I’m in the process of creating a female character who speaks with vocal fry. But I’m not sure how to translate that to the page. Or if I should.
Technically,
it’s vocalization characterized by a low, creaky voice usually at the end of sentences.
Physiologically it happens when air pushes up from the lungs causing the vocal
folds (tissue on either side of the voice box) to quickly slap together.
Yep,
it’s not an exciting description. I would snooze through that passage in a
story.
This
speech pattern seems to be the trend for upwardly mobile young women in America.
Some female celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Zooey Deschanel, and Lacey Chabert
have it. Many college-bound women also employ the creak.
One researcher theorized that it
could be a way for women to compete with men by using a lower pitched voice
which connotes authority. Indeed, younger men and women think that females with
vocal fry sound authoritative. However, the creaky voice can irritate older
people who believe it distracts from the message.
But,
wait! Some men speak with vocal fry and nobody has
complained or even noticed. This American
Life host Ira Glass said that he uses it. So does academic Noam Chomsky. People
don’t criticize their vocal quality. (A double-standard? What a shock.)
Perhaps
I should create a young male character with vocal fry instead of a female? Hmmm
I’m
no stranger to unusual ways of speaking. I developed a New Jersey/Bronx accent
with a Southern twang when I was seven years old. (My family moved often.) I’m
told it was truly hideous. I remember my usually easygoing father saying, “No
daughter of mine will talk like that.” Eventually my parents had me repeat
nursery rhymes every night before bed while they corrected my one-of-a-kind
accent.
There
are numerous accents and dialects in the United States. I love actress Marisa
Tomei’s heavy Brooklyn accent in My
Cousin Vinny
and the soft Southern drawl of television interviewer, Charlie Rose. Their
accents are fun to hear but could be tricky to write. If written with a heavy
hand or incorrectly, a writer could alienate a reader.
Then
there is the rare Tangier Island, Virginia
dialect
which still has remnants of Old English. Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay
is believed to have been discovered by Captain John Smith in 1608 and claimed
by the British. Because the island is isolated, much of the dialect has
remained. Some people believe it’s Elizabethan but others think it’s from the
Cornwall region of Southwest England. The islanders also employ “backwards talk”
where people say one thing but mean the other. For instance, “she’s ugly”
actually means “she’s pretty.”
I
wouldn’t even know how to begin to write dialogue spoken by a person from Tangier.
Not that it will matter for much longer. Due to satellite and computers, the
island’s younger generation is losing the unique dialect and their speech is
becoming more like standard English.
Have
you heard unusual accents or speech patterns?
Would
you write about a character with vocal fry?