The Influence Of Certain Vowel Types On Degree Of Harsh Voice Quality

Abstract

15 adult males whose voices had been judged to exhibit harsh voice qualities read 6 passages on magnetic tape. The vowel content of each passage was controlled and belonged to the front, back, high, low, tense, and lax categories. The samples were judged on a seven-point scale by a group of 35 observers. High vowels were perceived as less harsh than low vowels and lax vowels were perceived as less harsh than tense vowels. Other differences in the perception of harsh voice quality were noted.