Author Topic: I thought this was common knowledge!  (Read 7198 times)

hellymedic

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I thought this was common knowledge!
« on: 12 October, 2017, 11:25:33 pm »
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41588608

Women alter the timbre of their voices when they talk to smalls.

Well SCIENTISTS have proven this now.

I have also observed quite young nephews lowering their voices to sound authoritative.

There I was, thinking folk automatically adjust their pitch and cadence to match their company...

Kim

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Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #1 on: 13 October, 2017, 12:02:46 am »
Thing about common knowledge is that sometimes it's wrong, so fair enough that the SCIENTISTS for testing it in a new way.  That it's consistent across languages (to the point where a machine can spot it from a short sample) is interesting, and possibly even useful.

BBC headline, as ever with scientific stories, misses the point somewhat.

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #2 on: 13 October, 2017, 12:47:42 am »
People usually match their pitches if they sing together (I hope) so pitch matching in speech is seems natural.

There's little pitch difference twixt David and I when we speak to each other (though we do still sound to be of different sex).

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #3 on: 13 October, 2017, 12:58:33 am »
The BBC headline is not as bad as some:
Surprising facts about how we talk to babies
Along with a photo giving the impression the research included fathers (I'd be amazed if fathers, in fact everyone, didn't do this, but they only seem to have tested mothers).

Good they tested with other languages, of course, but it would be more interesting if they'd used totally different cultures, eg Amazonian rainforest tribes.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #4 on: 17 October, 2017, 05:16:49 pm »
I've seen research before that shows everyone does it. They also do it with baby animals such as puppies. There was a sensible postulated reason for it as well.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

hellymedic

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Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #5 on: 17 October, 2017, 08:12:55 pm »
I think smalls of any species have hearing more sensitive to higher frequencies.

Aunt Maud

  • Le Flâneur.
Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #6 on: 18 October, 2017, 10:52:34 am »
My smalls don't have ears.

Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #7 on: 18 October, 2017, 09:56:05 pm »
My smalls don't have ears.

What about your walls?
Quote from: Kim
^ This woman knows what she's talking about.


hellymedic

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Re: I thought this was common knowledge!
« Reply #9 on: 18 October, 2017, 11:33:25 pm »
I tried tone-matching the kitten we'd trapped in a carrier today, while it waited for collection in the kitchen.
It's pretty high but we had a nice chat!