Awful speech

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Robbadob

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzHIs7j1CCs
Do American teenagers actually speak speak in this virtually unintelligible manner? Do they never articulate their words properly?
Here's what I caught:

L: hey, wassup
L: How was that party the other night?
R: It was alright, but there was this guy and he was with his girlfriend and he was trying to get something she didn't wanna do.
L: so what did you do about it?
R: I didn't do anything
L: Woah, what?
L: guys, don't be like my friend here who didn't do anything, not doing anything is part of the problem.
 

Rover_KE

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It's not only American teenagers who talk like that among themselves – it's the common patois of most young people in the English-speaking world, and I bet it's the same in every other language, too.
 

GoesStation

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… he was trying to get her to do something she didn't wanna do.
 

GoesStation

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And as Rover_KE said, many adolescents and young adults slur their speech. Their parents did the same at that age.
 

GoesStation

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It's not only American teenagers who talk like that among themselves – it's the common patois of most young people in the English-speaking world, and I bet it's the same in every other language, too.
I stayed at an AirBnB in France in December. The apartment was occupied by a woman and her eighteen-year-old son. I had many pleasant conversations with them — but the son's contributions consisted largely of grunts and mumbles. Looking back, I'm pleased that I was able to understand his barely-enunciated French. :)
 

Skrej

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I wonder if it isn't some aspects of their accent that are troubling you as well. They have a strong Rhode Island accent (similar to a Boston accent), all of which are variants of New England English, which struck me more than the actual teenager slurring. Listen to his pronunciation of 'party' as something more like 'pahdy' - something linguists refer to as non-rhotic.

Compare it to the guy in this clip, who is also from Rhode Island.

Also, the main speaker (black shirt) is chewing gum while talking, which also doesn't help with enunciation.:roll: By the time you add in the teenage slur, it's a wonder anyone can understand them.

This PSA obviously only aired on a few local stations, and was targeted at a very specific audience - those that could understand them!
 
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