Do races have different voices?

fraz   Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:17 pm GMT
My wife works in a call centre and deals with Americans frequently. She can identify a black person by the tone of their voice.

The races have different physical characteristics. When did you last see a white 100m champion for example?
Janek   Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:07 pm GMT
>>The races have different physical characteristics.>>

Men and women have different physical chracteristics, children and adults have different ones, fat men and thin men have different ones etc. Why do we so concern just races but ignore other personal peculiarities?
Different people have different voices and it has nothing to do with races
Guest   Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:32 pm GMT
<<The races have different physical characteristics. When did you last see a white 100m champion for example? >>

Humans of course all possess different characteristics, but the racial terms like Negroid, Caucasian, black or white are not actually scientific at all. Humans are part of one big genetic continuum. That doesn't mean anything more than than that people that live in closer proximity to each are more likely to be genetically closer, which would be expected. The colonialism of the last few hundred years has brought disparate people together, hence I guess, the forming of artificial categories like black and white.
ESB   Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:55 pm GMT
As the saying goes, "Denial is not just a river in Egypt."

Humans differ from each other, and have distinct characteristics. Learn to deal with it.
Gillette   Wed Aug 26, 2009 11:29 pm GMT
>>Men and women have different physical chracteristics, children and adults have different ones, fat men and thin men have different ones etc. Why do we so concern just races but ignore other personal peculiarities?
Different people have different voices and it has nothing to do with races

You are so right with "different people have different voices", but I disagree that it has "nothing" to do with races. As Guest said, race is an artificial construct, since humans live in a genetic continuum. But the thing is, what the term "race" tries to define is simply different parts of this continuum. Of course it isn't anywhere near that simple, and there's a heckuva lot of fuzziness when you get near boundaries. But you can't deny that, say, Germans and Englishmen have more genetic similarities than Germans and Kenyans. So the groupings such as "white", "black", etc. have SOME basis to them, like it or not.

And as far as voices are concerned, genetics certainly will have an effect on your speech organs' physiology (just as it does facial features, hair color, and other physical traits). But while genetics has an effect on how you'll sound, so won't your physical size, age, languages, etc. So Janek, I totally agree that lots of things go into a person's voice - but race (or more precisely, genetic heritage) is definitely going to be one of them. The real question of this thread is whether the genetic contribution is strong enough to definitively tell a person's heritage.
science is not racist   Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:28 am GMT
<<
Men and women have different physical chracteristics, children and adults have different ones, fat men and thin men have different ones etc. Why do we so concern just races but ignore other personal peculiarities?
Different people have different voices and it has nothing to do with races >>


Um, of course men and women have different physical characteristics. Next you deniers will be claiming that sex has no effect on one's voice, or that children speak the same as adults.
Danny   Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:36 am GMT
I think the point is not that black people have always a deep kind of rough and in my opinion beautiful voices. The point is that caucasians never have voices like that.
sop   Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:49 am GMT
Can you tell if he's black?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYHFae4wgj0
Gina   Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:46 am GMT
^ Ugly language.
Lynette   Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:05 am GMT
Sorry you all, but I'm going to have to disagree. Yes it's true that some ethnic groups' voices differ from others, but that's because they're around people who are like themselves..come on. I can tell sometimes what ethnicity a person is by just hearing them speak..over phone or radio, or even on t.v. when I'm not paying attention to the screen, but there are also too many "exceptions" to make the whole race in relation to voice theory true. Most of the time when you hear blacks, whites, asians or maybe others speak, it's because they have accents. I've noticed most white girls in California have a "valley girl" accent, as opposed to some blacks and latinos, because some(esp. younger) use slang, and some asians sound "white"(what some of you are saying), for the reason that, those who are "americanized" and are raised around white people, may sound "white." People copy what they hear. If there was anything to this, do you think there would be so many people who could imitate others' voices,regardless of ethnicity. There are countless comedians who demonstrate this. Plus, I have some asian friends who sound "black" because that's who they have been raised around, while I have other asian friends who sound "white," because that is who they have been raised around,and then I have asian friends who sound well..like their ethnicity(whether that be Korean, Chinese, Indian, Filipino,etc.),since they are from their native country,and are not american. This goes for black and white people as well. I've noticed that my Ethiopian friends have a higher pitched voice than my Nigerian firends. Now, maybe what I'm saying isn't true, but I think I might be.
Lynette   Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:07 am GMT
sorry, typo...meant to type- Nigerian friends.
@Danny   Fri Aug 28, 2009 8:43 pm GMT
[and in my opinion beautiful voices]

That is a similarly patronising variant on [good dancers].
Milton   Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:25 pm GMT
She can identify a black person by the tone of their voice. //

Anastasia is a white blond, yet here voice sounds ''black'':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfbUawDPteY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mVEGMWlCDQ&feature=related
Guest   Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:30 pm GMT
Maybe she has some black blood.
The observer   Tue Sep 01, 2009 6:53 pm GMT
<<Do races have different voices?>>

Yes.

All races have different characteristics, of course. (the human race is a colourful one)

Sometimes those are unique, such as red and blonde hair and green/blue eyes which are unique for white people for instance.

Our differences should be celebrated! Unfortunately though, because of a corrupt school system and a main stream media doing what it can to brain wash the population bringing this up will most often have you scorned, called being a "racist" and so on, a shame.

(by the way, pay close attention to possible comments after this post for confirmation, ok, it will pop up)


Back to different voices:

Personally I like the warm frequency of black peoples voices myself, I find it appealing.


:)