Differences in Vocal Characteristics Between Cantonese and English Produced by Proficient Cantonese-English Bilingual Speakers—A Long-Term Average Spectral Analysis

Abstract

The present study objectively examined the possible difference in vocal characteristics associated with English and Cantonese produced by proficient Cantonese-English bilingual speakers. Forty native speakers of Cantonese (20 males and 20 females) who were proficient in Cantonese and English participated in the study. An array of acoustical parameters, including fundamental frequency (F0) values and first spectral peak (FSP), mean spectral energy (MSE), and spectral tilt (ST) extracted from long-term average speech spectra were obtained from connected speech samples produced in Cantonese and English by the bilingual speakers. Acoustical parameters were measured using Praat (P. Boersma & D. Weenink, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and used to objectively describe the voice quality. Results indicated that female bilingual speakers had significantly higher F0 values in speaking English than Cantonese. Although exhibiting comparable FSP values, the bilingual speakers showed significantly higher MSE and lower ST values when speaking Cantonese compared with English. The present findings imply that, even with the same phonatory apparatus, language being spoken can have an effect on the speakers' voice quality.