Listeners' Evaluations of Voice Quality in Australian English Speakers

Voice qualities function communicatively in various ways within social interactions. This study uses a matched guise technique, in which Australian speakers producing examples of breathy, creaky, nasal, tense, and whispery voices were evaluated by Australian and American listeners on the dimensions of status and solidarity. The major results indicated that high status was accorded to male tense voice, and high solidarity to female breathy voice. Both these results are in accordance with earlier studies. Nasal voice was evaluated low in status but somewhat higher on solidarity. Nasal voice has been associated with the non-standard “Broad Australian” speech variety. The last result, therefore, may indicate a type of accent loyalty, or be an example of the covert prestige accorded non-standard accents generally. No nationality of subject differences were found.