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Typically no if they have the same accent. Personal experiences and generalizations:
Bilingual Spanish speakers can have certain inflections even if they learned English first. Whites tend to speak louder more consistently than other races. Blacks will speak monotone and then speak really loudly at random intervals...something that makes people think blacks are louder. I don't know many Latinos, East or South Asians with deep, gravelly voices...male or female. Whites and blacks corner the market on heavy baritone and bass speaking voices in the U.S.
Accents are related to region/neighborhood. My california neighborhood's accent was very much stereotypical "valley girl" and i have met people of all ethnicities who sound like me with the typical valley girl inflection somewhere between Alicia Silverstone and the Kardashians. There are tons of parts of the Bay Area that have similar accents (for people of all groups).
In terms of actual voice: that is based genetics, things like tone, deepness etc are genetic.
Tone and inflection are a combo of factors related to accent, neighborhood, education, parents speaking patterns.
I don't mean do people of different races have different accents due to culture. No, I mean, if you put 50 White guys and 50 Black guys in the same room and they both pronounce words equally, with the same accent, and they record their voices, is there a difference?
Furthermore, is there any scientific backing to the claim that a person's RACE affects their voice quality? Not their accent or their slang, but the way their voice sounds?
If you believe this is the case, I would like to see proof. Not just your own anecdote of "every Black guy I hear sounds different than every White guy". Because my own anecdote is that while I've heard Blacks and Whites and Asians sound different, I've also heard people who I swore were one race from their voice turn out to be another race.
So, what is your take?
Yes, they truly and honestly do. I work for a customer service company and I usually do phone lines. I can almost always tell which race of person I'm talking to before I pull up their information and confirm it. There are certain vibrations, tones, and accents people of various races have that lead them to being easily identifiable. There are always exceptions to the rule but the majority of the time it's correct.
No, I don't believe there are racial differences in the human vocal apparatus. I live in an area with a large number of California-born Asians and Hispanics as well as some Blacks, and they all have the same accent--no way to tell which are which if you didn't already know.
That hasn't been my experience. Most of our clients are from here in California and I can ALWAYS tell if I'm speaking with an Asian person or a black person regardless of if they are immigrants or born and bred Americans. Maybe it's because I speak 3 languages and I have an ear for different ones in general so it makes it easier for me.
That hasn't been my experience. Most of our clients are from here in California and I can ALWAYS tell if I'm speaking with an Asian person or a black person regardless of if they are immigrants or born and bred Americans. Maybe it's because I speak 3 languages and I have an ear for different ones in general so it makes it easier for me.
Those patterns aren't race based but language based. People with non English first languages do have patterns related to phrasing and sometimes cadence but it is not genetic. If you put people of any race with the same neighborhood and English as a first language, similar circumstances (social class) they will sound the same. California has loads of evidence of this. Voice isn't genetic and I am around 90% sure most of you, if speaking to me on the phone, will peg me as a white California girl. Happens all the time.
I don't mean do people of different races have different accents due to culture. No, I mean, if you put 50 White guys and 50 Black guys in the same room and they both pronounce words equally, with the same accent, and they record their voices, is there a difference?
Furthermore, is there any scientific backing to the claim that a person's RACE affects their voice quality?
So, what is your take?
No. Especially listen to women. Check out female newscasters in Illinois, it is almost impossible to tell their race if you aren't looking at the TV.
I can almost always tell black from white over the phone even if it's a black person who grew up in a white neighborhood or vice versa (Eminem type), but I have been fooled a couple of times when selling / buying stuff.
Yes, I'm certain that there are physiological differences between black and white people (especially men) that causes their voices to sound different.
As if there aren't physiological difference between white people, or more to the point physiological differences between white people in the same freaking family!
Sorry, but if by "black people" you are talking about people whose genetic make-up predominately originated in Africa... then you have a problem because the genetic difference between Africans (the most diverse genetic population in the world) is greater than the genetic difference between Africans populations and those of non-Africans!
Quote:
Black men whose voice could pass as white are uncommon. I have occasionally been surprised when finding out someone's race.
And your survey of voices of "black men" is based upon what sample size? as I recall, the audio experts in the Trayvon Martin case could SCIENTIFICALLY distinguish the voice of either Martin or Zimmerman from one another! So much for C-D pseudo science!
Last edited by Oldhag1; 10-19-2014 at 06:11 PM..
Reason: Language.
It's environment which impacts how many people will speak, (including using slang and distorted word usage is often influenced and in some cases, the manner is supported within their environment.) Enunciation of words is often influenced by the methods used within areas and groups whom frequently exchange communication.
There is what is called the "lazy tongue", where people slur the enunciation of words, and in some cases people use an adverse "tense" of words. ( Sit, Sat, Set and the distorted adverse is Sot).
The usage of the word "girl" (in some areas become gurl, gul - this is a mixture of slang and poor enunciation).
Some confuse words such as ( Think - Thank). (I've heard people say, "Think you", instead of "Thank you".)
There is a matter of "esteem", which is connected to a wide range of social and psychological variables, impacting how people utilize the language, enunciation and articulation, in some cases omitting the consonant = a speech sound (such as /p/, /d/, or /s/) that is made by partly or completely stopping the flow of air breathed out from the mouth)
People in some environment and situations allow their children to grow up speaking without "word" tense/context and enunciation correction unfortunately, giving support unto children developing bad language speaking habits. As well as those who do not spend time interactively communicating with their children. Often result to have children who adopt the lazy tongue manners in speaking, result to cut off words without full and clear enunciation, these developed habits are often the result of an environment which supports this manner of speaking.
Last edited by Chance and Change; 10-19-2014 at 07:39 AM..
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