Can anyone explain what’s up with a lot of male english japanese learners speaking Japanese with a very masculine deep pronunciation?

6 comments

1. I’m actually surprised you heard it that way – I think ToKini Andy’s voice is a bit on the higher side, and I’ve noticed many English to Japanese speakers pitch their voices slightly higher when they switch to Japanese. I wonder if there’s some culturally dependent interpretation here, or if we just each have a different frame of reference for “normal” male voices.

2. So, [this video](https://youtu.be/2W-KUSb3DTM), while about English, talks about placement and achieving a native-like American accent.

   Americans, generally, have a lower placement of the vocal box when speaking than some other languages. Artifacts of your L1 MAY carry over to your L2. So if TokiniAndy speaks with a deeper voice in English, he may carry that over on Japanese.

   Dogen on the other hand [seems to drop](https://youtu.be/O6AoilGEers) his pitch when speaking Japanese.

   Still, I agree with u/quilltips: many people artificially raise their pitch when speaking Japanese. This may be because there are many female voice samples of Japanese and many female native speakers of Japanese raise their pitch to sound more polite (according to one study; there seems to be no perceived politeness for male speakers no matter if their voices where higher or lower).

3. Its funny. I have a naturally high voice for a guy in his mid-20s and even before I started watching people like Matt, Dōgen, and Andy, I’ve had it pointed out by both bilingual Japanese/English speakers and monolingual English speakers that I tend to lower my voice by about an octave when speaking in Japanese because it catches some people off-guard the first time they hear me switch to Japanese. I also speak Tagalog as well as English regularly, and this generally isn’t something I do in either of those languages.

   I think, personally, it’s because a lot of voices I’m drawn to in Japanese tend to be a mix of soft-spoken and stoic, and I had subconsciously come to imitate that. Predictably, a lot of this was from anime I grew up with. The more I listen to natural Japanese and speak to Japanese people, the more it goes away, though if I’m ever feeling shy, I’d still notice myself lowering my pitch.

4. I don’t fully understand what your premise is, but I can share my experience.

   Without really thinking about it I’ve personally gravitated toward speaking Japanese in a slightly higher pitch than English. To me it feels better or more appropriate, like I’m speaking less lazily, or pronouncing things more naturally. I think a higher less resonant voice just meshes better with the mouth and throat based phonemes, like, it’s just easier to get the right amplitude and modulation.

   Also checked out that channel, I’m no expert but the guys voice doesn’t sound forced or lazy, it might be more of an audio recording/mixing quirk that you’re picking up on.

5. Most people when speaking a foreign language will alter their pitch, usually without even noticing.

   I know that my voice elevates like an octave when I go from my native to English, because I feel it’s necessary if I want to actually pull off a decently accurate pronunciation.

   I don’t speak a whole lot of Japanese but when I do, I think it also elevates.

   I think feel the need to get more sound to the front of my mouth so there’s more colour to it, so that the language becomes more crisp and clear.

6. It’s not just the males! Women do that here as well. It depends on the situation. And yeah it’s a cultural thing and super bizarre

   My wife is Japanese and her voice noticeably drops when having a conversation with her parents, but if she’s talking to shop staff or answering the phone she sounds like a high-pitched maid cafe employee