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Porthos · Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:28 am Post subject: California Vowel Shift

What is it? I've read about, but I honestly can't identify it in people's speech. I live in California and frequently travel all around the state, and I don't notice a difference between the speech of Californians and those of other states like Arizona, Nevada, or New Mexico. Can someone provide an audio link so I can hear this "vowel-shift" in action? Or please try to explain it to me.
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Lazar · Expert Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 174

This website describes the characteristics of the CVS, with recordings. Basically it involves a lot of vowels moving around: [ɪ] starts moving toward [ɛ], [ɛ] starts moving toward [æ], [æ] starts moving toward [a], and [ɑ] starts moving toward [ɒ]. [ʊ] starts moving toward [ə], [ʌ] starts moving toward [ɛ], [u] can be fronted and unrounded, becoming [ʉ] or [ɨ], and in the most progressive forms [oʊ] can be fronted, becoming more like [ɛʊ]. The CVS was first noticed, and is found in its most advanced form, in the so-called "Valley Girl" accent of affluent teenage girls from Southern California. It's often the case that young female speakers are the most progressive - in other words, the leaders of language change. The CVS has started to affect a greater number of people, but usually it's found in a transitional form. A lot of people may just have some of the characteristics. (It would be rare to hear the shift in its "completed" or most progressive form.) There was this Californian guy named Kirk who used to post at Antimoon and Langcafe, and he said that he had a transitional form of the CVS.

Porthos · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:12 am Post subject:

Ah yes, that link was helpful. But this is mainly referring to the "valley girl" talk, spoken only by preppy, upper-class white teenage girls. I would not say it is widespread enough in California for one to say that California in general has a different accent from that of bordering states like Nevada or Arizona or Oregon.
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Porthos · Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:06 pm Post subject:

I've been doing a lot of introspective thinking as of late, and the more I think about, I realize that I myself have a tendency to partake in this "California Vowel Shift" at times. I only seem to go into this "mode" when I'm speaking with white teenagers, who are part of certain sub-cultures, like the "emo kids", surfers/skaters, etc. When I'm speaking to adults or to people of other ethnic backgrounds, I don't normally fall into this vowel shift when I speak.

I must point out one thing however. This vowel shift popular among some sub-cultures of teenagers is not limited to California. It is just as common in Nevada, Oregon, and Arizona, and Washington, all places that I've been to. I've travelled extensively in Arizona and stayed in Phoneix for weeks at a time, and I lived in Nevada for 3 years, so I would know. The vast majority of Californians though, do not use this vowel shift. It seems to be something limited to certain sub-cultures of middle-class youth, who no longer use this intentionally put-on accent once they've entered adulthood, particularly once they're out of college and in the adult world. Otherwise they might be stereotyped as a surfer-stoner bum, or an airhead valley girl.
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Elaine · Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 11:56 pm Post subject:

I hadn't really paid much attention to this CVS phenomenon before, but lately I've been noticing a lot of people around me-- teens and adults, gueros and hispanics-- shifting their vowels all over the place: 'al lay' for L.A. (our mayor gets a lot of flack for this), 'sal-uh-brate' for celebrate, 'bad' for bed, 'betch' for bitch, etc. Grates on my nerves.