A Study of How Voice Pitches are Influenced by Cultural Gender Factors

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A Study of How Voice Pitches are Influenced by Cultural Gender Factors

Yuko Tomoto

Yokohama College of Commerce, Japan

*Corresponding Author: [email protected]

Accepted: 15 July 2020 | Published: 31 July 2020

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Abstract: The purpose of this research is to explore the assumption that women change their voice pitches depending on the language they speak. Scholars have already established that bilingual and multilingual speakers change the way they talk and show emotions according to which language they are using. The author has observed that some bilingual female speakers of Japanese and English employ higher voice pitches when they speak Japanese compared with when they speak English. In order to see the influence of the language and cultural-based gender factors on speakers, in-depth interviews were conducted with 29 Japanese-English speakers ranging in ages from 27 to 74. Though the investigation was preliminary, the results suggest that female speakers are influenced both consciously and unconsciously by the language they use and the corresponding culture, especially according to the standardized gender norms of the society. At the same time, the findings theorize that speakers are also highly affected by the interlocutors with whom they speak.

Keywords: voice pitch, cultural expectations, gender norms

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1. Introduction

There are natural differences between female and male voice pitches. Physical and anatomical differences make clear distinctions between pitch levels. While we know that biological voice pitch differences exist, researchers are still asking: Are voice pitch differences between men and women affected by gender as well?

The inspiration for this study sprang from the author’s observation that female Japanese- English bilingual speakers talk in higher voices in Japanese compared with English. The author also heard about similar cases from co-workers, but these observations were only made about female speakers. No similar pattern was observed about male speakers. If these cases are discovered only among female speakers, I hypothesize that cultural gender factors as well as biological sex factors affect female speakers. This study aims to explore the hypothesis that female speakers adopt suitable voice pitches according to the language they are speaking and its background of cultural gender-role expectations.

2. Previous Studies

Ohara (1992) measured the fundamental frequencies of native speakers of Japanese (female and male) speaking in Japanese and English. Her findings argued that female subjects used significantly higher pitches when they spoke Japanese relative to the pitch used when speaking English . She indicated that the gap in pitch levels between genders is greater than what would be expected from the difference in their vocal tract alone, concluding that

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“people modify their pitch in order to convey a particular image or to conform to stereotyped expectations prescribed by their society” (p. 474).

As Shibamoto (1985) stated, “Linguists characterize Japanese as special virtue of having

‘true’ women’s language” (p. 171). Much research has been conducted about the difference between female and male speech in the Japanese language and its psychological effects on the speakers (e.g., McKinley & Sakamoto, 2007, Imaida, 2006, Tomoto, 2015). Raynolds (1985) described Japanese as “a language in which male and female speech are exclusively differentiated to a significant degree and spoken in a society characterized by overt social discrimination between men and women” (p. 2), and also referred to a sociopsychological problem that Japanese women were facing.

Burton (2011) conducted qualitative research on Japanese women living long-term in England and observed that some subjects changed their voice pitch when talking in English verses Japanese. Burton noted the strong relationship between the language and the background culture and stated as a conclusion, “One may therefore give a ‘cultural response’

in one language which may differ from one’s response in another… The skillful speaker must adapt their cultural response together with their choice of language to the host culture. It is the interlocutor who will affect the response” (p. 35).

According to an article in the Asahi Newspaper (1996), there are distinctive pitch range differences between the recorded voices of Japanese female broadcast announcers and American female broadcast announcers. In Figure 1, circles represent the voice pitches of American announcers recorded in 1992, and squares represent Japanese voice pitches also recorded in 1992. The vertical scale on the left indicates the variation of the width of intonation and the horizontal scale on the bottom indicates the variation of the height of the voice pitches. This chart shows that American female announcers speak with lower voice pitches with smaller intonation variations. On the contrary, Japanese female announcers speak with higher voices with larger intonation variations. The black triangles represent the voice pitches of Japanese announcers recoded in 1995, and the arrow indicates how the voice pitch of the same Japanese announcer changed. It can be observed that over three years, the voice pitches of Japanese announcers were largely lowered, becoming similar to the American announcers’ voice pitches.

Figure 1: Voice pitches of Japanese/American female announcers Asahi Newspaper, 1996 March 1

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Interview

In-depth interviews were conducted on twenty-nine bilingual speakers of Japanese and English to see how the languages and their background cultures influence the speakers, with the goal of identifying any cultural-based gender-related differences. All interviewees have remarkably high competencies equivalent to CFER C1 or C2 level of both Japanese and English, in addition to an occasional third language. The author adopted a semi-constructive style and interviewed each interviewee in English, in Japanese, or sometimes a mixture of the two.

The interviews were conducted using the four prepared questions in a friendly atmosphere, and the interviewees were encouraged to freely speak about their thoughts and experiences.

The four questions are listed below, and Table 1 shows the nationality, sex, age, and languages of the interviewees. The language indicated first is the interviewee’s native language.

Q1. Do you think the language you speak affects the way you think or talk? Do you feel any differences when you speak Japanese compared to when you speak English?

Q2. Have you been told that your impression, behavior, or voice pitch changes depending on the language you speak?

Q3. Have you met anyone whose impression, behavior, or voice pitch changes depending on the language she/he uses?

Q4. If there are topics you feel comfortable talking about in English rather than in Japanese or vice versa, or if there are particular situations you feel more comfortable using either language, please share your thoughts or experiences.

Table 1: Subjects of interviews

Interviewee Nationality Sex Age Language capability

C1: case1 Japanese M 70s Japanese, English

C4: case4 Japanese F 40s Japanese, English

C8: case8 Japanese F 30s Japanese, English, French

C11: case11 Japanese M 40s Japanese, English, Danish

C14: case14 Indian F 50s Bengali, English, Japanese

C15: case15 American M 40s English, Japanese

C19: case19 Israeli M 40s English, Hebrew, Japanese, Spanish, French

C20: case20 France M 30s French, English, Japanese

C21: case21 Columbian F 30s Spanish, English, Japanese C22: case22 American M 40s English, Japanese, Chinese

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C24: case24 American F 30s English, Japanese

C29: case29 Australian F 20s English, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese

3. Results

Answers to the questions are shown below, followed by additional comments.

Q1. Do you think the language you speak affects the way you think or talk? Do you feel any differences when you speak Japanese compared to when you speak English?

Yes 26 interviewees 89.7%

No 3 interviewees 10.3%

Total 29 interviewees 100%

26 interviewees answered “Yes,”, and 3 interviewees answered “No” to Q1.

 I feel more relaxed when I speak English compared with when I speak Japanese since I don’t have to be too careful about the interlocutor’s age, position, or use of keigo (Japanese polite expressions). (C2)

 When I speak Japanese, I feel like I put on my mask and talk softly and politely to avoid any conflict. When I speak English, I feel like I take my mask away and talk straight. I feel more like my true self. (C7)

 I am not sure whether it is the language itself or the relationship between the interlocutor and myself, but when I speak Japanese, I feel more attentive toward what to say and how to say it and it often exhausts me. I can feel more relaxed when I speak English. I don’t talk much when I meet someone new if they speak Japanese, since I feel distanced. On the contrary, when I speak English, I feel the distance to the new person close in, and I talk more. (C13)

 There is a big difference between Japanese “reason → result” conversation style and English “result → reason” style, and therefore the language you use naturally influences the way you think or talk. When I have a conversation in Japanese, I have to wait until the end of the sentence to find out whether the interlocutor is conveying a positive or negative message, and this helps to grow my patience. When I speak Japanese, I can create my ideal new self and I enjoy it. (C16)

 The contents of my speech don’t change much depending on the language I use; however, the way I talk and my voice pitch change. My voice tone becomes soft and womanly when I speak Japanese, being affected by the feminine image that Japanese culture has on women. I talk more naturally when I speak Bengali and English, and I prefer that.

However, I am trying not to compare them but rather to accept their cultural differences. I don’t translate each language into the other while talking; instead, I think and speak with the same language. (C14)

Q2. Have you been told that your impression, behavior or voice pitch changes depending on the language you speak?

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No 12 interviewees 41.4%

17 interviewees answered “Yes,” and 12 interviewees answered “No” to Q2.

 I was told that I talk in a higher voice pitch with more harmonic and cooperative tones when speaking Japanese. Also, I was told that I sound more confident and decisive when speaking English. (C6)

 I was told that I talk modestly with a higher voice in Japanese and more logically with a lower voice in English. (C8)

 People around me always tell me that my voice tone becomes very high when I speak Japanese. I myself have noticed it, and I think it happens because I unconsciously try to adjust myself to Japanese cultural gender expectations. I use different parts of my throat when speaking Japanese and when speaking English. I also have unconsciously acquired Japanese habits of nodding, and even when I speak English, I tend to nod to show my interlocuter that I am listening. My brother told me that this was distracting and asked me to stop. In English conversation, it is more common to listen to the interlocutor silently with one’s eyes and then to say “I think so, too” when the interlocutor stops talking.

(C24)

 I was told by my sister that I sound natural and straightforward in English, polite in Japanese, and serious and studious in Hebrew. My Swedish client said that my conversation in English gave him a very “Japanized” impression. This is probably because I moved to Japan right after graduating from an American university and have worked for a Japanese company for ten years. I have unconsciously acquired Japanese business styles. (C19)

 My family in America told me that my gestures and the way I talk have become more Japanese when I speak Japanese. For example, I often nod during conversation, put my hands on my mouth when laughing, and soften my eyes when I speak. These new habits happen when I speak English, too. (C27)

Q3. Have you met anyone whose impression, behavior or voice pitch changes depending on the language she/he uses?

No 1 interviewee 3.4%

28 interviewees answered “Yes,” and 1 interviewee answered “No” to Q3.

 I think most bilingual speakers have more or less two different mental channels and their impressions change depending on the language they use. Many English speakers make their feelings obvious as they talk, and their emotions are easier to read from their expressions. However, it is sometimes difficult to read Japanese speakers’ feelings because they sometimes convey different messages from their thoughts and their facial expressions, which are difficult to read. (C10)

 When my Japanese colleague speaks Japanese in the workplace, he seems to pay much more attention to cultural expectations and unspoken taboos. He also looks more formal.

He looks much more relaxed when he speaks English and the impression is completely different. (C15)

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 My Taiwanese wife employs a higher voice pitch when she speaks Japanese, and her image changes into young and cute compared with when she speaks English and Chinese.

She seems to try to meet the cultural expectations of women in Japan. My American female colleague also employs a high voice pitch in order to adjust to the Japanese female colleagues around her. In my country, France, both women and men seem to talk and live more naturally. (C20)

 Many of my Japanese female friends talk in a higher voice when they speak Japanese.

They answer the telephone with artificial high voices. I think these voice pitch changes show the cultural gender expectations in Japan. In America, we have a greater acceptance of women who speak in lower voices and the lower pitches tend to be considered as more reliable, and because of this, women tend to talk with lower voice pitches than in Japan.

(C27)

 Most of my bilingual or multilingual friends change their personas depending on the language they use. Regardless of their mother language, most of them talk politely and quietly in Japanese. On the contrary, most of them talk cheerfully and sociably in English, and the distance between speakers seems closer. My Japanese wife changes her attitude and way of talking even within Japanese. When she speaks the Osaka dialect (her native hometown dialect), she sounds straightforward and strong; however, she changes into a soft and polite image when she speaks standard Japanese. She seems to control her image and style of speaking depending on the interlocutor and the situation. (C26)

Q4. If there are any topics or things you feel comfortable talking about in English rather than in Japanese or vice versa, or there are any particular situations you feel more comfortable using either language, please share your thoughts or experiences.

 I feel more comfortable using English at work, especially when we have negotiations. If I use Japanese, I feel too concerned about the interlocutors’ reactions and get exhausted.

(C9)

 It is easier for me to accept complaints or claims from clients in English. If they are made in Japanese, I take them more emotionally. This is partially because English speakers tend to talk more logically compared with Japanese speakers. In Japanese culture, listeners are expected to guess what the speakers are trying to convey between the lines, and this is sometimes difficult and tiring. (C3)

 It is difficult to talk about money in Japanese. I work for a Japanese company and sometimes need to talk with my bosses about my salary or raise negotiations; however, the Japanese language seems to be based on harmony, and I don’t want my bosses to think that I am working for money, so I try to avoid talking about money in Japanese.

(C25)

 It is hard to talk in Japanese when the topic is about my job evaluation or requests. (C19)

 Conversations at the hospital are also difficult in Japanese. This is not because of the language ability but the relationship between the “doctor” and the “patient” in Japan. In America, patients and doctors talk equally and frankly and ask questions in a free atmosphere; however, in Japan, there seems to exist a hierarchical relationship between doctors and patients, and I feel hesitant to ask questions or tell doctors my opinions. This is not an issue of language but of background cultures. (C28)

 Business tends to slow down when my colleagues and I have meetings in Japanese since we avoid talking directly and try to adopt periphrastic expressions. On the contrary, when the same members switch the language to English at meetings, we tend to speak frankly and the business gathers speed. (C20)

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4. Conclusion

In this study, I have investigated how bilingual speakers are affected by the language they use and by the language’s background culture. I have especially tried to focus on how female speakers are influenced by the gender norms and expectations held within the language they speak and its background culture.

This research employed a qualitative style with twenty-nine subjects and did not obtain numeral data, so the results cannot be generalized. However, the interviewees’ own experiences and empirical answers support the hypothesis: Female speakers adopt suitable voice pitches according to the language and its background of cultural gender-role expectations.

The fact that these gender-based voice pitch changes occur not only to native Japanese female speakers but also to non-Japanese female speakers indicates that the Japanese language, culture, and society influence these female speakers more than the nationality or native language of the speaker. These female speakers of various nationalities all tried to meet the gender expectations of the Japanese language, culture, and society when they spoke Japanese.

Many Japanese female interviewees said that they feel freer when they speak English even though it is not their native language. They feel that they can be liberated from their cultural gender pressures when they speak English, and some feel they can create their new selves, second-language selves in English. The author has heard similar comments from the students in her classes, both male and female, and has tried to make use of second-language self- approaches to English education. Obtaining new images of themselves can be one of the effective ways to motivate students to keep up with their English studies.

Through conversations, speakers are not only conveying a message but also attempting to express who they are and how they want to be perceived. In other words, they are constantly building and updating their own identities by choosing the most appropriate language and descriptions to express themselves in dialogue. The author would like to continue further study of the influence of language on speakers in second language education.

Acknowledgement

This research is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K00757.

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