Why I think Vocal Fry and Upspeak are Linked to Emotion | Amy Walker 

Amy is spot-on. The vocal fry conveys a vibe of "I'm bored, jaded, disaffected." There's a nearly complete absence of joy, happiness, caring, or FEELING at all.

I am a speech pathologist and very in tune with vocal fry and upspeak in myself and my clients. The voice itself is linked very closely to the limbic system in our brains - this system plays a big role in our emotions so it didn't surprise me when you said that vocal fry and upspeak may be related to emotional suppression. That being said, it can also be taken as a way to subconsciously/passively communicate authority or dominance. There is a theory that people (esp women) slip into a vocal fry when they want to show authority in a conversation. The same could be said for upspeak - when a person speaks in "upspeak", they are trying to assert some authority in the conversation by not allowing space for another speaker to interrupt or take over the conversation. In a way, they don't want to lose "their turn" when talking and hence assert dominance. The points you've talked about in this video are always in my mind when I spot a client suddenly switching into vocal fry or upspeak. I wonder whether they are suppressing something or feel the need to assert dominance around me and I try to find a way to make them feel more comfortable. However, it is important to take it with a grain of salt because consistent and constant vocal fry may be a sign of some other vocal disorder not linked to emotion. Also, a bit of vocal fry is normal - in fact, people tend to slip into it when they are fatigued. You brought up some really interesting points here Amy. I'm glad that more people are becoming aware of these vocal changes we are seeing across the generation.

People often think I'm much younger than I am. Someone once asked me how I "stay so young" and I told them what I thought was critical: "Never be afraid to get excited, never be afraid to show your excitement, never expect anyone else to share your excitement." Now, thanks to you, I'm connecting that with my vocal style and singing.

What upspeak means to me: It sounds like a person whose voice has been ignored for so long (?) that she believes she has to keep checking back with her listener (?) to see if her listener heard what she just said (?) or was even listening at all (?)

This is a fascinating field. I noticed a similar phenomena with my art students, in that they have 'potholes' in their choice of materials. Some will simply not choose certain colours. One student seemed to avoid yellow, and when I asked her to use it, she showed no comfort in mixing it in other colours. I further noted that certain colours that where avoided had a link to certain emotions. People avoid those colours which would otherwise set into emotion currents in themselves, like fear, grief or anger. And not just colours- canvas size, type of paper, pencils, even brushes. All these external things have some kind of inner counterparts. I had one student who never used small brushes and he was a man who didn't like to discuses details or disclose anything on a 'small brush' level. Fascinating.

Ever since I've watched this video, I cannot stop hearing vocal fry and upspeak everywhere. I didn't realize how common these were.

I have been living in Mexico for almost 20 years and noticed a similar trend in youth who identify themselves with the middle or upper class in Spanish ("Fresa" as it is called in Mexico.). My theory with these speech patterns is that the individual is trying to denote his/her social standing, even unconsciously in some cases.

Omgosh... Thank you. I'm 53. I've noticed that my throat not only gets a very sore, somewhat dry feeling but it literally swells. There are times my throat actually hurts so bad, I take pain meds. I have also been noticing, and you've just validated me THANK YOU... that I no longer sound happy or excited when I speak and I find that I am holding all of my emotion in my throat. So as not to offend anyone. I grew up being told... "Dont say that like that." "You say things so ...." and so I've learned to shut my throat center down. I do use the upswing. I asked my boyfriend and he said I do the upswing but not the fry. I did not know I was doing it but now upon reflection and watching your video, I realize, putting this all together, Im looking for approval and not to offend anyone with who and how I am in this world. Im speaking to show NO emotion b/c I was taught that my emotions were all bad and that it was not ok for me to show, express or have my emotions. Or to use any tonality when I speak. I feel like I do the fry thing but he says I don't. I feel like I do b/c of how my throat feels. So if Im not exactly doing the vocal fry, Im doing my own version of it so as not to hurt anyones feelings or call attention to myself in anyway. I've gotten as monotone as I possibly can b/c I felt hurt that anyone was hurt by my voice. Namely my sister and father. Constantly picking me a part. And so ... I completely LOST my voice and am now looking to regain it. and its been quite a challenge for me. I feel completely cut off from myself. :( Sighs. Im so grateful for this information. Thank you. xo I realize now... that I was Divinely led to my most current job with children to help me with this. There is no judgment from little ones. And I can use higher tones and be happy and excited to see them and interact with them and they actually LIKE it. :D lol Coronavirus go away so I can get back to them. Realistically, I need to hold that on my own without their validation I know. If you've read all the way to here, Im impressed! lol Thanks again! Very helpful to me on my self healing path!

Hi Amy - Thanks for bringing this to wider attention. I'm a coach for the past 40 years, for singers and in the corporate sector for leadership trainings and public speaking. Upspeak and Vocal Fry are EPIDEMIC. I think if one takes a closer look at the causes it comes from a basic desire to feel worthy/loved. If one expresses emotion in the voice, then one is vulnerable - open to ridicule. For some this means invalidation. Therefore, the upspeak acts in a manipulative way - i.e.: (you with me?, are you following me?, okay?, is all good?). This is what underlies the upspeak in my humble opinion. When someone, male or female ends a sentence with a period, it says, (okay, now go ahead and have your opinion/evaluation of whatever I just said).

Wow. I am also a voice coach and I had never related this to the emotions. But now that I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. You should write a book about it. A whole investigation and everything. Please keep posting about this, it's very interesting!

Amy, I could not agree with you more. I am a singer songwriter who has struggled with vocal nodules for almost 8 years now - my entire career. As I began to heal my voice it brought so much to the surface in my life that needed to heal first. I realized the way I used my voice was a direct response to the wounds of my soul. I needed to overcome fear and anxiety and grieve my past before I could correctly use my voice. Now that I am claiming my identity as a free daughter in Christ, the anxiety doesn't control me, I'm learning to be armed with my vulnerabilities instead of fear them, and my voice is healing and becoming more free! Amen. Thanks for sharing Amy!

Female here who is currently trying to tap into a lot of repressed emotions. I work in a very logical, hyper-masculine field and believe that I might have developed vocal-fry as a result of wanting to appear less emotional and more serious. Ironically, now the vocal fry makes my coworkers take me less seriously.

As a bit of a language nerd, this is so enticing to hear! Especially from the perspective of an actress and singer. Explains the bottomless pit of "valley girl" talk

I partially agree about vocal fry ( in people who aren't tweens following a trend). But in addition to suppressing of emotions, I think it's a way to keep the voice from getting too loud, used unconsciously by people who are not confident. It's a pattern endemic to my family, and my mom and I are very aware that we 'swallow' our sentences: get so low at the end that people have trouble hearing us. We have the standard American pattern of keeping our speaking voices fairly low, maybe more so than most. And you're absolutely right: when I think about trying to use more of my range and especially project more at the end of my sentences, I experience a fear that that will draw attention to me. I think that fear is based in the belief that people will mock what I'm saying, or maybe worse, ignore me. If people ignore what you're saying because they can't hear you, that's not personal. But if you speak loud and clear and they still ignore you, that's embarrassing. But I'm not completely certain of the root of the fear, only that it's definitely there. I think I should take acting classes! At any rate, I hope this adds a little bit to your experience of this vocal phenomenon.

The female nasal-vocal-fry is the worse.

When you do (marvelously) that squeezed, pinched, sandpaper-like "Oh my gosh I am so excited right now", what I hear (as I hear it endlessly in the prevailing culture) is not a person living but a person trying to gauge, against the reflecting screen of others' perceptions, whether she is living. It is life at one step removed. If it makes better sense of what I'm saying, I commented to someone the other day that Americans don't laugh, rather they advertise that they're laughing. There is this ghastly component present in so much of American life (speech, emotion, moral choices, most fundamental interpersonal moments) that comes across as bad acting, as a desperate pursuit to "experience" it all just like it "really" happens in a movie. Canned, awkward, clumsily self-conscious and self-absorbed...and full of fear. I do not believe I am overstating the case, or "stretching" to connect the profounder issues of cultural psychology with the speech "quirks" you have addressed here. You have, after all, more than indicated your own gut feeling that these things go down to deep things of the psyche.

Upspeak is a result of a teaching technique in the US. Teachers are trained to introduce a topic, then to ask a question of the class that nobody could possibly know the answer to. Then they choose someone who seems not to be paying attention to speculate endlessly as to the possible answer. Every statement they make is phrased as a speculation and a run on sentence.

Upspeak and vocal fry are both symptoms of the speaker seeking validation from the listener/receiver, it's partly linked to body language. The speaker is dropping vocal clues and wil be scanning the receiver looking for visual clues to validate the speech, thus validating the person. The listener/receiver is expected to nod or shake their head in the correct places in response to the yes/no querying upspeak. The vocal fry indicates a patheticness - it's the tone children use when they feign illness - I think this is the speaker indicating that they are not a threat, and is symptomatic of the modern orthodox PC culture. The vocal fry denotes a submissive vocal posture, and is likely to be used by those who are also heavy users of social media and use and follow all the popular mainstream memes.

Upspeak spoken in a nasal high pitched audio frequency gives off the impression of a emergency siren responding to a distressed call.

I have been saying this exact same thing for years!! Listening and talking to students a little bit before a lesson tells me everything I need to know and what I will hear. They think us teachers are psychic when we tell them all these emotions and even desires that are coming through their voices- but we’re not. People just aren’t tapped in. You’re totally correct. The voice is where everything gets stuck! Thanks for this!!

Today I decided to figure out this "upspeak" stuff, and then ... this video. Thanks. I think what you're saying is, pardon the expression, deep. What you're saying is potentially very, very bad for those many, predominantly women, who do this (although some guys seem to have it down to a science too). Also, much as our voice tends to reflect our emotional state, it's also the other way around: our voice may help create emotion inside us. Weird how that works. For instance if you're sitting slumped over then not after long a weird, "slumped over" emotion creeps up on you. The next instant you erect your spine and assume a dignified, attentive posture, then another - infinitely better - emotional state creeps up on you. I guess what I really wanted to say was thank you for showing me and making me _feel_ what I'd suspected around the corners of my perception for quite a while.

Hi Amy. Thank you so much for your insights into these phenomena. I am in Ireland with my 18 year-pld granddaughter, and we've been blessed with many hours together sharing ideas and experiences. She is full of passion and compassion, and yet her vocal range for expression is restricted to the 'fry zone'. In our Slane B&B I showed her your video and she really resonated with it! I know hearing your kind explanation will help her greatly in discovering herself and revealing her true emotions to others. Bless you.

Hi Amy, it's Aimee in Washington DC! I absolutely love listening to you for so many reasons! You are clearly so full of energy and creativity! I love it that you are talking about "how people talk" these days because I hear these relatively recent trends in American people's speech, particularly my young children who appear to be absorbing so much from adults and children at their school. Up speak is a great term for what it describes, and I hear my 12 yr old son doing it a lot. My husband and I are a couple of snooty ol' grammar and speech snobs so we cringe at what we hear happening in our 3 kids' speech. We stop them when they say "like" and when they respond with the monotone and flat, "good" when asked "how are you." I grew up in North Florida, spent my adolescence studying French and plotting my escape, ended up with a French and English degree from a university in Scotland and married a Jamaican American (whom I met in Scotland!...oh and he specialized in Arabic...) so you get the idea that language, pronunciation, various Englishes are a big part of everyday life at our house. But the phenomena you describe are fascinating. Also, I have noticed my eldest son seems to have inherited a smoky, scratchy tone of voice, not from us but from a teenage girl who rides in our carpool!!. It's bizarre and I don't know how to help him get a clear voice back! He is super musical so I am especially sorry for his singing tone to suffer. Ach well, hope this reaches you, such a lovely lass you are! Absolutely sparkly! Aimee

Your voice soothes me I love it

The natural voice is way more engaging. And it is also powerful. Immediately impressive and classy.

my gosh what a woman.

you're getting things backwards I think. It's not that these people have these emotions so they speak that way. It's more like, they speak that way because they want to be seen as having those emotions. It's a fake, superficial way of speaking. The Vocal fry is trying to show some kind of, Too cool for the room" kind of thing. It's trying to show how tired and boring you find everything.

YES~! finally someone who "gets it" that is exactly why music (esp singing!) is sooo desperately needed in live .. often ppl say - i cant live without music, but they seem not to really be able to word why well THIS IS WHY! because, we need to get the tones out to deal with things this is why we can not live without music :D imho

I couldn't agree more with the things you said in this video. I'm an actress, do hosting work as well as v.o. and I notice that I switch back and forth between using my full vocal range when "on set" working on projects to "up speaking" when off set. It's a very interesting thing. I worked with a Canadian company for close to 1/2 of my 20's and certainly developed that up speak habit. I can certainly agree that when you use your full range given, you begin to reveal things about yourself. You emote. lol Vocal fry is possible the worst speech habit I've ever heard and thank goodness I did not adopt that one as well. I appreciate your videos and look forward to exploring voice and language more.

As for lowering the vocal range, Bacall and Garbo did it without fry.

Wow, this is super fascinating!! I just very recently listened to a tape of myself speaking and was... shocked, frankly at how dumb I sound! I am a very intelligent woman with my Bachelor's and Masters degree. I am very skilled linguistically when it comes to reading and writing, but I'm realizing I might not be so good at talking! My speech is riddled with "ums," "likes," "you know," up-speak and almost constant vocal fry. I sometimes feel frustrated that I'm not taken more seriously in the world, but it painfully makes sense when I listen to a recording of myself speak. I have recently been trying to work more on my voice, and everything you said really resonated. I am curious though, because apparently I did not speak until around age 3 (about two years later than most children) yet could read at age 4, (about two years earlier than most children). I also had a speech impediment as a child so I do wonder if perhaps language is simply wired into my brain in more of a visual context vs. oral/ auditory, or if I may have some sort of language development issue. In any case, I will work on practicing "voicing" different emotions and notice what that brings up for me. Great video, thank you for sharing your opinion, (you are also gorgeous, by the way. The red hair/ blue eye combo is stunning!) :)

Wow, great observation! The vocal fry is a suppressioon of our emotions to form a protective shell of apathy and boredom. I guess it's is a result of the anxiety sharing your space with a bunch of strangers in a big city (the death of community) and the glorification of stupidity and vapidness in the media.

Vocal fry makes you sound like a Dalek in Dr Who 😋

Amy, I think you're spot on. I think it's interesting that when these are pointed out, the people rarely realize they'd been doing it. It's not going away anytime soon, so I accept it, but I think there will be more damage and less expression. What's really sad to me is that I do believe there's a huge societal component telling women that they should not sound authoritative and confident, and certainly shouldn't sound emotional. Sigh. Maybe as an antidote a woman somewhere will do the Gettysburg Address or FDR's "We have nothing to fear but fear itself..." in creaky voice AND upspeak. I think that would put me on the floor if I heard it. :)

The way we have stopped denying climate change, I am a firm believer we should stop denying vocal fry! Acknowledging it doesn’t mean you’re an anti-feminist... Thank you oh so much, Amy!

Wow. This might be the most important video I’ve watched in 10 years. Thank you

That was very insightful, it's crazy how many influences and variables go into creating things such as vocal fry.

A bumper sticker from this talk that NEEDS to happen: OPERA HAPPENS. :) Seriously, on the theme here- opera happens because it is how we keep all the emotional and auditory 'colors' alive and well and brought to bear on the astronomy of reality and experience. Another idea I appreciate here is the way fry can reflect suppression. Looking back on growing up in Southern California, I have often mentioned to people that the dude speak that seems to flatten all inflection is a sad reflection of something to me. On the other end of the spectrum is the appreciation of an English person really pronouncing all the syllables and all the accents of a word. I grew up in that flattened world and definitely know that it was oppressive and led me to suppress the fuller range of my natural emotional and vocal expressions. Thank you Amy for the video!

When I hear upspeak it's the equivalent of pouring sewage water in my ears.

My lovely niece is hilarious because she can, on demand, blend upspeak, vocal fry, AND nail-on-chalkboard nasality. I'm left in tears every time :-)

I stumbled upon this researching vocal fry. She spoke about “Fresh Air,” my favorite podcast! I really enjoyed watching this woman. She is so entertaining... A true entertainer and a one woman show.

This is so interesting! I totally agree with you and love hearing theories like this. People often tell me my voice is quite "melodious" as in it travels quite naturally with my expression. But it's weird because it comes so naturally to me, and I often can instinctually sense that people are avoiding emotion when they go to that monotone place, espedially when talking about something personal. I think I might do it too during those times. I think we are afraid of showing emotion and being vulnerable.. because to show that something affects you is to show that you are fallible, imperfect, human-something that expected of us less and less in society.

It was awesome that you recognize that you sometimes have a little rumble at the end of your sentences. That is totally natural. But when it happens all the time like some reality stars do, it doesn't seem natural. Great vid btw

Bloody brilliant! Fantastic! Wonderful! I love it. I love you. This is great. Thank you.

Very eloquently put, I've noticed the 'creaky voices'; thought every woman had a cold :-)

I agree with you on that Amy. I sung for years in Santo Daime church where you certainly feel a lot of emotion and i became a natural self taught opera diva there. Thats where i discovered the connection between the voice modulation and emotion and the healing processes it involves. Really important to have access to a whole range and not get stuck in one register. Brilliant vid, thank you 😊

What's really bad too is when people say 'like' all the time.

I tend to view upspeak as this girlish excitement and wonder, tempered by fry so we don't sound insane LOL

Yes. Everyone who wants to be heard and understood must speak as if there is a period at the end of our sentences to indicate to the listener that we are making a statement, not asking a question, when we are in fact making a statement, not actually asking a question. Exactly why we use a period not a question mark when we write the same sentence. What a world we live in that so many have made this a subject of discussion.

Hi Amy, I haven't read below, but I'm sure there are many people who have related with your theory. I do 100%. I have worked as a choir teacher for the past 6 years or so and, after my own run in with stuffing emotions throughout collage, vocal fatigue in my first years of teaching and eventual development of nodules from the stress of that job, I can see how much suppressing my stress and depression (it sucks when it hurts to talk) during those times was totally reflected in my instrument. Post surgery and vocal rehab, I am feeling a lot better, but still feel like I have a lot of work to do with speaking my truth and expressing my authentic self. And the cool thing is that my voice is a total barometer of how I am growing in these departments-- my range widens, my color brightens, and my vibrato is much freer. I see the same trend in my kids--I have had students tear up during voice placement testing when we sing higher. I think singing in front of people is one of the most vulnerable things we can do. And hearing your ideas on this has really helped me to understand my own and I think will help me further develop how I approach my new/scared/blooming singers. Thank you and vibes to you!

Interesting stuff. Reflecting upon my experience, when I want to seem level-headed, even-keeled, i.e., being a serious-minded, attentive engager, I tend to speak with very little fluctuation: the purpose and mindset determines my manner of speaking. BTY, the Irish way of speaking contains its own style of "up-speak" for both men and women. I find it charming to my ears.

I work with male and female clients. Males definitely "lock" their voices into their throats and create fry - also because men tend to lower the pitch of their voices below their optimum pitch. Keeping the voice locked in a tense throat is one of the most common characteristics I see in my clients (from pre-K to 60+) and certainly has a lot to do with surpassing emotional expression or lacking the skills to use the supported tones and music of their voice

I'm in a biz where we make client presentations all the time. I have an art director who does boffo work, but presenting is excruciating for her and to everyone else in the room. I recommended your channel to her and she has learned so much from it.

Upspeak sounds like the person delivering it is constantly asking you a question

Finally! Someone who can explain to me how is up talk, vocal fry actually without actually talking like they were. In this vid you were explaining. Thank you so much Amy.. I'm going to subscribe to your content because yup, I loved that soprano voice of yours. Definitely smelling a good vibes here! Yeayyyyy

honestly, after watching this i feel so freed up! like i am excited to speak higher and to express those emotions!! so interesting, thankyou.

Yes, I've noticed that the more uncomfortable and anxious I feel, the more I'm holding back, and the more I use vocal fry.

I lived through the "Valley Girl" airhead way of talking and then LATER I HEARD Middle aged Women, some had PROFESSIONAL Occupations, like attorney's for example, they would TRY to drop the Valley Girl sound but they could NOT get RID of it 100%. When they are speaking here and there the Valley Girl accent would creep out. I have witnessed this many times. I am not a linguist obviously, but I know one thing, if you speak a certain way for a long time, after a while you are STUCK with it. Our muscles develop "Muscle Memory" and when STRESSED that is the way we SOUND. It will always creep out under pressure. Just like shooting a Firearm, the operator of the firearm or most any other physical endeavor, when under STRESS we operate on "Auto-pilot" we rely on Muscle memory. Repetitive actions BUILD Muscle Memory. On certain endeavors this is a GOOD THING, but the VOCAL FRY will make these people SOUND like a Teenager in their Middle AGE. Do it LONG enogh and you are STUCK with it girls!!!! God it is annoying too!!! If you were on Trial for a Crime you did not commit would you want an ATTORNEY representing you that spoke that way?? Or if you had a Brain Tumor, would you want a Brain Surgeon that spoke like a teen age girl??? This is a LEARNED way of speaking, to ME it says, "I am so DESPERATE to sound COOL and fit in with the "Cool Kids" that I will ruin my Larnyx to sound like the rest of the silly pack. You know, people that TRY to be "KEW-ULL" AREN'T. Cool people do NOT have to TRY to be cool, they just ARE. The harder one tries to "be cool" the farther they push themselves AWAY from it. I have NEVER seen the GLORY in being a MAGPIE CLONE of a bunch of IDIOTS. Personally, that vocal Fry is the most ANNOYING thing I have encountered in many years. It is damaging in many ways, and do it LONG enough and it is PERMANENT. So, Creak on silly people, you will pay for it LATER if you aren't already. BB

(What I'm about to say isn't exactly on the same topic of your video, but your video made me think about it) I know I myself am guilty of lowering my speaking voice for sociolinguistic reasons. I'd been told when I was younger that I had a high-pitch voice (and when I was told this, I was told it as if it was a negative or annoying thing). In order to sound more authoritative, confident, and simply to be more accepted I consciously started to speak in a lower tone. I don't do this any more though, because I now accept and love my natural feminine voice and all the emotions it conveys, but I think some women do this; they try to sound less feminine for sociolinguistic reasons.

I've never seen your videos and I stumbled across this one and the first thing I thought when the video started was "Wow!! She's absolutely gorgeous!"

Ugh...I can't help but comment on RU-vidrs WITH GOOD USEFUL channels that are littered with unbearable uptalk. These are typically DIY channels that I enjoy and the presenter is an authority on the subject. Great material but the presenters sound so unsure of...well...of EVERYTHING THEY SAY. Thank you for drawing attention to these communication problems plaguing our country! This post was a great way to start the day. If I knew what was good for me I'd start every day looking at your beautiful smile! Ciao

Seven years later I"m still watching this. Would love to see an expansion on what you mean by 'gaps'.

I just LOVE your examples! They put a smile on my face. 😊

This is fascinating! After I studied abroad in Australia ( and the same thing seemed to happen with my twin sister when she went) I noticed I would up speak. It was something that I never really had a clear definition of until now so thank you! I prefer my own natural voice with the variation in melody and I completely agree that it, for me, had something to with some personal insecurities. My husband was the first person that pointed it out to me and as I've grown in confidence as a person, I've made a conscious effort to focus on up speaking without the up speak as it just sounds so much better! :)

Wow! Very impressed! In my "youth" I had a bit of an upspeak challenge and one of my acting professor suggested I imagine going down stairs/steps with every word. Never a problem since that mental visualization. I like how you described these vocal problems as "trends". How very, very true!

They both drive me nuts, Upspeak in particular when men do it, and vocal fry when women do it!

You're amazing, Amy Walker. Thanks for taking the time to shoot this awesome video!

You hit the nail on the head, with both the upspeak and vocal fry - I'm glad to see there are several videos that are talking about it and yours was so detailed and fun to watch :D By the way the very ending about us all being connected was beautiful :)

this is staring me squarely in the face right now. I don't know how i never really thought about it, yet it resonated completely. thank you, lovely!

This is the first video I watched from you, Amy. You are sparkling!

Many women think that suppressing their voice is a sign of being older, being more mature...and not a little girl. Our culture does tend to want women to remain little girls for a variety of reasons. Young girls and older women, practically all females, are so afraid of and so careful to not upset young and mature males. We were all raised to please them. It is a shame.

You should take a look into doing ASMR videos, I think you'd be so awesome at them!

I agree 100%. And vocal fry and upspeak is not limited to women. While I was working on film recently, every time the young director talked, especially when he was giving me a direction, he defaulted to such a low, unnatural register for his voice that it sounded scary, like he as literally struggling to speak. I found myself constantly wondering what he would sound like if he spoke in a healthy voice. Not to be harsh, but I did hear you engaging in upspeak when you were presenting but it was not when you were giving an example. That just goes to show how pervasive it is. And I am not exempt. I do it sometimes. Perhaps it may also be a way of delivering the subtext 'do you understand what I'm saying?"

Vocal fry, and up speak have almost killed my enjoyment of listening to the radio. Add to that the use of the word “So” to begin a sentence, and I want to drive head on into a tree! I am totally baffled by “experts” in their chosen professions, who sound like complete idiots!!! Thanks for letting me vent!

I'm starting to see that you're some kind of genius. You demonstrate in detail; why - not just how - certain sounds are typically made by people - that, as observations of human nature, are really just brilliant. You go beyond what speech therapists will do, inthat you take the Actor's approach to WHY - leading to how, a person ends up sounding a certain way. At 6:25 you do full vocal fry; "Omg, I'm sooo excited right now, can you hear how friggin' excited I am right now?" - your take on it is just deadly. Now you got me doing it - in deadly accurate fashion, because now I know exactly why, not just how. Now I can remember anyone I've ever heard say 'oh my god' - ad nauseum in full vocal fry. The 'Upspeaks' - I'm gonna call them now - thanks to you, are also more clear to me. I'm always a little leary of them, because if they're unsure.... of what they really mean.... or when they're finished talking..then you can't be sure of them either... ...why am I putting all these dots here?... Now you got me sounding out these personality types with some comprehension of why they do it - brilliant deconstruction work you do, on every nuance. Your fascination with these observations makes me in turn, fascinated also. Also, I was never aware of the diphthong effect in many words, influenced by and depending on, the following consonants in each case. I knew I was catching something, but couldn't put a finger on what I was hearing, just aware that something was getting my attention. You have dissected these everyday speech traits that have been a bit harder to detect - but not anymore! From now on, they will always be glaringly obvious to me, now that I know what to listen for - and more importantly, watch for. Once I've heard it, I'll never un-hear it. Great tutorials!

Interestingly, adding vocal fry totally changes the meaning of words in certain languages.

Vocal fry is a defense mechanism masked as a projection of strength.

Yay! I missed seeing your beautiful self. Also I'm a guy and everything you said about vocal fry I totally agree with, for me I think it happens when unsure or self conscious about something much like how you described up speak for women. But both those quality sound super adorable in ladies ;)

YES! So true, I've been waiting for someone to actually break down how these ways of "speaking" work.

I also listen to the NPR show on vocal fry and up speak. It's what brought me here. Glad you mentioned it.

It's May 2019 and vocal fry is rampant everywhere, even on NPR. One of my meds gives me a croaky voice and it drives me nuts!

I have watched so many videos on vocal fry; it fascinates me yet annoys the hell out of me. Anyway, this video is THEE best video on vocal fry on RU-vid. I love how you conveyed your points. Incredibly engaging and fun to watch. x

I've noticed a lot of vocal fry over the years among stoners (male and female). It's as if they are so mellowed out that they are disconnected from strong emotions.... perhaps self-medicating.

So pretty...but more importantly, so right!

Very well said! So tired of the vocal fry. It’s annoying and boring. You have an awesome voice by the way! Love your singing!

Thank you for an excellent detailed explanation of this phenomenon. I enjoyed it!

My guess is that uptalk is often used to indicate that the speaker is not done talking. You might say, "My name is Amy Walker?--and I am a singer." Women are often interrupted and I think some women use uptalk as a less-overtly-aggressive way of saying, "Hey now, I'm not done speaking yet; let me speak."

I also think it’s permeated every nook and cranny of daily speech to the point that I can’t-get away from hearing creaky voice and I just want it to stop I feel like I have to watch a movie from before 2008 to not hear it Uhg

5:20 wow!!! I, totally, agree‼️💯

ITA! Thankyou. Your lovely voice has so many welcome variations. My other pet peeve is the rampant overuse of words and phrases by young journalists: "At the end of this day," In this moment," etc., ad nauseum.

Voice fry is what I use to express spoiled displeasure. Without words. I fry out a "mmm mm-mm." You're my new phonetic hero. As a child in my bed, I used to tap tap out individual vocal fries. I'm a metaphorical gal. It reminded me of being on my dad's shoulders, with his loafers as he'd walk us up our driveway, which had occasional pebbles. May a woman w vocal fry never be in charge. Yeaah. I'm not sexist. Here's the standard for vocal authority: the Naval Observatory Atomic Master Clock. Tune in. And, Diane Rehm of NPR has spasmodic dysphonia. She and K Hepburn get a pass. Love you!!! Thanks for fortifying women's power.

+Amy Walker you are a straight up GENIUS please keep sharing your thoughts and views on linguistics, accents and culture - love it!!!

Like vocal "shadow work" unleashing suppressed emotions. Fascinating theory (reality?) on the connection between these "new" speaking styles and emotional repression. Would be interesting to see the origin stories on vocal fry and uptalk if that's even possible.

Amy Walker runs her words together and is uptalking also

Spot on. It's one thing to choose a group who speaks like this, but to be subjected to it day in and out by professional speakers, radio and newscasters, is intolerable.

What a classical beauty!

Upspeak and vocal fry is the ultimate giveaway for airheadedness and superficiality in women. It is the biggest turnoff imaginable.

Wonderful video. Very thought provoking. I got very small nodes about 8 years ago. I'm a singer, so this was very scary. I took speech therapy for a long time and they are gone and have never been back because now I know how to speak and how to take care of myself. It is scary though. It is interesting about pitch getting lower as time goes on. I think that is very true. Great video!

Excellent analysis! The way you mixed the examples with the explanations was brilliant. And what a perfect singing voice too, wow!!!

This is one of the best theories I've heard. My voice def fries when I'm nervous, scared, socially anxious. I don't believe the 'ppl do this to be on trend thing.'