California 17

Listen to California 17, a 27-year-old woman from Castro Valley, California, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject. 

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 27

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 28/12/1995

PLACE OF BIRTH: Castro Valley, California

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: White/Anglo-Saxon

OCCUPATION: digital marketer

EDUCATION: bachelor of arts degree

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

The subject has never lived outside California. She was born and raised in Castro Valley, California. She went to college in San Jose, California, but came home on some weekends and holidays.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The subject’s maternal grandparents were first-generation German immigrants. They did not learn English until they immigrated to California. She spent a lot of time around them growing up. The subject has also had some vocal training in the form of private and group singing lessons and acting classes.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Subject

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 20/04/2023

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I was born in the East Bay, east San Francisco Bay Area, in a town called Castro Valley. And I lived there, um, until I went to college when I was, um, 18. I went down to San Jose, California, so not too far, um, and lived there during the semesters. But I, I frequently returned home to Castro Valley on weekends and for breaks. Then, when I was 26, I moved out to Livermore, California, which is also in the Bay Area, and that is where I’m living currently.

Um, my mom’s parents were from Germany. They migrated to California when a little bit before she was born, um, and I spent a lot of time around them when I was growing up, and they both had, uh, pretty heavy German accents, although they did, uh, speak English very well, um, as they had been in the United States for almost 30 years when I was born. Um, and, yeah, my mom and dad were both raised in mostly California, though my dad was also, uh, raised, eh, partly in Phoenix, um, and lived in a variety of other places growing up, but, uh, most of his time was in in Phoenix, Arizona, or, uh, Southern California, um, and my mom was raised entirely in in the Bay Area as well.

Um, I took German in high school, um, so I speak that conversationally. I also have, uh, spent quite a bit of time learning Italian. Um, I’ve, uh, received some vocal training, uh, through choir and private singing instruction, um, and I have also done a lot of, uh, acting on stage as well, um. So I, I think I typically speak a little bit clearer than some people in, in my, uh, demographic, although when I’m just relaxed talking, it’s, uh, not as obvious, um, and I’ve been told that I tend to speak a little fast and loud, um, but that’s just I have a lot to say. And yeah, that’s, that’s me.

TRANSCRIBED BY: Subject

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 20/04/2023

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY: N/A

COMMENTARY BY: N/A

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

The archive provides:

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• Text of the speakers’ biographical details.

• Scholarly commentary and analysis in some cases.

• In most cases, an orthographic transcription of the speakers’ unscripted speech.  In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).  The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages are Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage) and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings).

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