ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some experimental evidence concerning listener identification of child gender from voices, certain acoustic characteristics of boys' and girls' voices and the possibility of anatomical differences in their vocal structures. It describes a study recently undertaken by one of the authors, in a United Kingdom context, to assess whether a perceptual difference exists between boys' and girls' voices and, if so, its possible basis in speech production. The explanation for the gender distinctions in children's voices may either be that there are anatomical differences or those boys and girls acquire different learned patterns in certain aspects of speech motor production. Further analysis carried out involved comparing the fundamental frequency of those subjects perceived to be girls with those perceived to be boys, irrespective of their actual gender. The chapter explains a study undertaken on a group of Scottish children to examine some of the issues raised.
