Do I have to make my voice deeper when I speak English?

daddy voice?????????????????? 😭😭😭

wtf is this

No. Please just use your normal voice.

Absolutely not, every word of that is nonsense. Consider this example, from the movie Lincoln: [https://youtu.be/1qjtugr2618?si=05EF6MHTPKFdwsA2](https://youtu.be/1qjtugr2618?si=05EF6MHTPKFdwsA2) We don't have recordings of Abraham Lincoln, of course, but his voice was routinely characterized as high and nasal. Daniel Day-Lewis incorporated that into the character, speaking at a much higher tone than he usually does. Historians consider his portrayal the most accurate: [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/daniel-day-lewis-lincoln-voice-historically-accurate/](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/daniel-day-lewis-lincoln-voice-historically-accurate/) Use your own voice. You only make it worse and sound insecure by intentionally trying to make it deeper. This is so well-known it's a joke in one of the Marvel movies: [https://youtu.be/It67i5uKqos?si=C5z8WEJJ8XIIAuvd&t=84](https://youtu.be/It67i5uKqos?si=C5z8WEJJ8XIIAuvd&t=84)

Sort of, but I don't think the text in your photo is explaining it super well and simplifies a lot. English is not a tonal language and thus does not use pitch to change the definition of a word, but it does use it to some extent combined with speech speed to denote deeper meaning in sentences. An example of that is that if you talk quickly in a high pitch, you may be perceived as stressed. Or if you start a sentence with a low pitch and slowly raise it throughout the sentence, your statement will be seen as a question. It seems to be conflating that with a belief that using a super deep voice is seen as more attractive and normal, which I don't think is true. I would not deliberately try to use a super deep voice to speak English, though, as people will think that's weird and it's just not necessary. Just try to match the pitches displayed by other female English speakers and you'll be fine.

People are telling you it's "weird" to adapt your speaking voice to another language. I disagree...as do the data: [Different languages](https://erikbern.com/assets/lang_languages_comparison.png) (and indeed, [different dialects](https://erikbern.com/assets/lang_en_origins_comparison.png)) tend toward different speaking pitch, with respect to the median speaker. The blue dots represent a distribution of surveyed male speakers, and the pink dots represent a distribution of females. My speaking voice is highest when speaking Japanese...then goes lower in order through Polish, Spanish, English, and finally German. That being said, this is not something I do artificially; the sounds of each language still sit within a comfortable range for my vocal cords. If you feel like you're forcing your voice beyond a place of comfort, then you're likely doing much. (Sad to say, but not everyone can be daddy.) However, it is not only reasonable (but entirely ordinary!) to have a different speaking voice in a different language. --- [Source](https://erikbern.com/2017/02/01/language-pitch.html)

Speak with your natural voice; yes, there are social biases and expectations associated with certain kinds of voices, but that goes for any language no matter what. It's best to not worry too much about this sort of thing. Focus on speaking well as opposed to how you sound.

Only if you're a chick who's scamming a bunch of venture capitalists.

There are plenty of linguistic sources that say that certain languages have certain vocal characteristics. This is ENTIRELY incorrect. A language, let alone an accent, does not have vocal characteristics whatsoever. Vocal characteristics are not phonetic. Yes, you CAN hear patterns in voices depending on what country a person is from. For example, Japanese people tend to have less bass in their voices and be relatively quiet whereas American people tend to have more bass in their voices and be relatively loud. You can even hear how natively bilingual people's voices change when they switch between languages. However, this only happens due to these possible reasons: * Differences in physical structures of vocal cords * Certain vowel pronunciations making certain voices easier and more natural to project than others * Certain cultures perceive certain voices differently from other cultures and therefore the voices are depending less on the pronunciations and more on the cultural perceptions of voices. * People's behaviours and personalities can depend on the culture too. And how they use their voices can heavily depend on their behaviours and personalities. So yes, due to these factors above, it is observably true that people from certain countries have distinct vocal characteristics, so English speakers tend to have English speaker voices. But the voice itself is NOT a phonetic characteristic whatsoever. No matter what kind of voice you do, if your accent itself is perfect, you will not sound any more or less like a native speaker. If you still don't like the sound of your voice, then your voice adjustment should be done entirely separately from your accent training. As long as you are aware that your voice adjustment is NOT a part of your accent training and you are basically multitasking by focusing on both accent and voice, then I think you should be fine. But if you don't even dislike the sound of your voice in the first place, you truly don't have remotely any reason to focus on the way your voice sounds.

Just speak normally as you do.If Americans entrusted power to people with a deep voice, politics would be woman free.

I actually can’t stop laughing

No just speak however feels natural.

Have to? No. Is this bad advice? Probably not tbh. It's down to whatever you're comfortable with. I personally won't modify myself to appeal to some pea brain normie who somehow thinks "deep voice = more authoratative".

No. Chances are you'll just sound weird and people will be confused. Unless you can really pull it off and sound natural I wouldn't do it.

No this is weird and I’m not really sure what it’s referring to. If you try to alter your voice people will notice and think it’s odd.

Trust me, you don't want to get stuck having to do a voice that is not your natural voice. Not only is it not going to sound right, even if you can perfect it at some point you're going to slip and reveal your natural voice and people are going to think you're a con artist or something.

A small point about “published studies” from an academic: they are ultimately single data points. Even if they did everything correctly, a study still needs to be critiqued, replicated, and put in proper context. All that to say, please do not make significant changes to your life (or in this case, tone of voice) because of a single study.

Absolutely not. Just talk normally. This is some of the stupidest advice I've ever heard.

No. I do believe the study, and think that it probably does apply to most people, but...if your voice isn't naturally deep, trying to make it so is only going to sound even worse. This is just the genetic burden you may be born with

The what voice

Yes, deeper voices are *generally* perceived as more authoritative in the U.S. (I'm surprised to read that this is a specifically national trait, but I'll take that as given for now.) Successful newscasters, pundits, politicians, and dramatic actors are more likely to speak in lower tones, but of course there are many exceptions and it's not the only or even the most important factor. (It may be becoming less important. I listen to a lot of podcasts, news, and talk shows on long drives and it seems to me the "radio voice" is less prevalent than it used to be, but that's just my impression.) I would advise against lowering your voice "as much as possible" though. Not only is this likely to sound unnatural (and somewhat ridiculous) in the short term, you could end up doing long-term damage to your vocal apparatus. Instead, think of emphasizing the lower part of your natural register. I won't go into methods here because there are many online guides and videos on the topic. It's something of an obsession with public speakers and performers. Keep in mind that in standard U.S. English, declarative sentences typically fall in pitch at the end. Rising pitch ("uptalk") is often perceived as a sign of weakness and uncertainty. (This is of course a gross generalization; as always there are many factors that go into verbal communication.) You also don't want to stay at the same pitch too long or you'll sound robotic and lose your listener's interest. So, if you start off too low there will be nowhere to go. Also, you may find it harder to project at a lower pitch, which may cause you to trail off and lose volume at the end of longer speeches.

Where did you get this literature?

No

I have noticed a difference when I speak at the higher end of my natural register (people get annoyed) and at the lower end (people relax). My natural space is somewhere in the middle. When I am trying to calm and assure people, or trying to get them to understand a complicated concept that they are struggling with and starting to become frustrated, I naturally fall into my lower register. I don't know I've done it until I notice the immediate change in the other person (I have been told my lower register is very calming, almost meditative). It's not that you have to alter your tone all the time, but there are situations where it can be helpful.

“The Daddy Voice” is CRAAAAZY dude

Many native speakers will not agree with me. My native tutors told me English is a "throaty" language compared to others. There are many vibrations in the throats. Many people do vocal fry and girls usually speak with a high pitch voice. Just listen to English news, you are not going to hear high pitch English. Of course, I don't do "Daddy voice." Sounds creepy AF.... Ok, let the downvote begin.

I mean either you're gonna sound goofy or you're gonna be stuck doing voice training to achieve what you want which is a long-term commitment and will affect how you sound in your native language

Elizabeth Holmes actually did this. She did hers uncomfortably baritone. You can find compilations of her voice online.

English’s speaking frequency is noticeably on the lower end compared to most other languages, especially for men, but thats just an average. In practice only lower your voice to the extent that it actually sounds better. Unsurprisingly, when it comes to accent, your ear is always the best tool for improvement. Always trust your ear over anything you’ve read.

Nope, just speak how you’d usually speak, and I’ve *never* heard of the so-called “daddy voice”, what the heck?? 🤣🤣

What they mean is that you sound less like a gay if your voice sounds deeper (don't come for me, I'm a gay with a high voice). It's homophobia.

No, of you're native language is naturally placed higher than English, you will likely lower your voice when speaking English naturally as you learn. Forcing it will sound strange

I don't think this is a thing, but what I would recommend to you is to speak loudly, not yelling, but to increase the volume of your voice. Have fun!

This is true. There was [a very infamous woman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Holmes) a few years ago who made her voice unnaturally deep, so as to be treated more seriously as a professional. A deeper voice is definitely something people subconsciously respect. That doesn't mean you should purposefully try to put on a fake voice, though. If you become good at mimicking American pronunciation, you should feel your voice naturally become "throatier" anyway.

I mean a deeper voice *is* considered good *if you have it naturally*. If you delibretly lower your voice to mimic that its seen as very strange and honestly a bit insecure. As for the higher pitch thing, if you're like... performing stress like in a movie making your voice a higher pitch kinda does that? But again thats in shows where being performative is the point. I guess there's also screaming but I don't think thats an english thing. This is truly insane advice where the hell did you find this

I mean, it is technically true that deeper voices give off more authority, but that doesn’t mean everyone is deepening their voices all the time. Pretty sure it mostly applies to presidents and other elected officials.

While it can be nice to learn to speak from your chest in a general sense, no, you do not need to have "daddy voice"

1st, it's not an American thing, it's a human thing, our brains go brrrrr, with lower voices in general. I think the issue is English is an Indo European language as so is tonal while other language families, specifically more Eastern families, are pitch based. Also, another aside, human hearing tends to process the lower end range of the speech spectrum better, so that be a reason for it's favorability

So, there is vocal "racism" now?

No

There’s probably value in speaking in the lowest range that is comfortable for you, but don’t feel the pressure to conform to some arbitrary concept of “daddy voice” (which is hilarious). I am a man with a relatively baritone speaking voice (not exceptionally deep bit not high) but when I need to be heard clearly and project, it’s necessary for me to bring my pitch up a few notes. It tends to come across more tenor than baritone.

Speak in your own voice and in your own accent. Never put on a voice or accent. Concentrate on the quality of your English and general pronunciation.

If you go out of your way to try to be as deep voiced as possible, you are going to be too distracted to communicate effectively and will come off as weird. Rather than worrying about trying to go through some kind of training, just lean towards using the deeper tones of your natural range than the higher tones. If it requires you to put in a lot of conscious effort or you feel any strain in your vocal chords or other body parts, you're trying too hard.

This is kind of ridiculous if you ask me.

This screenshot is unbelievably creepy. Don't change the timbre of your voice and don't read anything else from whoever wrote what you just posted.

Not a good idea. This would be rather unpleasant to try and keep up for longer periods of time, and if you're ever unable to not pitch down (which can absolutely happen if you catch a cold or have a sore throat or something like that), it'll leave a really awkward impression with people used to the deeper voice. Also, this immediately makes me think of Elizabeth Holmes who people caught doing this on a few recordings - and she was scamming people. Definitely not the best association to have. It bears noting that your pitch will likely be a bit different when you speak in English compared to your native language to begin with.

Speaking as an American, it definitely doesn't hurt. People with accents and deep voices do tend to have an easier time getting laid here, regardless of gender. It also sounds more authoritative. There's nothing Americans love more than bootlicking. Why do you think we just gave ourselves a dictator for Christmas last year?

Be yourself and you'll be fine :)

This isn't technically wrong its just weird because of the modern context of the word "daddy". Its really just illustrating that masculine authorities have recognizable and respectable voices in our culture. But this is generally true for all languages; deeper frequencies soothe the human brain in general or they demand attention when used assertively.

I wouldn't say so, but I'm not American.

It's not a deeper voice, but English does have a different voice placement than many other languages. Look up videos about placement on Rachel's English on YouTube. She talks a lot about mouth posture, getting your pitch down a bit, and about avoiding nasalization. It shouldn't hurt, but its possible.

daddy voice is truly diabolical loll

I think you should refrain from doing this unless you sound like a castrato or you want girls to say *spank me Daddy* lol.

Daddy voice????? Reminds me more of a sexual thing... Funny have a voice, use the one you have. Otherwise you'll sound really weird.

Don't do that. Forcing yourself to speak deeper than you naturally do, can cause irritation of your vocal cords which can take quite a while to go away. That said, Americans do tend to be pretty stereotypical in their pitch, men speaking as deep and booming as they can, and women speaking in higher and chirpier voices. (This is, of course, a gross oversimplification). I am a woman with a deep voice and have been told by natives that I should "lighten up" and that my voice sounds angry. I only sound angry if you force me to speak like a Disney princess. 🙄

_zesty ahh naming scheme_

This is weird. That said people tell me I have a lower voice in English than I do speaking Dutch or German. I don't know why but it might be a trait of the language what they're referring to here?

No.