The first and second harmonics should not be used to measure breathiness in male and female voices

A well-established difference between male and female voices is the greater degree of breathy voice used by women. The acoustic measure that has most commonly been used to validate this difference is the amplitude of the first two harmonics relative to each other, as well as in relation to other spectral parameters. This paper suggests that sex-specific differences in the harmonic expression of nasality combined with the high likelihood of nasality being present in the open vowels, which have often been used to minimise the effect of F1 on the lowest harmonics, make H1 and H2 inappropriate reference points to measure sex-specific differences in breathiness. The relative harmonic amplitude patterns are replicated using formant synthesis (SenSyn).

► Problems of using H1 and H2 to measure sex-specific differences in breathiness outlined.
► Sex-specific differences in H1–H2 are related to sex-specific differences in nasality.
► Sex-specific differences found in nasal and non-nasal contexts.