| Páxinas no tema: [1 2] > | Off topic: Different language, different voice register? Persoa que publicou o fío: Arianne Farah
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Does anyone (male or female) notice that they speak in different registers depending on the language? For example when I speak English my voice is high pitched and when I speak French it is much more guttural If I speak English in my "Fr voice" I sound like a man and when I speak French in my "En voice" I sound like a cartoon character Is it me? Does anyone else cha... See more Does anyone (male or female) notice that they speak in different registers depending on the language? For example when I speak English my voice is high pitched and when I speak French it is much more guttural If I speak English in my "Fr voice" I sound like a man and when I speak French in my "En voice" I sound like a cartoon character Is it me? Does anyone else change vocal register dramatically from one language to the next. I'm just curious because I find it hilarious and I've never seen it discussed elsewhere! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jack Doughty 
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:02
Russian to English
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En recordo | Yes, deeper in Russian | Dec 15, 2009 |
When I speak Russian (very rarely!) I do so in a deeper tone. Though my spoken Russian is not fluent, I have been told my accent is good, probably because I spent 27 years listening to Russian at BBC Monitoring.
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I always drop at least one tone when I pass from English to French and it changes again in my other languages. I much prefer my "French" voice to my "English" one...
| | | | Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 05:02
Membro (2006)
Dutch to German
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| yes, higher in French | Dec 15, 2009 |
I (male) just tried it out: I'm speaking in a significantly higher register in French compared to German, English or Dutch (for which I seem to be using more or less the same pitch).
[Bearbeitet am 2009-12-15 08:32 GMT]
[Bearbeitet am 2009-12-15 08:32 GMT]
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| Different Voice register | Dec 15, 2009 |
Good morning Ananne,
What a fun and interesting topic.
I compared Dutch, Spanish and English. My Dutch is definitely heavier, lower with a tendency to roll my 'r' and to me my Spanish and English seem to have the same voice register, perhaps Spanish a bit higher than English.
I also speak a dialect from Suriname, Sranan Tongo. The voice register there seems the same as the English. Not surprising because this dialect is an English based creole dialect.... See more Good morning Ananne,
What a fun and interesting topic.
I compared Dutch, Spanish and English. My Dutch is definitely heavier, lower with a tendency to roll my 'r' and to me my Spanish and English seem to have the same voice register, perhaps Spanish a bit higher than English.
I also speak a dialect from Suriname, Sranan Tongo. The voice register there seems the same as the English. Not surprising because this dialect is an English based creole dialect.
Do I see here for you a scholarly paper in the making ?
Thanks for sharing this.
Greetings from a rainy Suriname
Lucinda ▲ Collapse
| | | | Marie Weber
Germany
Local time: 05:02
Membro (2008)
English to German
| Indeed an interesting topic | Dec 15, 2009 |
I just noticed this phenomenon the other day when a friend played a message I´d left on his answering machine in my presence. While it´s strange enough to hear me talking on tape in my native tongue (German), listening to my English was an odd thing. Not only in a different pitch, but - strangely - I do speak a lot quicker than I do when talking German.
But then it usually feels odd to hear other people - whos native ´voice´ you got used to - speak in a different language, if it... See more I just noticed this phenomenon the other day when a friend played a message I´d left on his answering machine in my presence. While it´s strange enough to hear me talking on tape in my native tongue (German), listening to my English was an odd thing. Not only in a different pitch, but - strangely - I do speak a lot quicker than I do when talking German.
But then it usually feels odd to hear other people - whos native ´voice´ you got used to - speak in a different language, if it is one that you know very well and feel comfortable in. Still the same person, but something seems...a little off. So why should it be different for myself?
Greetings from snowy Munich,
Marie ▲ Collapse
| | | | Arianne Farah
Canada
Local time: 23:02
English to French
INICIO DE TEMA | Glad everyone finds it interesting :-) | Dec 15, 2009 |
I wonder if there are any implications for voice recognition (as in patterns and echelon-type security programs).
@Lucinda, I never even considered the possibility of this being a research subject though if it has not been addressed before in academia it could be interesting and I'll be sure to keep it on my mental back burner for when I start taking classes again I also speak some Mandarin but not enough to have a "... See more
| | | | Rebekka Groß (X)
Local time: 04:02
English to German
I noticed this phenomenon as well: When I speak English, my voice is higher, but deeper when I speak German. Even my English-only speaking partner can hear the difference.
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David Russi
United States
Local time: 21:02
English to Spanish
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| No question about it | Dec 15, 2009 |
I first noticed this in myself many, many years ago, but I have also observed it in my wife, my daughters, and many other people who speak more than one language.
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My Spanish is a bit higher. Also, local (and other) place and street names come out with true accent when speaking Spanish, but with English (NY) accent when speaking Spanish. Arequipa vs. Airy Quipa, Wheel-sone vs. Wilsun, etc.
| | | | Clare Barnes
Sweden
Local time: 05:02
Swedish to English
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My partner's voice is much deeper when he speaks in Swedish, as is my son's (and his voice hasn't broken yet). My partner is a native Swedish speaker and my son completely bilingual. I'm fairly sure that my native English voice is a little higher than my Swedish voice, but not by much.
My son also pronounces his name differently depending on whether he's speaking Swedish or English, which never ceases to amuse me!
| | | | Amy Duncan (X)
Brazil
Local time: 01:02
Portuguese to English
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I speak in exactly the same tone range in English and Portuguese. Go figure!
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LittleGreen
Finland
Local time: 06:02
Japanese to Finnish
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| Very different! | Dec 15, 2009 |
Yes, I noticed this a long time ago. My friends and I have had many laughs thanks to the phenomenon.
Finnish female voice is rather on the lower side, and contrasts greatly to Japanese females who often have a very high-pitched voice (especially at formal situations). I speak considerable higher in Japanese. I always thought it might be because of an unconscious effort to try to sound more like native speakers, even while I make a conscious effort to not speak as high as Japanese wo... See more Yes, I noticed this a long time ago. My friends and I have had many laughs thanks to the phenomenon.
Finnish female voice is rather on the lower side, and contrasts greatly to Japanese females who often have a very high-pitched voice (especially at formal situations). I speak considerable higher in Japanese. I always thought it might be because of an unconscious effort to try to sound more like native speakers, even while I make a conscious effort to not speak as high as Japanese women!
My English and German voices are also very different from my regular Finnish voice, although it's more difficult to find a reason why, as I don't think the registers are that different. It could be because the phonemes are a little different.
It'd be interesting to read a research made on this topic. Maybe it'd reveal the reason behind the change!
@Clare Barnes: I also pronounce my name differently when speaking English. I've tried my best to keep the Finnish way, but it's impossible! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | An attempt to explain the phenomenon | Dec 16, 2009 |
I think it's not a specific language feature but rather our approach to the language. The better we know the language the lower the pitch and, probably, also the lower the voice. In other words, I think for a foreign language we use a higher pitch and loader voice, because subconsciously we are less self-confident and try to be better understood that way. Of course, there are also some language-specific reasons to change the pitch, for example the speed or musical stress.
| | | | juvera
Local time: 04:02
English to Hungarian
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| Imitating the natives | Dec 18, 2009 |
I think the reason is that certain languages seem to occupy a higher pitch region than others, and we subconsciously imitate that when we speak.
When I first came to England, I felt that at least half of the female population was virtually squeaking. Males - having a deeper tone - came across more naturally, but perhaps more of them spoke with a lighter, higher voice than I was used to.
I am sure I adapted to it myself, and now I don't notice it any more.
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I speak with a higher pitch than québécois but those two are miles away from my English speaking voice. 
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