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Are women voices easier to understand? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| owshawng Senior Member United States Joined 6897 days ago 202 posts - 217 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 24 21 January 2006 at 5:31am | IP Logged |
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I was watching Mandarin News this morning for the first time in months and listening very intently. When the first male reporter was talking I could understand 1 to 2 per cent of the words he said. Then a female speaker came on and I could understand 4 to 5 percent. The male speaker came back on, and once again I could only catch 1 to 2 percent of the words. A different female reporter then began speaking, and I could understand even more, maybe 6 to 7 percent.
Why the huge discrepancy? Did the male have a rougher, harsher voice? I thought about this and remembered that I found the female speaker on the first 2 levels of Pimsleur Mandarin much easier to understand then the male speaker. I had originally thought this was because the man's voice wasn't as clear, and his tones occasionally seem a bit off, but now I'm not sure. I thought about this some more and realized when I watch a movie in mandarin, I usually understand 2 to 3 times more of the words and phrases the women speak then I do for the men. Why? Are woman's voices usually clearer and smoother then men's making it easier for foreigners to undertand? Is this because my wife is a native mandarin speaker and many of her friends are too so I'm more used to hearing women speak mandarin? Or do I subconsciously pay more attention to a woman's voice? Has anyone else experienced finding women's voices easier to understand then men's or vice versa? How do I go about improving my listening ability for men's voices? Do I spend more time with native speakers and start watching mandarin war movies or something like Rambo or hard core gangsters so it's virtually an all male cast trying to sound even more "tougher" or "masculine" then they normally sound? I'm really stumped by this and want to improve. Edited by owshawng on 21 January 2006 at 5:33am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| andee Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 7088 days ago 681 posts - 724 votes 3 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Korean, French | Message 2 of 24 21 January 2006 at 10:13am | IP Logged |
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I typically find women easier to understand than men as well.
And I think it's because, like you say, they generally speak more clearly (and possibly a little slower). 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| cbashara Senior Member United States adventuresinspanish. Joined 7140 days ago 186 posts - 188 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 24 21 January 2006 at 10:37am | IP Logged |
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When I lived in Spain I almost always found women more easy to understand. The lower voice made it very difficult for me to understand men most of the time.... I wonder if it is a real phenomenon?
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| dadafeig Diglot Groupie United States Joined 6997 days ago 82 posts - 83 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Dutch | Message 4 of 24 21 January 2006 at 11:18am | IP Logged |
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Yes I also find it easier to understand women over men when listening to German. When I was watching a German news channel I could only understand maybe 10-12 percent of the male speaker but when there was a female speaker I understood around 15-20 percent. But what makes it so strange is that when I listen to Spanish I understand men easier than women and that really seems crazy to me. Edited by dadafeig on 21 January 2006 at 11:32am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Sir Nigel Senior Member United States Joined 7115 days ago 1126 posts - 1102 votes 2 sounds | Message 5 of 24 21 January 2006 at 11:28am | IP Logged |
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It's funny this question would be asked. I too feel that women are easier to understand. My only explanation is the range of women's voices doesn't have that low frequency part that men's voices have that's sometimes overpowering on recordings.
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| Polishlearner Newbie Poland Joined 6996 days ago 13 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 6 of 24 21 January 2006 at 11:40am | IP Logged |
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Yup, me too.
It is much easier to understand a woman speaking Polish than a man. Polishlearner 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Topsiderunner Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6929 days ago 215 posts - 218 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Italian, Arabic (Written) | Message 7 of 24 21 January 2006 at 12:22pm | IP Logged |
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I've just started really focusing on Spanish listening, and have definitely
found, from news broadcasts to the shmaltzy soap operas, women much clearer to understand. I also agree that a higher voice probably contributes to that. On a similar line, I find that listening to internet radio news much easier to follow than a TV news broadcast. I imagine it is because radio broadcasters are usually much more articulate. After all, they have no pretty pictures to distract the audience. By the way, hello to everyone, this forum is a great resource. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6954 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 8 of 24 21 January 2006 at 12:41pm | IP Logged |
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One can ask a similar question in the context of whether female voices come out clearer in imperfect recordings.
I was once checking out Pimsleur Russian for my daughter and found the male voice in the recordings somehow distorted (to the point that I gave up on the course) compared to the female one. Edited by frenkeld on 21 January 2006 at 12:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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