Hearing is believing, so pay attention to these actresses’ voice intonations at the end of their sentences:

The creaky, gravelly voice you hear at the end of each sentence is known as “vocal fry,” and the actresses, Alison Becker and Katie Von Till, did a fine job of illustrating it in this Realtor.com TV commercial dubbed, ‘Socialites.’ Most linguists believe that vocal fry is the 21st century successor to other forms of speech patterns like the “ValSpeak” and “Surfer Dude” trends of the 1980s. To our ear, it sounds like the opposite of the dreaded “up turn” or “up speak” style of speech, the one that makes every declarative sentences sound like a question.

We hate that?

Lesley Wolk, an associate professor of communication disorders at Connecticut State University, speculates on its source. “Some people believe that it originated as a way to emulate pop stars, such as Brittany Spears and Kim Kardashian …known to use fry when performing,” says Wolk. “Another hypothesis is that the deeper pitch is a way for young women to be taken more seriously or to be heard.”

Whatever (written in our best Valley Girl voice).

This has virtually nothing to do with dogs, but the topic popped into our heads as we watched the commercial. We wondered if the spot would have the same impact if the women were speaking youth slang, and the dog was a World’s Ugliest Dog contestant. We’re guessing not.  Though it reeks stereotyping, and whether we like it or not, a dog’s breed (or lack of) can make a statement. A Pomeranian (and many small purebred dogs, thank you, Paris Hilton) is often perceived as a pampered dog, and the perception of being pampered is that it equates to wealth.

It’s an amusing commercial, but we’ve always maintained that commercials and print advertising – and the dogs used in them – offer interesting insights into the culture.