Evidence for the independent function of intonation contour type, voice quality, and <i>F</i>0 range in signaling speaker affect

TLDR

Three experiments systematically manipulated voice quality, intonation contour, and F0 range independently using digital resynthesis of natural utterances to assess affect judgments. Analyses revealed that F0 range and intonation contour independently influence affective judgments, with F0 range effects being continuous rather than categorical, and these effects are not attributable to speaker differences or content.

Abstract

In three related experiments, listeners judged the affect conveyed by short recorded utterances in which the voice quality, intonation contour type, and fundamental frequency range had been systematically and independently manipulated. (Contour and range were manipulated using digital resynthesis of naturally spoken utterances.) Analyses of variance of the results showed that range and contour, and less clearly range and voice quality, had independent effects on the way the utterances were judged. The results also strongly suggest that these differences are independent of effects due to interspeaker differences and to differences of verbal content. Finally, analysis of the results suggests that differences of F0 range, as is commonly assumed, have continuous rather than categorical effects on affective judgments.