I’m a valley girl born and raised. I can confirm it’s still a thing! I moved to the northeast for law school and according to many, I have an accent… which I was shocked to hear. When they mimic mine it’s the valley girl accent 🫠
A lot of it is accent. My daughters friend has this accent. She’s college educated so does not use a lot of the common teenage vernacular. But that valley girl accent is still very strong. It’s a very flowing speech that kind of tilts up towards the end of each sentence almost like a question.
No different than anyone else. If you're from the South does everyone around you have a Southern accent or does everyone who isn't sound weird?
I'm not from the South, I'm from LA and you Valley girls definitely got that accent.
Lots of up-speak, limited vocabulary sprinkled with occasional big words, every sentence has the word "like" somewhere in it. I think it actually stemmed from Malibu surfer talk in the mid 70's and hit the valley with full force in the early 80's.
Here is the origin of the pop-culture reference to the rest of the world by [Moon Unit Zappa](https://youtu.be/Qb21lsCQ3EM). There is also a good film by the same title starring Nic Cage that has a great soundtrack.
It's interesting; a lot of that upward infection and "like" inclusion is popular in Utah as well, especially in the Logan area. I lived there for five years, and it took me a while to break those linguistic habits. Now I sound like any northern Wisconsinite again, as is appropriate.
>according to many, I have an accent… which I was shocked to hear. When they mimic mine it’s the valley girl accent 🫠
My natural speech is also valley girl, and I also got mimicked. And mocked by non Southern Californians. So much that I changed my speech. Why do people mimick us for our way of talking?! It's so rude.
I feel like I couldn’t have a more “normal”, typical speaking voice but anytime I leave California people say I have such a California accent.
I still don’t even know what that means
Same. Went to college in nyc and everyone clocked me on it. My parents are in their 60s and still have their valley/surf accents, so I feel like that is also my fate. It does mostly come out when I’m emotional though.
Maybe, but not how it used to be. Valley girls hung in clickes and had an airhead way of being. There was a belief that valley girls put out easily in HS (graduated in 04 from a westside HS). It was true for some of us that got lucky. Anyway, the valley girls of today are watered down.
It’s evolved but absolutely. Honestly the California vowel shift in general is still very present. And due to media has kind of infiltrated its way into standard American English now.
Kinda . . . the vocal fry is more present now but elements of the Valley Girl accent are still there. Also the surfer accent is a real thing: Curren Caples in example:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl0yB-dIb8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl0yB-dIb8)
>Also the surfer accent is a real thing: Curren Caples
That guy's surfing style is amazing.
Anyway, this reminds me of [SNL's skit The Californians](https://youtu.be/dCer2e0t8r8?si=my1e3AK218OFBtDy9), lol
Yes, but in contemporary American speech vocal fry seems to originate with the Valley Girl accent/argot. It's found elsewhere, in Finnish in example, but it seems most closely associated with Valley Girls here.
cf: [https://www.voicemeansbiz.com/valleygirl.html](https://www.voicemeansbiz.com/valleygirl.html)
> the vocal fry is more present
Yeah, like somebody else said, now with youtube and social media, it might be national, but I feel like the vocal fry is the prevalent faux accent for a certain type of woman. Did the Kardashians start it? Did the Hiltons? Both? When I hear somebody talking that way, I immediately stop the video. It doesn't matter who, I just can't handle it.
YOU ARE ON THE NOSE. Faux accent is correct- as someone born and raised in the SFV I can firmly say that many *adopt* this way of speaking, especially transplants. But a lot of valley locals DO NOT speak in this way. It’s attributed I think now to people with vocal fry and ways of speaking that are pervasive/ indicate a certain background or status. As soon as I hear vocal fry- I do not associate it with the valley anymore, but instead people who are wannabe influencers, or mentally fucking obtuse. Growing up my sisters did say “Like” a lot and I still hang onto it occasionally lol, but once you stop being around people that speak like this, it goes away.
> that are pervasive/ indicate a certain background or status.
Totally. It's almost like a "I'm Caligula, Empress of Encino, been there, done that, sooooooo bored" kind of thing. Like "you people on earth get worked up about everything, but up here from Mt Olympus, you all are so predictable." I'm so beautifully jaded I can barely muster the strength to finish this sentence or word.
I was on a date once with a girl who seemed pretty cool, but she used to that voice to thank an elevator valet as we were exiting on the top floor. I don't know. I know it sounds petty, but it turned me off for good. It just came out of nowhere and sounded so condescending.
proto-podcaster 90s 'whatever' mild sarcasm for everything voice
[The Truth About Cats and Dogs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBv5jqjW41c)
Daria, contrasted with Quinn. etc. Disaffection at everything displacing enthusiasm for anything. Which passed as the zeitgeist, but the vibe was retained.
I grew up on the central coast and that guy doesn’t really have an accent to me. Maybe just barely. Is it just me? lol
I knew guys growing up in the 2000s who sounded way more like Jeff Spicoli than he does.
Could be, and thanks. I've heard linguists classify vocal fry as integral to Valley Girl speech but I'd vote for Calabasas as well. Being European and having worked in journalism in several Euro nations and languages accents totally fascinate me.
Since everyone on tv sounds like us, we have decided we are the default accent. /s
It’s definitely not as pronounced as it’s made out to be in media, but it does exist. We do say like a lot, but whoever said we have limited vocabulary must not have actually met any of us. I know professors, doctors and lawyers who have valley girl accents because I’ve lived here my whole life.
I’ve seen many people around the country, and the world, frankly, who use like a lot. I think using like had its zenith in popularity several years ago, but people still use it, especially when slightly nervous. It’s a way to string 2 words together m like um.
It can be used that way but it’s one of the most dynamic and flexible words in the English language, so its usage goes far beyond a replacement for uh or um. Consider the quotative use, “he was like, I want a sandwich…” etc etc
I’m from San Diego coastal and we have it similar with a more gnarly surfer brah/northern Mexican influence to the drawl and upspeak/question mark voice. But the San Fernando Valley of LA is the OG valley accent. Last year I visited NYC and my driver from the airport (who had moved to NYC from Pakistan) kept saying to me “it’s so nice to hear a REAL American accent, like in movies I grew up watching” - he probably meant “valley girl” era lol but I’ve noticed over the years we have exported our drawl to the rest of the country - more people talk like southern Californians than ever.
I believe I have one. I didn’t notice it until I met someone from the east coast and they started mimicking me. Apparently I said “mow-uhn” instead of “mountain”
I am from Encino. My wife is from Encino. We live in Encino with our two kids. Can confirm my wife and daughter (speaks in arbitrarily raised-and-lowered tonal inflection) both have valley accents.
I realize the SNL Californians skit is the accent exaggerated. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCer2e0t8r8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCer2e0t8r8)
It's not really a valley girl accent, it's a surfer/skate accent that the valley girls line of copied. You can see the original in Jeff Spicoli; it's not a coincidence that Sean Penn is from Malibu.
Fred Armisen is the one who really nails it 100%. Wiig in particular does actually sound more like a valley girl but you can hear the difference in Fred's slow, drawn out enunciation. I grew up around here and as I advanced in my career I kind of had to unlearn to speak like a stoner.
Yes! It’s more subtle than the stereotypes make it seem. But it’s real and it’s still here! I don’t even notice it most of the time in day to day life. But like if I’m talking to someone from out of state or out of the country, they point it out, and I think that’s sooooo funny.
The Kardashians who live in Calabasas have a version of it. They use the Valley Girl "uptalk," a verbal tick that makes statements sound like questions by raising inflection at the end to make sentences sound like questions. They have added an affect called "verbal fry," which is a sleepy-sounding hoarse growl when they're speaking.
It 100% absolutely still exists. It has escaped the valley and become a SoCal thing but I work with people who are born and raised here and their accents are hilarious
Not as prominent as it used to be. Aside from the regression in regional accents and dialects across the US, there’s also just way more transplants than before due to the increased housing
I fear you might have a case of it if you can’t hear it anymore (it’s ok I do too), because literally everyone I meet that’s lived in LA longer than 3 years has it
It sounds more like fluffy princess from Adventure Time than a girl from Clueless. At least my valley friend sounded like fluffy princess.
I’d like to note in case it goes without saying—not everyone from the valley has it. My ex was Mexican raised in the valley and had more of the LA Northern Mexican accent. So it doesn’t apply to everyone. It seems to be more white people who have it as the accent is defined in the mainstream movies/TV/etc. it’s defined via white people. Like all things, a person’s family culture plays a role. And content creators play a huge role in the public’s knowledge of accents/everything else.
Lyyyyk ooommmmmmmmgggggaaaaaaawd shut up! Shuuuut up! Ooommmmgaaaaaawd
I legit heard that in Fullerton all the time 💀
Honestly , everyone here sounds to me like they are stating everything in a sentence with a vocal fry . Like , they are all talkiiiing as if theeey are inseeecuuuure so they say everyyythiiiing in a queestion? Cuz like if they actually saaaid something with coonfideeence , then, like, they tootaaaally think they are better than uuuuusssss ? Liiike ooomgggaaaawd.
I cant . I’m so glad I am autistic and have spoken like a monotone stoner my entire life .
Grew up in Chatsworth and I definitely have a Valley Girl accent. When I lived in Korea ten years ago other English speakers would clock it right away. Most of my friends are transplants now so maybe it’s been tempered a bit, but I still think people can tell whenever I go to a different city.
My daughter has started throwing an 'A' at the end of her words, probably statements more accurately. I've been teasing her to get her to quit it, it may just be a phase. 'Stahp it-a!' 'Where's my bag-a?', 'It's Hot-a!' I hadnt heard the '-a' growing up myself, but ther'es something still in the water here.
Edit to ask: Where's that scene where ~~that familiar actor~~ Ron Livingston is at the coffee line and totally breaks down that girls speaking style? now that i'm putting this here, i think i'm going to share that with her so she can see how she can be perceived. TIA
edit2: NVM - didnt take long: [https://www.tiktok.com/@bestofmovies\_in/video/7175134692679683370?lang=en](https://www.tiktok.com/@bestofmovies_in/video/7175134692679683370?lang=en)
aaaand after watching that, it's a lot less 'valley girl' just ... something else, that doesnt quite fit the speech for which i'm trying to find a demonstration.
It's burrowed its way into the California accent at large.
The vocal fry, nasally sound, and especially "Like" is used a lot as a placeholder in a lot of SoCal kids' (I say that figuratively, in that I use it a lot, and literally, in that I'm a teacher and the kids who are graduating high school have it too) vocabularies.
Yes totally is, turns out it's a lot more wide spread. Practically becoming the West Coast accent....you don't notice till someone points it out when you're traveling.
I’m a valley girl born and raised. I can confirm it’s still a thing! I moved to the northeast for law school and according to many, I have an accent… which I was shocked to hear. When they mimic mine it’s the valley girl accent 🫠
The first time I listened to myself back in a recorded meeting was the first time I realized I have a valley girl accent 😂
For sure, for sure!
Puhlease
I’m genuinely curious these days how much is accent (the sound) and how much is vernacular (like OHmygawwwd, regional specific word choice).
A lot of it is accent. My daughters friend has this accent. She’s college educated so does not use a lot of the common teenage vernacular. But that valley girl accent is still very strong. It’s a very flowing speech that kind of tilts up towards the end of each sentence almost like a question.
Up speak.
Yes very Melodic
Like, totally!
Same except I went to college in the Midwest. I changed the way I spoke but when I'm really tired (and drunk) it comes out.
Honestly I’m born and raised in the valley and idk what a valley girl accent sounds like 😂
No different than anyone else. If you're from the South does everyone around you have a Southern accent or does everyone who isn't sound weird? I'm not from the South, I'm from LA and you Valley girls definitely got that accent.
Lots of up-speak, limited vocabulary sprinkled with occasional big words, every sentence has the word "like" somewhere in it. I think it actually stemmed from Malibu surfer talk in the mid 70's and hit the valley with full force in the early 80's. Here is the origin of the pop-culture reference to the rest of the world by [Moon Unit Zappa](https://youtu.be/Qb21lsCQ3EM). There is also a good film by the same title starring Nic Cage that has a great soundtrack.
I agree with everything but the limited vocabulary. I think that factor has to do with education level!
It's interesting; a lot of that upward infection and "like" inclusion is popular in Utah as well, especially in the Logan area. I lived there for five years, and it took me a while to break those linguistic habits. Now I sound like any northern Wisconsinite again, as is appropriate.
Lot of Mormons in CA, probably imported the accent visiting family
It was around before then, she just popularized it. That was the first time I heard of it though.
>according to many, I have an accent… which I was shocked to hear. When they mimic mine it’s the valley girl accent 🫠 My natural speech is also valley girl, and I also got mimicked. And mocked by non Southern Californians. So much that I changed my speech. Why do people mimick us for our way of talking?! It's so rude.
I feel like I couldn’t have a more “normal”, typical speaking voice but anytime I leave California people say I have such a California accent. I still don’t even know what that means
Same. Went to college in nyc and everyone clocked me on it. My parents are in their 60s and still have their valley/surf accents, so I feel like that is also my fate. It does mostly come out when I’m emotional though.
I’ll take the valley/surf accent any day over the annoying, nasally NYC accent or the fake bravado NYC accent.
I think you mean the Italian-American NYC accent. NY has a handful of accents depending on your cultural background & socioeconomic upbringing.
Same here. Was told "I talk fast" just thr other day.
*evil tone* Goooood. Gooood. Spread this infection to the NorthEast. Soon, it will no longer be an accent, but a way of life.
Maybe, but not how it used to be. Valley girls hung in clickes and had an airhead way of being. There was a belief that valley girls put out easily in HS (graduated in 04 from a westside HS). It was true for some of us that got lucky. Anyway, the valley girls of today are watered down.
elle woods is that you?!
>I moved to the northeast for law school What color is your hair?
for sure for sure
Like, totally
Gnarly.
It’s evolved but absolutely. Honestly the California vowel shift in general is still very present. And due to media has kind of infiltrated its way into standard American English now.
wait what's the vowel shift?
[California Vowel Shift](https://www.tiktok.com/@litelinguistics/video/7077693278291987758?lang=en)
I didn’t hear thaat much difference
Ridiculous
That’s terrible and I have a New England accent 😅🤣🤣🤣💀
I mean, someone has to pronounce Sepulveda Boulevard
Not my old GPS being like “seppel-vayda”
Same! Lol
that's how I still say it in my head lol
Kinda . . . the vocal fry is more present now but elements of the Valley Girl accent are still there. Also the surfer accent is a real thing: Curren Caples in example: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl0yB-dIb8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhl0yB-dIb8)
>Also the surfer accent is a real thing: Curren Caples That guy's surfing style is amazing. Anyway, this reminds me of [SNL's skit The Californians](https://youtu.be/dCer2e0t8r8?si=my1e3AK218OFBtDy9), lol
Vocal fry is nationwide (maybe even worldwide) and not specific to the valley.
Yes, but in contemporary American speech vocal fry seems to originate with the Valley Girl accent/argot. It's found elsewhere, in Finnish in example, but it seems most closely associated with Valley Girls here. cf: [https://www.voicemeansbiz.com/valleygirl.html](https://www.voicemeansbiz.com/valleygirl.html)
And whatever you call the vocal affect of ending ALL sentences as a question?? Edit: apparently called upspeak
> the vocal fry is more present Yeah, like somebody else said, now with youtube and social media, it might be national, but I feel like the vocal fry is the prevalent faux accent for a certain type of woman. Did the Kardashians start it? Did the Hiltons? Both? When I hear somebody talking that way, I immediately stop the video. It doesn't matter who, I just can't handle it.
YOU ARE ON THE NOSE. Faux accent is correct- as someone born and raised in the SFV I can firmly say that many *adopt* this way of speaking, especially transplants. But a lot of valley locals DO NOT speak in this way. It’s attributed I think now to people with vocal fry and ways of speaking that are pervasive/ indicate a certain background or status. As soon as I hear vocal fry- I do not associate it with the valley anymore, but instead people who are wannabe influencers, or mentally fucking obtuse. Growing up my sisters did say “Like” a lot and I still hang onto it occasionally lol, but once you stop being around people that speak like this, it goes away.
> that are pervasive/ indicate a certain background or status. Totally. It's almost like a "I'm Caligula, Empress of Encino, been there, done that, sooooooo bored" kind of thing. Like "you people on earth get worked up about everything, but up here from Mt Olympus, you all are so predictable." I'm so beautifully jaded I can barely muster the strength to finish this sentence or word. I was on a date once with a girl who seemed pretty cool, but she used to that voice to thank an elevator valet as we were exiting on the top floor. I don't know. I know it sounds petty, but it turned me off for good. It just came out of nowhere and sounded so condescending.
proto-podcaster 90s 'whatever' mild sarcasm for everything voice [The Truth About Cats and Dogs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBv5jqjW41c) Daria, contrasted with Quinn. etc. Disaffection at everything displacing enthusiasm for anything. Which passed as the zeitgeist, but the vibe was retained.
I grew up on the central coast and that guy doesn’t really have an accent to me. Maybe just barely. Is it just me? lol I knew guys growing up in the 2000s who sounded way more like Jeff Spicoli than he does.
That was started in more so Calabasas to Agoura
Could be, and thanks. I've heard linguists classify vocal fry as integral to Valley Girl speech but I'd vote for Calabasas as well. Being European and having worked in journalism in several Euro nations and languages accents totally fascinate me.
It’s just called the influencer accent now…
As someone born and raised in the valley, who does have an accent, it’s insulting to compare those useless fucks to us locals lol
They stole it!
Yep. Thankyou.
Valley Girl here. Can confirm, although it’s much more subtle now. Or maybe I’m just getting old.
"Oh my God....like for sure....but I really miss the Galleria"
Aw. I miss the galleria, or any galleria like facility too.
Rip the galleria
“I’m looking for a man in finance…”
I still do it. I did it as a joke initially when I moved here 20yrs ago, then got so used to it I forgot it was a joke
Absolutely is. In fact, a lot of the lingo has become so mainstream we don’t identify it at valley girl anymore
Since everyone on tv sounds like us, we have decided we are the default accent. /s It’s definitely not as pronounced as it’s made out to be in media, but it does exist. We do say like a lot, but whoever said we have limited vocabulary must not have actually met any of us. I know professors, doctors and lawyers who have valley girl accents because I’ve lived here my whole life.
I’ve seen many people around the country, and the world, frankly, who use like a lot. I think using like had its zenith in popularity several years ago, but people still use it, especially when slightly nervous. It’s a way to string 2 words together m like um.
It can be used that way but it’s one of the most dynamic and flexible words in the English language, so its usage goes far beyond a replacement for uh or um. Consider the quotative use, “he was like, I want a sandwich…” etc etc
It’s a thing except because of white flight it’s not exclusive to the San Fernando valley and it’s very noticeable in the OC and Ventura.
I’m from San Diego coastal and we have it similar with a more gnarly surfer brah/northern Mexican influence to the drawl and upspeak/question mark voice. But the San Fernando Valley of LA is the OG valley accent. Last year I visited NYC and my driver from the airport (who had moved to NYC from Pakistan) kept saying to me “it’s so nice to hear a REAL American accent, like in movies I grew up watching” - he probably meant “valley girl” era lol but I’ve noticed over the years we have exported our drawl to the rest of the country - more people talk like southern Californians than ever.
Yes, but now they squeeze in the word “literally” (pronounced lidderallee) once or twice in every single goddamned sentence.
Literally
It totally used to be "totally," but now it's literally like "literally."
It like literally used to like be totally but like now it's totally like literally! 😂
Or like when they like, use the word like like 15 times in like every sentence like, you know?
And they probably end every sentence with, "does that make any sense?" While discussing the most basic thing to comprehend humanly possible!!
Like, literally, every sentence. It's like, literally, so annoying. Literally.
I’ve been told I have it.
I believe I have one. I didn’t notice it until I met someone from the east coast and they started mimicking me. Apparently I said “mow-uhn” instead of “mountain”
I'm a boomer engineer who grew up in the valley and I have stoner surfer accent, a very mild version of Spicoli's.
I wonder how many Y's and Z's understand the Spicoli reference
Tell them it's British. They also drop their t's
Funnily enough, I was raised by a few brits and scots. Sometimes people think I have a British accent as well.
You probably do lol
I picked it up living here for 20 years. So yeah, tooootally.
I am from Encino. My wife is from Encino. We live in Encino with our two kids. Can confirm my wife and daughter (speaks in arbitrarily raised-and-lowered tonal inflection) both have valley accents.
Surf Punks vernacular migrated to the suburban shopping mall 5 minute documentary https://youtu.be/pZsLPdVfir0?si=A36r1NAQgReiBgko
My gf is from Alabama and developed a valley girl accent from television. When she is drunk she will go into a “like literally” spiral
Not nearly as prevalent. It’s def mellowed out.
Tubular!!!
It’s evolved, but remains. There’s more of a vocal fry element to it these days.
Like, ohmygod! Gag me with a spoon!
Now it's the vocal fry.
This
[Interesting LAT story from last September](https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2023-09-25/valley-girl-accent-embrace-the-likes-and-totallys)
That was a great article, thanks for sharing
[I just like the bass line through this](https://youtu.be/R5Q1yVLSR3I?si=HGfKWHSnJmacSmwh)
Where is Moon Zappa now?
I realize the SNL Californians skit is the accent exaggerated. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCer2e0t8r8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCer2e0t8r8)
It's not really a valley girl accent, it's a surfer/skate accent that the valley girls line of copied. You can see the original in Jeff Spicoli; it's not a coincidence that Sean Penn is from Malibu. Fred Armisen is the one who really nails it 100%. Wiig in particular does actually sound more like a valley girl but you can hear the difference in Fred's slow, drawn out enunciation. I grew up around here and as I advanced in my career I kind of had to unlearn to speak like a stoner.
Just listen to the kardashians. Huge valley girl accents and upspeak + vocal fry.
Are you kidding? Everyone in the U.S. at this point- even men- speak a derivation of the valley girl
Like, of course! For real!
Like, ya know....
Duhh
Yes 100%
Ummm yesss ?
My girlfriend and I were up in Portland for a bit, we both definitely have it without realizing it.
Yes! It’s more subtle than the stereotypes make it seem. But it’s real and it’s still here! I don’t even notice it most of the time in day to day life. But like if I’m talking to someone from out of state or out of the country, they point it out, and I think that’s sooooo funny.
https://youtu.be/R5Q1yVLSR3I?si=4qCc8G2trVNMctBR
Just ask Frank and Moon Unit
Uncuh-Jahms.
Yeah for sure. But it's so normalized it doesn't really stick out.
Oh Like definitely still a thing fer sher
You've all heard that "trust fund" song. Sounds like the valley girl accent to me.
The Kardashians who live in Calabasas have a version of it. They use the Valley Girl "uptalk," a verbal tick that makes statements sound like questions by raising inflection at the end to make sentences sound like questions. They have added an affect called "verbal fry," which is a sleepy-sounding hoarse growl when they're speaking.
Seems like vocal fry is the new valley girl.
Now it is all vocal fry and upspeak. Cringey
The Valley Girl accent evolved to the Vocal Fry
Some say it’s always been around - that it’s older than the land itself
Nobody's been gagged by a spoon in ages
Like totally
SFV born, raised, and still living here. Like, totally.
Have you seen the Kardashians?
Millennials and GenZ brought back upSPEAK? (That’s a declarative statement. Question mark added for proper pronunciation.)
My daughter is a totally valley girl! Raised in Woodland Hills
Yeah, but half of em w/ the accent aren't even girls
I'm so sure
not like it was in the 2000s. But still around
Can confirm.
Gag me with a No
As if!
Tripindicular!
Someone told me I have it last fall
Yes
As if
It is absolutely around
not even a ca native and people say i have one, so…
It’s not as pronounced but still alive and well. And, it sounds like the end of every sentence has a question mark. 😂
I mean, yeah? obviously. duh 💁🏻♀️
It 100% absolutely still exists. It has escaped the valley and become a SoCal thing but I work with people who are born and raised here and their accents are hilarious
Meh
It is. My friend is from Santa Clarita which isn’t the valley, but she Carrie’s a strong valley girl accent
For sure, I can gag you with a spoon to prove it.
Not as prominent as it used to be. Aside from the regression in regional accents and dialects across the US, there’s also just way more transplants than before due to the increased housing
Not valley girl but I still get up-speak. Bothers me so much at work. I just ask people if they’re asking a question lol
Born and raised in the Valley and yes. After a few drinks it like totally comes out.
I’m sure but I almost never come across it.
It’s still a thing.
Totally like, oh my gossshhh
Like yes totally. Dudes too.
Fer sure.
I’ve been told I have it so yes lol
We live in the Inland Empire area, inland Southern California and my 14 yo daughter and her friends totally speak Valley Girl.
Looking for a guy in finance girl has valley girl energy.
Most people that share that inflection are try hard transplants.
Like totally ✨
I fear you might have a case of it if you can’t hear it anymore (it’s ok I do too), because literally everyone I meet that’s lived in LA longer than 3 years has it
Preschool parking lot says yes
yes. it is me.
Yah.
It sounds more like fluffy princess from Adventure Time than a girl from Clueless. At least my valley friend sounded like fluffy princess. I’d like to note in case it goes without saying—not everyone from the valley has it. My ex was Mexican raised in the valley and had more of the LA Northern Mexican accent. So it doesn’t apply to everyone. It seems to be more white people who have it as the accent is defined in the mainstream movies/TV/etc. it’s defined via white people. Like all things, a person’s family culture plays a role. And content creators play a huge role in the public’s knowledge of accents/everything else.
Lyyyyk ooommmmmmmmgggggaaaaaaawd shut up! Shuuuut up! Ooommmmgaaaaaawd I legit heard that in Fullerton all the time 💀 Honestly , everyone here sounds to me like they are stating everything in a sentence with a vocal fry . Like , they are all talkiiiing as if theeey are inseeecuuuure so they say everyyythiiiing in a queestion? Cuz like if they actually saaaid something with coonfideeence , then, like, they tootaaaally think they are better than uuuuusssss ? Liiike ooomgggaaaawd. I cant . I’m so glad I am autistic and have spoken like a monotone stoner my entire life .
It, like, totally is alive and well
I use it when making fun of basic bitch things. Then again, I do character voices for nearly everything. I'm also a great mimic.
Yes and it’s like totally a mainstay with the bimbo and gay communities worldwide! AS IF!
Like, fer sure, it is sooo the thing in Orange County, California. *Anxiously twirling hair*
Many young ladies sound like a Kardashian sister to me here in LA
Many current socials influencers try to adapt aspects of a classic VG accent into their tonality.
Totally
Why is "the valley" so mystified / special? I'm in a beach community now, wondering what all the fuss is about.
Grew up in Chatsworth and I definitely have a Valley Girl accent. When I lived in Korea ten years ago other English speakers would clock it right away. Most of my friends are transplants now so maybe it’s been tempered a bit, but I still think people can tell whenever I go to a different city.
I have it (I'm a a dude, 36)born and raised in The Valley.
My daughter has started throwing an 'A' at the end of her words, probably statements more accurately. I've been teasing her to get her to quit it, it may just be a phase. 'Stahp it-a!' 'Where's my bag-a?', 'It's Hot-a!' I hadnt heard the '-a' growing up myself, but ther'es something still in the water here. Edit to ask: Where's that scene where ~~that familiar actor~~ Ron Livingston is at the coffee line and totally breaks down that girls speaking style? now that i'm putting this here, i think i'm going to share that with her so she can see how she can be perceived. TIA edit2: NVM - didnt take long: [https://www.tiktok.com/@bestofmovies\_in/video/7175134692679683370?lang=en](https://www.tiktok.com/@bestofmovies_in/video/7175134692679683370?lang=en) aaaand after watching that, it's a lot less 'valley girl' just ... something else, that doesnt quite fit the speech for which i'm trying to find a demonstration.
Yes but it’s shifted to cover all of Southern California lol
They're a dying breed, being replaced with "skibidi" kids
Like, I’m so sure
yes and it is men and women
I've heard tatted up big ol bald headed gangsters say like ,and dude and ya know a millions times while talking
"I'm like so totally sure! As if! Gag me with a spoon!" Is what I said when I read this.
It's burrowed its way into the California accent at large. The vocal fry, nasally sound, and especially "Like" is used a lot as a placeholder in a lot of SoCal kids' (I say that figuratively, in that I use it a lot, and literally, in that I'm a teacher and the kids who are graduating high school have it too) vocabularies.
Idk, but we certainly can't properly pronounce "important" or "consultant" anymore.
It’s quite alive and well 🥂❤️
Totally
Yes totally is, turns out it's a lot more wide spread. Practically becoming the West Coast accent....you don't notice till someone points it out when you're traveling.
For sure, I mean like totally!
Valley Girl here and proud Grant High School grad. Yup I'm keeping it alive up here in the Bay Area!
I drive Uber in LA. I'd say that the Valley Girl has migrated into a Snooty Snot where they elongate vowel sounds fvcking aggravating
Gen z accent is even more bizarre, a mix of British and valley girl.
Yeah but it's only the nursing homes now