Comparative Study of Male and Female Whispered and Phonated Versions of the Long Vowels of Swedish

Confusions in vowel quality and in speaker sex for whispered and phonated versions of the long vowels of Swedish have been analysed. The recognition rate was higher than that obtained in other studies, and this is attributed to the use of real words (letter names). The recognition of vowel quality was observed to interact with that of speaker sex in the whispered versions, but not in the phonated ones. The paper also reports on F₀ and the frequency positions of the first three formants, and their dynamics, as well as on the overall spectral shape of the vowels. Intrinsic pitch and the observed upward shift of the lower formants in whispering as well as the spectral level differences agree largely with those found in other languages. Discrepancies and similarities with previous descriptions of the Swedish vowels are discussed.