Vocal Flexibility and Prosodic Strategies in a Professional Impersonator

Abstract

Voice imitation of a famous personality results in detection and reproduction of some vocal features, including spectral characteristics but also prosody, speech flow, or articulatory patterns. The objective of this study was to describe vocal flexibility in one of the best French impersonators and determine his strategies. Prospective study. We have downloaded the recording of a political speech by former French President Jacques Chirac, who we have chosen for his very specific and recognizable voice. After transcription, we asked one professional impersonator and four control subjects to do several readings in their natural voice and in a spontaneous imitation task (ie, without listening to any of Chirac's recording). To facilitate the control subject's task, we made an additional recording after having them listen to the target sample. Using Praat freeware, we have compared several prosodic measurements taken on each sample: pitch, pitch range, articulatory speed, duration of pauses, and number of pauses. Results showed significant modifications in the participant's prosody and significant differences in the strategies used by the professional impersonator and the control group. The professional impersonator's imitation strategy lies in the reproduction of global characteristics and instant alignment of prosodic variations.