Fundamental Frequency of the Speaking Voice before Mutation
1991 Volume 1991 Issue Supplement42 Pages 143-145
Details
1991 Volume 1991 Issue Supplement42 Pages 143-145
Sexual difference of the fundamental frequency (F0) of the speaking voice becomes apparent after mutation of the voice. In this study,370 Chinese children (3 to 12 years of age)without any apparent secondary sex characteristics were investigated. F0 was extracted during sustained phonation of Chinese vowel /a/ and /i/ using a spectrum analyzer (B & K. Type 2031). Subjects were instructed to phonate as easy as possible. The F0 range of these subjects was from 365 Hz to 276 Hz. As age advanced, F0 became lower even before mutation. This decreasing tendency of F0 was observed especially in the boys.
In the same age group, F0 of girls was higher than that of boys. This difference was statistically significant for the group of 9 to 12 years. As for vowels, F0 of /i/ was higher than that of /a/.
