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The purpose of this study was to determine the speaking fundamental vocal frequency of young Black adults during prompted spontaneous speech and reading and to compare the results with published data for White subjects of comparable age. Subjects were 100 men and 100 women volunteers, ranging in age from 18 to 29 years. Central tendency and dispersion values were calculated from data obtained with a fundamental frequency analyzer (FLORIDA I). The mean modal fundamental vocal frequency for spontaneous speaking was 108.05 Hz for men and 188.85 Hz for women. The mean range was 80.70–166.65 Hz (6.27 tones) for men and 132.55–270.80 Hz (6.18 tones) for women. The men showed smaller excursions from the mean mode to the lower limit of the mean range (27.35 Hz, 2.52 tones) than from the mean mode to the upper limit of the mean range (58.60 Hz, 3.75 tones). The women had a range of 81.95 Hz above and 56.30 Hz below the mean mode but approximately equal tonal intervals above and below (3.12 and 3.06, respectively). A comparison of prompted spontaneous speech to reading for the same subjects indicated that the mean modal fundamental vocal frequency was significantly lower and the mean range was significantly greater for speaking than tier reading. Both men and women had a mean speaking range of one octave. In comparison to published values for young White adult subjects, the Black subjects ill this study had a lower mean fundamental vocal frequency.

This study investigated the measures of central tendency (mean mode) and dispersion (standard deviations and ranges) of the reading fundamental vocal frequency in young black adults. The subjects were 200 (100 males/100 females college student volunteers whose ages ranged from 18 to 29 years, A fundamental frequency analyzer (FLORIDA I) was used to measure the fundamental vocal frequency. The mean modal fundamental vocal frequency for males was 110.15 Hz, with a mean range from 81.95 Hz to 158.50 Hz. The mean modal fundamental vocal frequency for females was 193.10 Hz, with a mean range from 139,05 Hz to 266.10 Hz, The males showed a slightly greater range expressed in tones than did the females, Compared to a similar white population studied by Fitch & Holbrook (1970), the black population had lower mean modal fundamental vocal frequencies and greater mean frequency ranges, Fitch's white subjects showed a greater range below the mean mode than above it. This behavior was reversed for the black subjects of the present study. Such patterns of vocal behavior may be important clues which alert the listener to the speaker's racial identity.

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