Parameters for describing f0

Speakers cannot produce f0 above or below a certain level, for physical reasons; or to put it another way, f0 is produced within a certain range. The bottom of the range refers to a speaker’s lowest f0 value, while the top of the range refers to their highest f0 value. This range varies from individual to individual, but it also varies according to extra-linguistic factors such as state of health, the loudness of the speech and the time of day.

Average values for male speakers are around 120 Hz, while female speakers’ averages are around 220 Hz. A typical f0 range in conversation is something like 120–300 Hz for females and 70–250 Hz for males.

The reason for so much individual variation in f0 is that it is a product of individuals’ vocal tract shapes, their larynx and their habitual way of speaking. However, we can draw some generalizations about relations between f0 and speaker age and gender. Female speakers have a higher average f0 than male speakers. This represents anatomical differences in the construction of the larynx. The thyroid cartilages are at a wider angle in female larynxes than in male ones, which means that the average tension across the folds is higher for female speakers than for males. There are cultural effects too: in English-speaking cultures, it is common for males to enhance their intrinsically lower f0 by lowering their larynx, and for females to enhance their intrinsically higher f0. The other difference is to do with age. Children of both sexes have roughly the same f0 and are anatomically alike until the onset of puberty, when boys’ voices start to become lower in pitch. As people age, the cartilages harden and the mucous membranes which coat the vocal folds become dryer, making it harder for speakers to produce such a wide range of f0 as in their younger years. The data in Table 4.1 is taken from Baken and Orlikoff (2000); it shows how gender and age impact on mean f0.