Valleyspeak or Valspeak is an American sociolect, originally of the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, in particular Valley girls. This sociolect, which most likely originated in the 1970s, became an international fad for a certain period. Many phrases and elements of Valleyspeak, along with surfer slang and skateboarding slang, have become stable elements of the California English dialect lexicon, and in some cases wider American English (such as the widespread use of "like" as a discourse marker).