Speech effect

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The speech effect deals with information about our communication partners that they provide us with in everyday communication through their voice and way of speaking .

Each voice is individual, so that you can usually determine the identity of the speaking person after just a few syllables without seeing them. It also gives us a lot of other information. Gender, age or the current emotional state are just a few facts that the voice and the way of speaking convey to us.

If one wants to deal with speech effects research, one must first look at the basics of spoken language. These include linguistics , phonetics , acoustics , ENT medicine , AI research and the psychological factors. These components of the communication chain form the basis of speech effects research.

Speech effect for gender and age

In everyday oral communication, many clues reveal themselves to us in a person's speech effect. Some of this transmitted information tells us about a person's gender and age.

gender

There are a number of individual distinctions between all speakers. However, systematic differences can also be found between the sexes. This means that we can pretty much pinpoint gender based on someone's voice. An important point can be made out in biology. Men have stronger and longer vocal folds than women and therefore speak with a lower pitch. This is measured in Hertz . The ratio between men and women is 120 to 220.

But people are not stuck in their pitch. The basic frequency of the voice can be changed by tensing the muscles in the larynx area. In the 1980s, a trend began after lower voices should have a more positive effect on speakers on television and radio. A deeper voice generated trust and competence. Over the past 50 years it has been observed that the voices of women who speak frequently in public have deepened.

Very deep female voices are usually classified as too male by men. The strong contrast of a high “little girl's voice” is also viewed negatively. In 2006 there was an investigation by Jana Zscheischler which showed that women in the media do not have the same effect as their male counterparts. When interviewing listeners and viewers of various audiovisual media, 40% said they preferred male moderators. The remaining 60% didn't care. None of the respondents preferred a woman to speak.

There is almost no limit to the depth of the voice for men. In the vast majority of cases, a deep voice is interpreted positively for you. Men who are above the normal range of voices no longer appear so relaxed, kind and credible to people. They are more likely to be accused of exertion, insecurity and excitement.

Age

When a person ages, this leads to ossification in the larynx. As a result, the movements of the larynx cartilage are no longer as fluid as in younger people. This process changes the position of the vocal folds. These changes occur much earlier in men than in women.

The signs of age that affect the voice are not always due to age, but often also to a person's state of health.

Voice and personality

In the 1930s, researchers began investigating the relationship between personality and voice. However, these results should be treated with caution, as there were clear concepts for personality psychology only in the 1960s. Therefore, when observing the voice and the voice effect, it was not possible to refer to any existing template on personality. However, there are precise studies of vocal characteristics. The results of Fährmann (1956) are outstanding. The methodical approach that is still valid today was initiated by Klaus Scherer.

The human ear is extremely sensitive when it comes to picking up voices. Almost everyone is able to judge from a person's first few sentences whether the corresponding voice is pleasant or not. If you research this area more closely and inquire about the sound of the voice, it is possible for many to characterize it quite clearly with the help of ready-made adjectives. There are five dimensions ( Big Five ) in personality research into which personality traits are incorporated. Extraversion , neuroticism , openness to experience, conscientiousness and tolerance. The first two elements are said to be particularly important for research into the effects of speech. Some vocal characteristics have already been assigned to these. Extraversion is measured on a scale and distinguishes the sociable from the reserved people. Neuroticism contrasts emotional stability with instability.

Vocal characteristics for the dimensions of extraversion and neuroticism

In one study, different people had to take two different language tests. The first should read for 15 seconds or speak freely. The content of the texts had no relation to the personality of the test subjects. In the second run, only the vowel "a" was spoken long drawn. Already in the second test, which contained only one letter, unfamiliar listeners were able to make clear character assignments, which in retrospect matched the self-assessments of the test subjects.

In unstable people, one notices clear formant contours and high energy consumption in high frequencies. In the case of people who are assessed as stable, the mean pitch is lower than that of the unstable speakers. The sociable people have a much faster and clearer articulation compared to the reserved people. Quieter people vary their basic frequency less and come across as more monotonous.

Individual evidence

  1. Sendlmeier, Walter: Speech effects research: Basics and applications of oral communication . Ed .: Prof. Dr. Walter F. Sendlmeier . Logos Verlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-8325-4365-5 .
  2. Jana Zscheischler: The speaking effect of male and female voices on the radio . Berlin 2006.