“That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga

This paper contributes to research on the social meaning of creaky voice in American English by offering an intraspeaker analysis of the speech of Lady Gaga, an American pop star. While pop stars have anecdotally been said to employ creaky voice extensively (Jaslow 2011), few linguists have examined...

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Main Author: Lewis Esposito
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Edinburgh Library 2017-06-01
Series:Lifespans and Styles
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lifespansstyles/article/view/1862
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author Lewis Esposito
author_facet Lewis Esposito
author_sort Lewis Esposito
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description This paper contributes to research on the social meaning of creaky voice in American English by offering an intraspeaker analysis of the speech of Lady Gaga, an American pop star. While pop stars have anecdotally been said to employ creaky voice extensively (Jaslow 2011), few linguists have examined the extent of their use, or what they may be using it to achieve. This study, combining statistics, discourse analysis, and media studies, argues that creaky voice has a core indexical meaning linked to “low emotional energy”, and Lady Gaga draws on this meaning to portray herself as “serious” and “downtrodden”.
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spelling doaj.art-d75df313a3de4ae2b2b793c16db8ee6e2022-12-21T17:15:12ZengUniversity of Edinburgh LibraryLifespans and Styles2057-17202017-06-013221210.2218/ls.v3i2.2017.18621862“That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady GagaLewis EspositoThis paper contributes to research on the social meaning of creaky voice in American English by offering an intraspeaker analysis of the speech of Lady Gaga, an American pop star. While pop stars have anecdotally been said to employ creaky voice extensively (Jaslow 2011), few linguists have examined the extent of their use, or what they may be using it to achieve. This study, combining statistics, discourse analysis, and media studies, argues that creaky voice has a core indexical meaning linked to “low emotional energy”, and Lady Gaga draws on this meaning to portray herself as “serious” and “downtrodden”.http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lifespansstyles/article/view/1862style shiftingintraspeaker variationsociophoneticsindexicalityus english
spellingShingle Lewis Esposito
“That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga
Lifespans and Styles
style shifting
intraspeaker variation
sociophonetics
indexicality
us english
title “That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga
title_full “That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga
title_fullStr “That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga
title_full_unstemmed “That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga
title_short “That’s What It Felt Like, ‘You’re Pathetic’”: Creaky voice, Affective Stance, and Authentication in the Speech of Lady Gaga
title_sort that s what it felt like you re pathetic creaky voice affective stance and authentication in the speech of lady gaga
topic style shifting
intraspeaker variation
sociophonetics
indexicality
us english
url http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lifespansstyles/article/view/1862
work_keys_str_mv AT lewisesposito thatswhatitfeltlikeyourepatheticcreakyvoiceaffectivestanceandauthenticationinthespeechofladygaga