Cover not available

In:Language Development: The lifespan perspective
Edited by Annette Gerstenberg and Anja Voeste
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 37] 2015
► pp. 9–38

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Disassociating the effects of age from phonetic change

A longitudinal study of formant frequencies

Published online: 22 July 2015
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.37.02reu
Our study aimed at disassociating age-related from phonetic changes in broadcasts by British-American radio commentator Alistair Cooke, spanning 60 years. Both the first formant (F1) and fundamental frequency (f0) in non-low vowels showed a falling-rising pattern with increasing age. We argue that this covariation may have a perceptual origin because the distance between F1 and f0 is a perceptual cue to vowel height. A covariation of F1 and F2 in low back vowels is also consistent with a perceptual explanation. By contrast, F1 changes in low vowels may be associated with physiological changes to the jaw-opening mechanisms. Finally, we discuss phonetic changes, showing accent reversion from General American towards Cooke’s former Received Pronunciation over a thirty-year period.
References (60)
References
Baayen, R.H. 2009. Analyzing Linguistic Data. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bailey, G., Wikle, T., Tillery, J. & Sand, L. 1991. The apparent time construct. Language Variation and Change 3(3): 241–264. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Bot, K.D. & Clyne, M. 1989. Language Reversion Revisited. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 11(2): 167–177. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cedergren, H. 1987. The spread of language change: Verifying inferences of linguistic diffusion. In Language Spread and Language Policy: Issues, Implications and Case Studies, P.H. Lowenberg (ed.), 45–60. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chistovich, L.A. & Lublinskaya, V.V. 1979. The “center of gravity” effect in vowel spectra and critical distance between the formants: Psychoacoustical study of the perception of vowel-like stimuli. Journal of Hearing Research 1(3): 185–195. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clarke, N. 2000. Alistair Cooke: The Biography. London: Orion.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clyne, M. 2011. Bilingualism, code-switching and aging. A myth of attrition and a tale of collaboration. In Modeling Bilingualism: From Structure to Chaos – In Honor of Kees de Bot [Studies in Bilingualism 43], M. Schmid & W. Lowie (eds), 201–220. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cooke, A. 2007. Letter from America, 1946–2004. St. Ives: Penguin Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Di Benedetto, M.G. 1987. On vowel height: Acoustic and perceptual representation by the fundamental and the first formant frequency. In Proceedings of the XIth International Congress on Phonetic Sciences, Vol. 5, 198–201. Tallinn: The International Phonetic Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1994. Acoustic and perceptual evidence of a complex relation between F1 and F2 in determining vowel height. Journal of Phonetics 22: 205–224.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. Vowels: A Revisit. In Studi in Onore di Franco Ferrero, P. Cosi, E.M. Caldognetto & A. Zamboni (eds), 143–148. Rome: Unipress.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Evans, B.G. & Iverson, P. 2007. Plasticity in vowel perception and production: A study of accent change in young adults. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 121(6): 3814–3826. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fahey, R.P., Diehl, R.L. & Traunmüller, H. 1996. Perception of back vowels: Effects of varying F1-F0 Bark distance. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 99(4): 2350–2357. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ferguson, S.H. & Kewley-Port, D. 2007. Talker differences in clear and conversational speech: acoustic characteristics of vowels. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 50: 1241–1255. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Garrod, S. & Pickering, M. 2009. Joint action, interactive alignment, and dialog. Topics in Cognitive Science 1(2): 292–304. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Giles, H. & Coupland, N. 1991. Language: Contexts and Consequences. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Giles, H., Coupland, N. & Coupland, J. 1991. Accommodation theory: Communication, context and consequences. In Contexts of Accommodation, H. Giles, J. Coupland & N. Coupland (eds), 1–68. Cambridge: CUP. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harrington, J. 2006. An acoustic analysis of ‘happY-tensing’ in the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts. Journal of Phonetics 34: 439–457. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2007. Evidence for a relationship between synchronic variability and diachronic change in the Queen’s annual Christmas broadcasts. In Laboratory Phonology 9, J. Cole & J.I. Hualde (eds), 125–143. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harrington, J., Kleber, F. & Reubold, U. 2008. Compensation for coarticulation, /u/-fronting, and sound change in standard southern British: An acoustic and perceptual study. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 123(5): 2825–2835. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harrington, J., Palethorpe, S. & Watson, C. 2000a. Does the Queen speak the Queen’s English? Nature 408: 927–928. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2000b. Monophthongal vowel changes in Received Pronunciation: an acoustic analysis of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts. Journal of the International Phonetic Association 30: 63–78. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2005. Deepening or lessening the divide between diphthongs? An analysis of the Queen’s annual Christmas broadcasts. In A Figure of Speech: A Festschrift for John Laver, W.J. Hardcastle & J. Beck (eds), 227–261. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harrington, J., Palethorpe, S. & Watson. C. 2007. Age-related changes in fundamental frequency and formants: A longitudinal study of four speakers. In Proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association (Interspeech 2007), 2753–2756. Antwerp: International Speech Communication Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hay, J., Jannedy, S. & Mendoza-Denton, N. 1999. Oprah and /ay/: Lexical frequency, referee design, and style. In Proceedings of the XIVth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, 1389–1392. San Francisco CA: The International Phonetic Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. Oprah and /ay/: Lexical frequency, referee design and style. In The Sociolinguistics Reader, M. Meyerhoff & E. Schleef (eds), 53–58. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hoemeke, K.A. & Diehl, R.L. 1994. Perception of vowel height: The role of F1-F0 distance. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 96(2): 661–674. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Howell, P., Barry, W. & Vinson, D. 2006. Strength of British English accents in altered listening conditions. Perception and Psychophysics 68(1): 139–153. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keijzer, M. 2011. Language reversion versus general cognitive decline: Towards a new taxonomy of language change in elderly bilingual immigrants. In Modeling Bilingualism: From Structure to Chaos – In Honor of Kees de Bot [Studies in Bilingualism 43], M. Schmid & W. Lowie (eds), 221–232. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Labov, W. 1994. Principles of Linguistic Change, Vol. 1: Internal Factors. Malden MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lindblom, B. 2001. Explaining phonetic variation: A sketch of the H&H theory. In Speech Production and Speech Modelling, W.J. Hardcastle & A. Marchal (eds), 403–439. Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lindblom, B. & Sundberg, J. 1971. Acoustical consequences of lip, tongue, jaw, and larynx movement. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 50(4): 1166–1179. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Linville, S.E. & Fisher, H. 1985. Acoustic characteristics of women’s voices with advancing age. Journal of Gerontology 40(3): 324–330. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Linville, S.E. & Rens, J. 2001. Vocal tract resonance analysis of aging voice using long-term average spectra. Journal of Voice 15(3): 323–330. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liss, J.M., Weismer, G. & Rosenbek, J.C. 1990. Selected acoustic characteristics of speech production in very old males. Journal of Gerontology 45(2): 35–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mariën, P., Verslegers, L., Moens, M., Dua, G., Herregods, P. & Verhoeven, J. 2013. Posterior fossa syndrome after cerebellar stroke. The Cerebellum 12(5): 686–691. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mioche, L., Bourdiol, P., Monier, S., Martin, J.-F. & Cormier, D. 2004. Changes in jaw muscles activity with age: Effects on food bolus properties. Physiology & Behavior 82(4): 621–627. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Monemi, M., Thornell, L.-E. & Eriksson, P.-O. 1999. Diverse changes in fibre type composition of the human lateral pterygoid and digastric muscles during aging. Journal of the Neurological Sciences 171(1): 38–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pardo, J.S. 2006. On phonetic convergence during conversational interaction. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119(4): 2382–2393. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013. Measuring phonetic convergence in speech production. Frontiers in Psychology 4: 559.  Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pardo, J.S., Gibbons, R., Suppes, A. & Krauss, R.M. 2012. Phonetic convergence in college roommates. Journal of Phonetics 40(1): 190–197. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peterson, G.E. & Barney, H.L. 1952. Control methods used in a study of the vowels. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 24(2): 175–184. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pickering, M.J. & Garrod, S. 2004. Toward a mechanistic psychology of dialogue. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 27(2): 169–226. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Prescher, P. 2007. Identity, immigration and first language attrition. In Language Attrition: Theoretical Perspectives [Studies in Bilingualism 33], B. Köpke, M. Schmid, M. Keijzer & S. Dostert (eds), 189–204. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rastatter, M.P. & Jacques, R.D. 1990. Formant frequency structure of the aging male and female vocal tract. Folia phoniatrica 42: 312–319. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Reubold, U., Harrington, J. & Kleber, F. 2010. Vocal aging effects on F0 and the first formant: A longitudinal analysis in adult speakers. Speech Communication 52(7–8): 638–651. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Roth, E.J., Fink, K., Cherney, L.R. & Hall, K.D. 1997. Reversion to a previously learned foreign accent after stroke. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 78(5): 550–552. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sankoff, G. 2004. Adolescents, young adults and the critical period: Two case studies from “Seven Up”. In Sociolinguistic Variation: Critical reflections, C. Ford (ed.), 121–139. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sankoff, G. & Blondeau, H. 2007. Language change across the lifespan: /r/ in Montreal French. Language 83(3): 560–588. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schiel, F., Draxler, C. & Harrington, J. 2011. Phonemic segmentation and labelling using the MAUS technique. Paper presented at the Workshop ‘New Tools and Methods for Very-Large-Scale Phonetics Research’ , University of Pennsylvania, January 28–31, 2011. <[URL]> (21 August 2014).
Scukanec, G., Petrosino, L. & Squibb, K. 1991. Formant frequency characteristics of children, young adult, and aged female speakers. Perceptual and Motor Skills 73(1): 203–208. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Syrdal, A.K. & Gopal, H.S. 1986. A perceptual model of vowel recognition based on the auditory representation of American English vowels. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 79(4): 1086–1100. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Traunmüller, H. 1981. Perceptual dimension of openness in vowels. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 69(5): 1465–1475. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1991. The context sensitivity of the perceptual interaction between f0 and F1. In Proceedings of the XIIth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Vol. 5, 62–65. Aix-en-Provence: The International Phonetic Association.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trudgill, P. 1992. Norwich revisited: Recent linguistic changes in an English urban dialect. In Thirty Years of Linguistic Evolution: Studies in Honour of René Dirven on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, M. Pütz (ed.), 361–377. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weinreich, U., Labov, W. & Herzog, M. 1968. Empirical foundations for a theory of language change. In Directions for Historical Linguistics, W.P. Lehmann & Y. Malkiel (eds), 95–188. Austin TX: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wells, J.C. 1982. Accents of English. Cambridge: CUP. Standard lexical sets online: <[URL]> (21 August 2014). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wright, J. 1905. The English Dialect Grammar. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xue, S.A. & Hao, G.J. 2003. Changes in the human vocal tract due to aging and the acoustic correlates of speech production: A pilot study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 46(3): 689–701. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xue, S.A., Jiang, J., Lin, E., Glassenberg, R. & Mueller, P.B. 1999. Age-related changes in human vocal tract configurations and the effects on speakers’ vowel formant frequencies: A pilot study. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology 24(3): 132–137. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (10)

Cited by ten other publications

Wirtz, Mason A. & Philip C. Vergeiner
2025. Typen des individuellen Sprachwandels nach wesentlichen Lebensereignissen. Zeitschrift für germanistische Linguistik 53:3 ► pp. 489 ff. DOI logo
Zhang, Nan, Lihe Huang & Deyu Zhou
2025. Multimodal Corpus-Based Studies of Language Development: A Plea for Lifespan Linguistics . Corpus-based Studies across Humanities DOI logo
Cheng, Andrew
2023. Second Dialect Acquisition “in Real Time”: Two Longitudinal Case Studies from YouTube. American Speech: A Quarterly of Linguistic Usage 98:2 ► pp. 194 ff. DOI logo
Kendall, Tyler, Nicolai Pharao, Jane Stuart-Smith & Charlotte Vaughn
2023. Advancements of phonetics in the 21st century: Theoretical issues in sociophonetics. Journal of Phonetics 98 ► pp. 101226 ff. DOI logo
Albuquerque, Luciana, António Teixeira, Catarina Oliveira & Daniela Figueiredo
2022. Age and vowel classification improvement by the inclusion of vowel dynamic features. International Journal of Speech Technology 25:4 ► pp. 1025 ff. DOI logo
Riverin-Coutlée, Josiane & Jonathan Harrington
2022. Phonetic change over the career: a case study. Linguistics Vanguard 8:1 ► pp. 41 ff. DOI logo
Stanley, Joseph A., Margaret E. L. Renwick, Katherine Ireland Kuiper & Rachel M. Olsen
2021. Back Vowel Dynamics and Distinctions in Southern American English. Journal of English Linguistics 49:4 ► pp. 389 ff. DOI logo
Valente, Ana Rita, Catarina Oliveira, Luciana Albuquerque, António Teixeira & Plínio A. Barbosa
2021. Prosodic Changes with Age: A Longitudinal Study on a Famous European Portuguese Native Speaker. In Speech and Computer [Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 12997], ► pp. 726 ff. DOI logo
Ruch, Hanna, Yvonne Zürcher & Judith M. Burkart
2018. The function and mechanism of vocal accommodation in humans and other primates. Biological Reviews 93:2 ► pp. 996 ff. DOI logo
Cox, Felicity & Sallyanne Palethorpe
2017. Open Vowels in Historical Australian English. In Listening to the Past, ► pp. 502 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue