Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics
Few studies address the assessment and management of the voice and speech patterns of Male-to-Female Transsexuals (MTS). The clinician working with this population may therefore be faced with considerable difficulty in planning valid and effective intervention programmes. The purpose of this stu...
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ndltd-UBC-oai-circle.library.ubc.ca-2429-56122018-01-05T17:32:38Z Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics Wollitzer, Lisa Candice Few studies address the assessment and management of the voice and speech patterns of Male-to-Female Transsexuals (MTS). The clinician working with this population may therefore be faced with considerable difficulty in planning valid and effective intervention programmes. The purpose of this study was to investigate acoustic and perceptual-acoustic aspects of MTS voice to suggest the most effective and relevant therapy activities for this clinical population. Of particular interest was the anatomical-acoustic mismatch inherent in MTS speech. A further motivation was to investigate the relationship between salient acoustic variables associated with gender identification and their perceptual correlates. Where such relationships can be demonstrated, clinical practice may be simplified by targeting only the most salient features. Subjects were eleven Male-to-Female Transsexuals. Acoustic samples from an equal number of each of anatomical male and female speakers served as a reference. Multidimensional correlates characterizing female voice as distinct from male voice were identified. Social validation was used to determine how “successful” MTS speakers were in achieving a female voice. Results from the anatomical female and male speakers in combination with the information regarding the success of the MTS speakers were then used to suggest the most salient cues to feminine voice. Results suggest the FO average is the dominant characteristic in distinguishing male from female voice. Other distinguishing features include signal-to-noise ratio, Fl and the perceptual judgement of larynx height. Characteristics separating MTS speakers from both anatomical groups were the extent of FO shift relative to habitual speaker FO and antero-posterior tongue posture. Moderate to strong relationships for several pairs of acoustic and perceptual variables were found. The data suggest that speaker FO and pitch are not heavily constrained by physical characteristics of a speaker. For MTS speakers, this means that the individual’s ability to achieve a more feminine voice may not be restricted by an anatomically male vocal tract. Results of correlational analyses suggest that several acoustic variables may have influenced naive listener judgements of masculinity-femininity. Medicine, Faculty of Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of Graduate 2009-03-06 2009-03-06 1994 1994-11 Text Thesis/Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5612 eng For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. 3087445 bytes application/pdf |
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English |
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Few studies address the assessment and management of the voice and speech
patterns of Male-to-Female Transsexuals (MTS). The clinician working with
this population may therefore be faced with considerable difficulty in
planning valid and effective intervention programmes. The purpose of this
study was to investigate acoustic and perceptual-acoustic aspects of MTS voice
to suggest the most effective and relevant therapy activities for this clinical
population. Of particular interest was the anatomical-acoustic mismatch
inherent in MTS speech. A further motivation was to investigate the
relationship between salient acoustic variables associated with gender
identification and their perceptual correlates. Where such relationships can
be demonstrated, clinical practice may be simplified by targeting only the most
salient features.
Subjects were eleven Male-to-Female Transsexuals. Acoustic samples from
an equal number of each of anatomical male and female speakers served as a
reference. Multidimensional correlates characterizing female voice as distinct
from male voice were identified. Social validation was used to determine
how “successful” MTS speakers were in achieving a female voice. Results
from the anatomical female and male speakers in combination with the
information regarding the success of the MTS speakers were then used to
suggest the most salient cues to feminine voice. Results suggest the FO average is the dominant characteristic in
distinguishing male from female voice. Other distinguishing features
include signal-to-noise ratio, Fl and the perceptual judgement of larynx
height. Characteristics separating MTS speakers from both anatomical groups
were the extent of FO shift relative to habitual speaker FO and antero-posterior
tongue posture. Moderate to strong relationships for several pairs of acoustic
and perceptual variables were found. The data suggest that speaker FO and
pitch are not heavily constrained by physical characteristics of a speaker. For
MTS speakers, this means that the individual’s ability to achieve a more
feminine voice may not be restricted by an anatomically male vocal tract.
Results of correlational analyses suggest that several acoustic variables may
have influenced naive listener judgements of masculinity-femininity. === Medicine, Faculty of === Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of === Graduate |
author |
Wollitzer, Lisa Candice |
spellingShingle |
Wollitzer, Lisa Candice Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
author_facet |
Wollitzer, Lisa Candice |
author_sort |
Wollitzer, Lisa Candice |
title |
Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
title_short |
Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
title_full |
Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
title_fullStr |
Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
title_sort |
acoustic and perceptual cues to gender identification : a study of transsexual voice and speech characteristics |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5612 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT wollitzerlisacandice acousticandperceptualcuestogenderidentificationastudyoftranssexualvoiceandspeechcharacteristics |
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1718587153231904768 |