Why don't men speak like they did back in the day?

Some guys still speak well, usually when they clean up to go out in a group where their parents or bosses will be.

There was a time though when I thought I’d never again meet a male who didn’t refer to me (female) as, “dude…”.

Hmmn… I’m not sure if that’s ever been a natural way of speech for the general masses. I know royalty is expected to speak differently than the majority of their subjects and east coast moguls of the 1800’s sought to emulate that but the rest? Hmmn.

Whose this Ward Cleaver dude huh?

No, milady. : )

I always thought it was a condescending. If we are thinking of the same thing.

Do you mean like The Geico Question Guy? It is rather sexy…sort of like James Earl Jones’ voice even when reading the lyrics to a Justin Bieber song.

If I had to take a wild guess, it might have something to do with the feminist movement, when women were asking for men to get over the macho facade and allow their feelings out.

I think I’m going to start talking like that.

Actually, I think that style of speaking is an affectation specifically put on for the purpose of broadcasting. I doubt men on the street spoke that way in the 1950’s.

I’ll either talk like that, or a fast talking news reporter.

I always thought that was just show for big names. I’ve noticed it less and less in movies that came out after the mid-Fifties because, I think, realist acting, the kind Marlon Brando introduced, became more popular. But @Pied_Pfeffer‘s comment makes just as much sense, I may just be making Brando’s contribution to America, and the World!, a much bigger thing. I don’t know. I’ll just “do more research” and sell my soul to the Netflix-god, which I might just do anyways.

Do you mean in a low voice?

I agree with @drdoombot. In fact when I heard the guy on the Geico commercials, I immediately thought he was channeling Rod Serling, because I’ve never heard anyone else speak with that stilted cadence, even in the 1950s (my first decade). OK, maybe the actor Robert Stack (“The Untouchables” tv show) but that’s about it.

Language drifts and evolves over time. Spoken language seems to be getting more and more informal, while vocabulary and grammar have been degenerating steadily. I’ve observed this equally with both geneders, so it’s not specifically a guy thing.

I’m sure every generation in history has said the same thing: “Kids these days…”

Those guys didn’t text, or use the internet lol.

Most of my writing is in that pattern, and it’s represented by my extravagant use of commas, ;-)

Would you consider, William Shatner’s intro to Star Trek, to be an example, of that, pattern?

I was made fun of once for sounding too much like Shatner.

And then I was also called pedantic. Of course at the time I had no idea what the word meant. It was perfect watching the person who called me pedantic squirm while they defined it for me, and trying not to sound like the definition themselves. :D

Some men still do, but are usually ridiculed because that stilted cadence sounds unnatural to modern ears. Think Horatio Cane from CSI Miami. David Caruso definitely attended the Shatner school of acting. But like you, I enjoy it and wish more men spoke like that.

@everephebe

In your recording, you sound like Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack.

@Brian1946 Yeah, he stole my thing, I wasn’t offended though as it’s “the highest” form of flattery. I actually move like that too. He just exaggerated everything. :D

So you don’t mean speaking with authority?

@noelleptc ::
My intention,
when I said,
condescending,
was that,
it was spoken,
with pauses,
so the women,
could understand it.

@noelleptc :: But there is a audience.

Who says we don’t, dollface?

*puffs cigar

@noelleptc and you’ve got that classy chassis, so why don’t you come fly with me?

I am a man and I have just started speaking like this. It is so funny reading this post. I realized that women are always trying to connect and be expressive when they speak to me, (even with the smiles in texts). Being a man, I, nor any of my friends, ever bothered to layer that in. So now when I am speaking to people, I am considering how to convey emotions. You are literally listening to a man trying to match the depth of feminine conversation. The halts are internal problem solving.