.
Also the surfing craze was starting again. The "Boogie board" was just comming into popularity, and this allowed a relative novice to "ride the waves". In the early days, surfers welcomed them and added their own distinct language to the newly emerging teen culture.
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
I wasn't suggesting that Zappa invented VALSPEAK, merely that "Valley Girl" popularized it in the rest of the country.
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
Quoting:
I wasn't suggesting that Zappa invented VALSPEAK, merely that "Valley Girl" popularized it in the rest of the country.
End Quote
I know. :) I was actually responding to the original question, not your comments. :)
Actually, Moon Unit's song was in many ways the death bell for "Valley Girls". In a year, we had that song, the movie "Valley Girls", and 2 porn movies (one staring Traci Lords) come out about the (style? fashion? fad?). All of those things together brought about a quick death in the SFV. But the fad continued on for several more years in other areas of the country.
I was amazed when I moved to North Carolina in 1987, and found a few gals trying to be "Valley Girls". Val Speak, with a southern accent, I still shudder at the image.
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
Is it death bell or death knell?
I wondered if some of the lingo in the "Valley Girl" song wasn't made up whole cloth by Zappa. Did they really say "Barf me out, gag me with a spoon"?
The interesting phenomenon is a universal teen accent with Val undertones. Whether you're in Arizona, Ontario, or North Carolina, you can hear kids talk this way today. Not all of them, but always some. It's not conscious imitation, but non-deliberate social absorption.
When we moved from NH to Massachusetts in 1983, I picked up the "like" habit. It took me years to stop inserting "like" in my speech where it didn't belong!
Subject: Re: (Valley girls) the creation of VALSPEAK ?
Elvis-Costello Girls Talk
There are some things you can’t cover up with lipstick and powder
I thought I heard you mention my name, can’t you talk any louder ?
Don’t come any closer, don’t come any nearer
My vision of you can’t get any clearer
Oh, I just want to hear girls talk
I got a loaded imagination being fired by girls talk
But I can’t say the words you want to hear
I suppose you’re going to have to play it by ear
Right here and now
Girls talk and they want to know how
Girls talk and they say it’s not allowed
Girls talk, if they say that it’s so
Don’t you think that I know by now
That the word up on everyone’s lips
Stick that you’re dedicated
Though you may not be an old fashioned girl
You’re still going to get dated
Was it really murder ?
Were you just pretending ?
Lately I have heard you are the living end
Girls talk and they wanna know about her
Girls talk, they wanna know if I care
Girls talk and they wanna know where
Girls talk girls talk