On 3/12/2014 1:14 PM, Michael Shoshani wrote:
> On 03/12/2014 01:48 PM, Malcolm Rockwell wrote:
>> Hmmm... So (har), the latest phenomenon I've noticed is something called
>> "creak speak" and it's extremely annoying to me. It is when the
>> speaker's voice croaks at the end of a word or phrase.
>
> Oh, yes. This phenomenon is, for reasons I can't really fathom,
> popularly known as "vocal fry".

It's been a standard vocal ornament among traditional Appalachian 
singers for generations. Interesting that it's moving into a new context.

And Tom, it's not just "Coddled" twenty-somethings that are beginning 
their sentences with "So". I'm hearing it as much f4om 50-year old 
biochemists being interviewed as I am from youngsters. It seems to be a 
genuine linguistic shift, and if what's being said on this list is true, 
its ambit is much wider than NPR.

Peace,
Paul