Voice quality and variation: A pilot study of the Liverpool accent

Abstract

Voice Quality is a concept which is quite difficult to define. This study proposes a description and a definition of it according to John Laver's model. Moreover, very few studies focused on the variation of voice quality according to accents. This pilot study aims at describing the voice quality of the accent of Liverpool thanks to a perceptual analysis called the Vocal Profile Analysis scheme. The results show that the VPA scheme is a useful tool in order to determine some features of the voice quality of the Liverpool accent. Finally, to our knowledge, there is no study that compares voice quality across several accents of the British Isles. This is why, this study is part of a larger project that will try and identify the voice quality features of some British accents using the VPA scheme.