The Science NY Times covers the "vocal fry" trend in an article on how young women are the leading edge of linguistic change.
But “language changes very fast,” said Dr. Eckert of Stanford, and most people — particularly adults — who try to divine the meaning of new forms used by young women are “almost sure to get it wrong.”
“What may sound excessively ‘girly’ to me may sound smart, authoritative and strong to my students,” she said.
I love how what conveyed the authority of upper class British men a generation ago is now the way for some young women to show they are beyond caring about it all. I put on quite a show for my Anthropology 105 students today displaying the au courant usage.