The Pitch And Duration Characteristics Of Superior Female Speakers During Oral Reading

Abstract

Six carefully chosen superior women speakers read a 55-word prose passage under controlled exptl. conditions. The data were compared to those previously reported for superior male speakers on the same material. Women''s voices were pitched approx. two-thirds of an octave above men''s voices. Voices of women were less variable in pitch than those of men. The mean extents of phonations, inflections, and shifts were found to be slightly less for women than for men, upward shifts exceeding downward shifts. Women''s voices were found to have a less rapid mean rate of pitch change. Women''s voices were found to have notably shorter mean durations of phonation. Both male and female subjects used pitches below their singing range while talking.