Comparisons of intensity measures and their stability in male and female speakers

The purpose of the present study was to provide data on the intensity characteristics of young adult speakers in terms of conversational intensity level, conversational intensity range, and available intensity range. Subjects included 20 males and 20 females, ages 20-30 years. Each subject was asked to read the Rainbow Passage at a conversational intensity level, as softly as possible without whispering, and as loudly as possible, on 2 separate days 1 week apart. The second and third sentences of the three readings on both days were analyzed for various intensity parameters. Results revealed a conversational intensity level of 70.42 dB for males and 68.15 dB for females. When male and female intensity measures were compared, few statistically significant differences were found. Further, when intensity measures for the first and second readings were compared, few significant differences were found.