www.theotherpress.ca

OPINIONS.



Got too much on your plate?

Save some room
for dessert

Elliot
Chan
Opinions Editor

bs opinions@theotherpress.ca

S° now you're popular; or

at least, people are starting
to expect more from you.
Responsibilities, commitments,
deadlines, schoolwork, part-
time jobs, and relationships.
When you do have free time
these days, it fills up pretty
quickly. Nobody has to point it
out to you—after all, you feel it
from the strain of carrying the
world on your back—but they
do anyways: you look tired and
it can’t be ignored. How did this
happen? How did you get so
much on your plate?

It’s not a question of how,
but rather a question of why.
Those with too much going on
have made a conscious choice
to say “Yes” more, and by
doing so, they’re receiving more
opportunities. The result is far
from the worst-case scenario.
Sure, you’re thrashing about in
the deep end, but what better
way is there to learn to swim?
Don’t be distracted by the
competition; you set your own

bars in life.

You are being productive
and there is a clear path of
progress, but the weight of it all
can be damaging. You want to
do more, but you're afraid the
standard of your work and the
quality of your relationships will
diminish, while the amount of
rest you get will start depleting.
Don’t panic yet: the crisis is all
in your head.

Pick your battles. You'll
want to do everything,
and that’s respectable, but
sometimes it’s impossible.
Prioritize your work, and ask
yourself what's most important
to you. Sure, money and
reputation are important, but
it’s still your life and you get to
determine how it plays out. Do
you want a promotion at work
or do you want to ace an exam?
Do you want to spend more
time with the family or do you
want to earn a little bit more
for a vacation? Understand
what you are working for: by
having a clear goal, you can
then choose the most pertinent
task and accomplish it. Focus
on one thing at a time, and if
work falls to the back burner,
acknowledge it, communicate
it, but don’t ignore the loss;
someone is always willing to
help you or forgive you, as long

as you vocalize your issues.
Your passion will decide what
is most important—not your
friends, family, instructors, or
employers.

Covering your ass is not
a bad habit. A little safety net
while you work can help reduce
stress. Always communicate
with clients, employers, and
everyone else in your life.
Update them on the progress
of work—honesty is the best
policy. If they don’t appreciate
you then, in my opinion, they
aren’t worth working for or
hanging around with. Keep
the onus on you, and don’t be
pushed around by others. Work

hard, but do it because you want

to do it, not because someone
else demands it.
Treat yourself, because after

a long day of toiling, you'll need

to recharge. Take a breather or
a day off. Work and school are
important, but you need to find
time for friends and family.

Watch a movie, go on a trip, and

make plans that will break you
from the norm. Schedule them
in and treat those enjoyable
obligations like they’re a paying
job, because when it’s all said
and done, that is what you’re
really working for: the sweet
reaping of fun.

Pretty fly for a vocal fry

Why young womens
speech Is innovative,
not annoying

Sharon Miki, Columnist

here are a lot of things

that are almost universally
admired about young women:
smooth skin, fertile wombs,
etc. One aspect of young
womanhood that I’ve noticed
being critiqued more and
more, though, is how we
speak. According to research
published in the Journal
of Voice, two out of three
college-aged women speaking
Standard American English
use a vocal fry—and according
to popular media, it’s really
annoying to listen to.

Even if you don’t know it

by name, if you've ever heard a

Kardashian woman speak or if
you've ever listened to Britney
Spears pontificate on how “oh

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”
she did it again, you're already
familiar with extreme examples
of vocal fry. In fact, if you're
interacting with your female
college peers, you've probably
heard some frying language

on campus—or have used it
yourself.

Vocal fry is a speech
mannerism in which your
speech reaches a low register in
a staccato vibration. Basically, it
sounds like a low, raspy growl.
While the vocal fry pattern
has been on linguists’ radars
for decades, the speech trend
of vocal frying—particularly
among young women at the
end of their sentences—has
come under scrutiny only
recently as they’ve noticed an
increase in the vocal behaviour
that is largely centred on the
social group of young western
women.

Critics of vocal fry argue
that the guttural nature of the
intonation gives the speaker
an air of disinterest (i.e. that
you're “so over ittt”) or a “sexy

baby” intonation that shouldn’t
be taken seriously. And,
because the major proponents
of this style of speech are
young women—a group in
society that is often dismissed
as lacking substance—there is
a general consensus that girls
who speak with vocal fry are
ditzy or annoying.

However, while the
cultural behaviour of young
girls is often written off as
inherently insipid, shifts in
social speech patterns have
historically been linked to
originating in young women.
In a piece published in the
New York Times, linguistics
professor Penny Eckert
acknowledged the dismissive
attitude directed towards girls’
speech mannerisms: “A lot of
these really flamboyant things
you hear are cute, and girls
are supposed to be cute...[b]
ut they’re not just using them
because they’re girls. They’re
using them to achieve some
kind of interactional and
stylistic end.”

HSC ARON yey

Indeed, Nassima Abdelli-
Beruh, speech scientist and an
author of the Journal of Voice
study, defends young women’s
use of perceived-as-annoying
vocal trends as “a tool to
convey something... for them,
it is as a cue.”

Linguistics professor,
Carmen Fought, adds that
“If women do something
like uptalk or vocal fry, it’s
immediately interpreted as
insecure, emotional, or even
stupid, [but the] truth is this:
young women take linguistic
features and use them as
power tools for building
relationships.”

Just because a method of
speech is unfamiliar doesn’t
mean it’s wrong; just because
young women are pioneering
something doesn’t mean it’s
worthless. While many people
found touch-screen phones
confusing, and irritating at first,
as more and more innovators
utilized the technology, they
became a cornerstone of
modern culture. Similarly,



instead of writing off girl-talk
because it sounds unfamiliar,

we should look at why it has

become a trend.

Some linguists suggest
that women use the lower,
deeper tones of vocal fry as a
subtle and almost unconscious
assertion of social power
among dominant, deeper
male voices. | find myself
using vocal fry when I want
to emphasize a point or a
joke—and my points and jokes
are often worth hearing, so
I concur that it’s worth it to
frame them ina sly speech
mannerism. Even if you find
me annoying, you'll most
likely hear me.

I’ma young, educated
woman, and if I want to speak
with a certain intonation, you
should listen and observe—
it’s probably going to be how
everyone's talking in a few
years. But, I mean, whatever.
Do what you want.

I’m overrrr itttt.

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