different gender and native voices (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

different gender and native voices
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

11 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

lady_skywalker
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Message 9 of 11

11 December 2006 at 5:24am | IP Logged

Ari wrote:

I think this depends on the target language. Interestingly enough, I've heard (though I have no idea, myself) that especially in Japanese, men and women speak differently, using different intonation patterns, or something (can't remember exactly). That would probably mean that learning exclusively from women if you're a guy might make you sound feminine. I would expect this to be stronger in more gender segregated cultures than in others.

I agree. The same can be said of Arabic and Hebrew, where verbs seem to be conjugated differently depending on whether the speaker is male or female and on whether the person you're addressing is male or female. In the case of Japanese, women and men use different mannerisms and expressions. One example I can think of is 'boku', which men use as an informal version of 'watashi'. I don't think you'll hear many women using that but I might be wrong.
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jeff_lindqvist
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Message 10 of 11

11 December 2006 at 5:40am | IP Logged

I've heard that word choice is highly dependent of the gender in Japanese. As always, there is a Wikipedia article.

Somewhere I read that Kevin Costner got laughed at when speaking feminine Lakota in "Dances with wolves". :)

Moreover, this is slightly related to something that struck me a few weeks ago when I came to think of gender-conjugated verbs in Russian. In past tense the verb (in singular) takes the ending according to the gender.
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Captain Haddock
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Message 11 of 11

11 December 2006 at 6:19am | IP Logged

lady_skywalker wrote:

Ari wrote:

… In the case of Japanese, women and men use different mannerisms and expressions. One example I can think of is 'boku', which men use as an informal version of 'watashi'. I don't think you'll hear many women using that but I might be wrong.

Actually, a woman could say it to a little boy, but then she'd be talking about the boy and not herself. :)

Casual Japanese has gender differences, but it's more a matter of style, with women being allowed to speak more "gently" than men. Note that "boku" actually means "manservant", so it's obviously strange for a woman to use it in reference to herself.

[For those who don't know, Japanese has no true pronouns, but it has some pronoun-like words that vary a little according to one's gender.]

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