GENDER AND FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY IN ENGLISH/FRENCH BILINGUAL SPEAKERS

Abstract

The present study deals with the productions of English/French bilingual speakers in a reading task and in semi-spontaneous speech. Average fundamental frequency (F0), F0 range and F0 standard deviation were measured in both languages. Results show a significant effect of gender and language on all these parameters. Overall, average F0 was higher in French while F0 modulation was stronger in English. Regardless of language, female speakers exhibited higher F0 than males. Moreover, the increase of average F0 in French was larger in female speakers. On the other hand, the decrease of F0 modulation in French was stronger for male speakers. These data support the idea of language- and genderspecific vocal norms, to which bilingual speakers seem to adapt.