Male and Female Voice Quality and Its Relationship to Vowel Formant Frequencies

Speech samples obtained from a group of adult males and females while they articulated the tone produced by a single-frequency electrolarynx were played to a panel of listeners who were asked to determine the sex of each speaker. Formant frequencies for the vowels /i/ and /u/ produced in isolation by the same speakers were obtained by spectrographic analysis. The judges were able to correctly identify the sex of the speakers 88% of the time, and vowel formant frequency averages were closely associated with the degree of male or female quality in these voices. These findings indicate that in the absence of between-subject variations in laryngeal fundamental frequency, a distinct cue to speaker sex may be contained in the individual vocal tract resonances.

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Vowel formant frequency characteristics of preadolescent males and females

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.385343 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 69 (1) ◽

pp. 231-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Suzanne Bennett

Keyword(s):

Frequency Characteristics ◽

Formant Frequency ◽

Vowel Formant ◽

Males And Females

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Rheotaxis Response Based on Sexual Dimorphism in the Green Swordtail Fish, Xiphophorus hellerii

Biota ◽

10.20414/jb.v13i2.298 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 128-139

Author(s):

Muhammad Irsyad Abiyusfi Ghafari ◽

Vita Fitrianti

Keyword(s):

Sexual Dimorphism ◽

Gravid Female ◽

Adult Males ◽

Dioecious Species ◽

Swordtail Fish ◽

Xiphophorus Hellerii ◽

Males And Females ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

Gravid Females ◽

The Individual

Morphological distinctions between males and females of a species are referred to by sexual dimorphism. It may result from various selection pressures affecting either sex or both and may occur in any dioecious species, including Green Swordtail fish, which are sexually reproductive. This study examined the different rheotaxis responses of Xiphophorus hellerii based on different sexes and morphological features. We analyzed ten adult males, ten gravid females, and ten non-gravid females of Xiphophorus helleri collected down the river and transferred into the column. We counted the number of the individual that performed positive rheotaxis (+), negative rheotaxis (-), and indifference response (0). The result showed different rheotaxis responses shown by male, non-gravid female, and gravid female X. hellerii. The highest percentage of positive rheotaxis response (movement against the current) was shown by non-gravid female X. hellerii, reaching up to 89%. Morphological differences between male, non-gravid female, and gravid female X. hellerii appear to affect the orientation and ability of X. hellerii in giving response against current and certainly has an impact on their survival in nature.

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A Comparison of the Contributions of Two Voice Quality Characteristics to the Perception of Maleness and Femaleness in the Voice

Journal of Speech and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.1901.168 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 168-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

Ralph O. Coleman

Keyword(s):

Vocal Tract ◽

Voice Quality ◽

Quality Characteristics ◽

The Other ◽

Female Voice ◽

Basic Difference ◽

Males And Females ◽

Vocal Tract Resonance ◽

Highly Correlated ◽

The Voice

Comparisons were made between the contributions of the fundamental frequency (F 0 ) on one hand, and vocal tract resonances on the other, to a perception of maleness and femaleness in the adult voice. In the first of two experiments, the F 0 of natural voice was found to be very highly correlated with the degree of maleness and femalenesss in the voice. The vocal tract resonances were less highly correlated and it is apparent that in the presence of the natural laryngeal tone, these perceptions are based on the frequency of the F 0 . In the second experiment, a tone produced by a laryngeal vibrator was substituted for the normal glottal tone at simulated F 0 's representing both males (120 Hz) and females (240 Hz). When listeners were asked to identify the sex of the speakers some inconsistency with the findings of the first experiment was seen. The female F 0 was a weak indicator of female voice quality when combined with male vocal tract resonance although the male F 0 retained the perceptual prominence seen in the first experiment. This finding may be indicative of some basic difference in the normal glottal characteristics of males and females.

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Vowel formant frequency characteristics of preadolescent males and females

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.2018125 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 67 (S1) ◽

pp. S25-S26 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Suzanne Bennett

Keyword(s):

Frequency Characteristics ◽

Formant Frequency ◽

Vowel Formant ◽

Males And Females

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Comparison of two methods for normalizing vowel formant frequencies based on estimated vocal tract length.

Journal of the Acoustical Society of Japan (E) ◽

10.1250/ast.1.145 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 145-146

Author(s):

H. Kasuya

Keyword(s):

Vocal Tract ◽

Tract Length ◽

Formant Frequencies ◽

Vowel Formant

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Sexual Dimorphism in the Gut Microbiome

IU Journal of Undergraduate Research ◽

10.14434/iujur.v4i1.24491 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 12-16

Author(s):

Clarissa Ren ◽

Kristyn Sylvia

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Sexual Dimorphism ◽

Social Behavior ◽

Gut Microbiome ◽

Fine Tuning ◽

Adult Males ◽

Gut Microbes ◽

Males And Females ◽

And Behaviors ◽

The Individual

The gut microbiome has received increasing interest in past years due to its link to many diseases and its potential in therapy. One often-overlooked and newer area of research is the sexual dimorphism in the gut microbiome, and how it relates to the sex differences in behavior, diseases, and the underlying makeup between that of males and females. Reviewing the literature has demonstrated that in several organisms, adult males and females do naturally have different compositions of gut microbes. Differences between the sexes in gut microbiome have also been correlated with differences between the sexes in social behavior and various disorders. A thorough understanding of sexual dimorphism in the gut microbiome is crucial to designing better studies, understanding the mechanism of the diseases and behaviors tied to the sexual dimorphism in the microbiome, and fine-tuning more precise treatments that account for the sex of the individual.

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Variation of Formant Frequency with Nepalese Vowels

BMC Journal of Scientific Research ◽

10.3126/bmcjsr.v3i1.40177 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 16-21

Author(s):

S.K. Adhikari

Keyword(s):

Vocal Tract ◽

Free Field ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Initial Position ◽

Frequency Range ◽

Linear Predictive Coding ◽

Formant Frequency ◽

Formant Frequencies ◽

Speech Spectrum ◽

Shape And Size

The regions of speech spectrum in which the frequency corresponds to relatively large amplitude are known as formants. For any vocalic sounds, number of formants may occur in the frequency range 0 to 4000 Hz. The formant frequencies of speech sounds are directly depending up on the shape and size of vocal tract. The aim of study was to study the variation of formant frequency with Nepalese vowels. Ten Nepalese vowels word in initial position /VC/ as spoken three times by 10 male and 10 female Nepali speakers were recorded in system in the free field of partially acoustically treated room. PRRAT software is used to digitize and analyze the data. Linear predictive coding (LPC) spectra were obtained for each of vowels and formant frequencies were measured. By plotting curve between formant frequencies and vowels, explain their variation.

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A Note on Vowel Centralization in Stuttering and Nonstuttering Individuals

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jslhr.4105.1042 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 1042-1051 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Michael Blomgren ◽

Michael Robb ◽

Yang Chen

Keyword(s):

Vocal Tract ◽

Group Discussion ◽

Treated Group ◽

Control Group ◽

Adult Males ◽

Formant Frequency ◽

Frequency Spacing ◽

Analysis Scheme ◽

Vowel Space ◽

And Control

Inferences were made regarding vocal tract vowel space during fluently produced utterances through examination of the first two formant frequencies. Fifteen adult males served as subjects, representing separate groups of untreated and treated individuals who stutter and nonstuttering controls. The steady-state portion of formant one (F1) and formant two (F2) was examined in the production of various CVC tokens containing the vowels /i/, /u/, and /α/. Vocal tract vowel space was estimated three ways. The first analysis scheme involved measurement of formant frequency spacing. The second measure involved calculating the area of the vowel space triangle. The third measure was based on calculating the average Euclidean distance from each subject's midpoint "centroid" vocal tract position to the corresponding /i/, /u/, and /α/ points on the vowel triangle. The formant frequency spacing measures proved to be most revealing of group differences, with the untreated stutterers showing significantly greater vowel centralization than the treated group and control group. Discussion focuses on the vocal tract articulation characterizing fluent speech productions and possible treatment implications for persons who stutter.

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The Singing Voice

The Oxford Handbook of Voice Perception ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198743187.013.6 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 116-142

Author(s):

Johan Sundberg

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Vocal Tract ◽

Voice Quality ◽

Vocal Folds ◽

Sound Level ◽

Vowel Sound ◽

Formant Frequency ◽

Voice Source ◽

Subglottal Pressure ◽

The Voice

The sound quality of singing is determined by three basic factors—the air pressure under the vocal folds (or the subglottal pressure), the mechanical properties of the vocal folds, and the resonance properties of the vocal tract. Subglottal pressure is controlled by the respiratory apparatus. It regulates vocal loudness and is varied with pitch in singing. Together with the mechanical properties of the folds, which are controlled by laryngeal muscles, it has a decisive influence on vocal fold vibrationswhich convert the tracheal airstream to a pulsating airflow, the voice source. The voice source determines pitch, vibrato, and register, and also the overall slope of the spectrum. The sound of the voice source is filtered by the resonances of the vocal tract, or the formants, of which the two lowest determine the vowel quality and the higher ones the personal voice quality. Timing is crucial for creating emotional expressivity; it uses an acoustic code that shows striking similarities to that used in speech. The perceived loudness of a vowel sound seems more closely related to the subglottal pressure with which it was produced than with the acoustical sound level. Some investigations of acoustical correlates of tone placement and variation of larynx height are described, as are properties that affect the perceived naturalness of synthesized singing. Finally, subglottal pressure, voice source, and formant-frequency characteristics of some non-classical styles of singing are discussed.

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