Prosodic features of Blagoveshchensk residents in correlation with their gender and age: A comparative study

This paper aims to study the correlation of speech rate and pauses with age and gender in the Amur Russian local accent. Spontaneous monologues were obtained from 8 male and 6 female subjects, residents of 78 Blagoveshchensk, representing 3 age groups. Acoustic measurements were performed in PRAAT. As a result, it was discovered that all subjects’ speech rate was fast; young subjects had slower speech rate compared to middleaged and elderly subjects. Meanwhile young males’ speech rate was slightly faster than young females’ one; middleaged males had much faster speech rate compared to elderly females. Thus, females’ speech rate was slower than males’ one. Empty pauses outnumbered filled pauses in all subjects except for 2 young males showing the opposite tendency. Hesitation pauses in females’ speech were longer than in males’ speech. The factor of age was found to influence pause duration – younger subjects had shorter pauses compared to older subjects. There was a direct correlation of speech rate and pause duration – the slower the rate, the shorter the pauses and the reverse. Vocalization was the most frequent filled pause pattern in young subjects – females used it more often than males. Older males did not tend to use that pattern while it was typical for older females accounting for about 50% of all fillers. The second frequent filled pause pattern in males’ speech was nonverbal pauses while in females – verbal ones. Sound lengthening was characteristic for females. Less frequent pause fillers were repetitions and selfcorrections.