Voice, speech and gender: male-female acoustic differences and cross-language variation in English and French speakers

Many studies were conducted on acoustic differences between female and male voices. However, they were generally led on speakers of only one language, and focused on a single acoustic parameter. The present study is an acoustic analysis of dissyllabic words or pseudo-words produced by Northeastern American English speakers and Parisian French speakers. Resonant frequencies, mean F0, F0 range, VOT, H1-H2 intensity differences and words’ durations were measured. Significant cross-gender differences were obtained for each tested parameter. Moreover, cross-language variations were observed for F0 range, vocalic formants and H1-H2 differences. These results suggest that cross-gender acoustic differences are partly socially constructed and language dependent. Mots-clés : phonétique, voix et genre, différences acoustiques inter-genres, variations inter-langues, français parisien, anglais américains.