Listener Age Estimates of Elderly African American and Caucasian Male Speakers

Abstract

Speech samples were obtained from 28 male speakers between the ages of 65 and 85 years. Half the speakers were African American and half were Caucasian. The taperecorded speech samples were presented to groups of African American and Caucasian listeners who estimated the age of each speaker in a forward and backward play condition. Both African American and Caucasian listeners tended to underestimate the ages of the Caucasian speakers. Fundamental frequency, frequency range, reading rate, and number and length of pauses were determined. African American speakers demonstrated slower reading rates and longer and more frequent within-sentences pauses. Age estimates were significantly correlated with reading rate in the forward speaking condition.