Speaking fundamental frequency characteristics of young and elderly bilingual Chinese'English speakers: a functional system approach

Abstract

This study investigated the speaking fundamental frequency (F₀) characteristics of young and elderly bilingual (Chinese–English) speakers in order to delineate the effects of ageing on the vocal parameters with a functional system approach. Narrative speech samples from both English and Chinese speech of the subjects were compared on measures of mean speaking F₀, maximum and minimum speaking F₀, speaking F₀ standard deviation and speaking range (in semitones). Results indicated that the young bilingual speakers demonstrated significant differences in the acoustic vocal outputs when they speak the two languages, whereas such differences were not found in the elderly bilingual speakers. The implications of the new approach for speech pathology clinical services and future investigations are also discussed.