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Acoustic parameters in speaker height and weight identification: sex-specific behaviour
W A van Dommelen1, B H Moxness
1Department of Linguistics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Dragvoll, Norway. wim.dommelen@avh.unit.no
Language and Speech
|July 1, 1995
Summary
Listeners can estimate male speaker height and weight, primarily using speech rate. However, judging female speaker body size from voice alone proved unsuccessful, regardless of listener gender.
Area of Science:
- Acoustic Phonetics
- Psychoacoustics
- Speech Perception
Background:
- Previous research suggests listeners can consistently estimate speaker body characteristics from speech.
- The specific acoustic parameters utilized in these estimations remain largely unidentified.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate listeners' ability to discern speaker height and weight from speech samples.
- To identify acoustic correlates of perceived body size and listener/speaker sex effects.
Main Methods:
- Listening tests involving male and female listeners judging height and weight of male and female speakers.
- Analysis of acoustic parameters including fundamental frequency (F0), formant frequencies, low-frequency energy, and speech rate.
Main Results:
- Significant correlations between estimated and actual height/weight were found only for male speakers, primarily by male listeners.
- Listeners were unable to accurately estimate female speaker height or weight.
- Speech rate correlated significantly with male speaker weight; listeners correctly used this cue.
- Listeners incorrectly associated low F0 and formant frequencies with larger body dimensions.
Conclusions:
- Listener accuracy in judging speaker body size is influenced by speaker and listener sex.
- Speech rate is a key acoustic cue for estimating male speaker weight.
- Listeners employ both accurate and inaccurate acoustic cues when inferring body size from speech.