Gender differences in children's intonational patterns

This study investigated differences among intonational variables in prepubescent girls' and boys' voices in conversational speech (American-English). Subjects were middle class boys and girls at each of four age levels: 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-10 years. Samples of conversational speech were recorded and acoustically analyzed for minimum and maximum FO, mean FO, and SD of FO (FOSD), as well as number and direction of FO changes ("shifts") per utterance. Findings indicated that the mean FO of the males decreased at around age 7-8 years. Additionally, maximum FO, range, and percentage of rising and falling shifts all showed decreases for the males starting at ages 7-8 not paralleled by decreases for the females. Both physiological and sociocultural factors appear to account for the changes that mark the development of intonational patterns in prepubertal girls and boys.