本期新词

听过"夹子音""公鸭嗓""老烟嗓""低音炮"，可你听过 Vocal Fry 么？

一众明星、歌手、网红都信手拈来的Vocal Fry是个什么“利器”，让一部分人趋之若鹜？

今天的走进科学栏目，今天的Buzzword Vocal Fry, 可能不少人听到都会觉得一头雾水，但是在中文里，这个概念很多人都听过，这就是大名鼎鼎的气泡音。

01

What is Vocal Fry?

听过归听过，可到底什么是气泡音呢？

所谓的气泡音，其实就是发声时，音高最低的声区发出的声音。

发音时, 我们喉中的软骨会靠拢, 让声带紧闭，空气缓慢通过，声带产生不规则的震动，于是就会发出这种音高很低的、听起来很哑的声音。

Vocal Fry

The term refers to the lowest vocal register, where the vocal cords are tightly closed for a very long time in the vibration pattern, resulting in a low pitched, creaky voice.

This might sound really strange to you, but let's hear Vocal Fry in speech.

In one of our previous episodes of Global Village, we invited Stephanie, a nutritionist from New Zealand, and she had very clear Vocal Fry.

We eat cereals in a range of different ways. So some people do have hot water that sounds about weird…

02

Our Vocal Registers

刚才我们说到，气泡音是我们的一个声区(vocal register),人类一般有4个声区, 按照音高从低到高, 分为：

Vocal Fry, 气泡音。

Modal Register, 我们平时说话用的真声。

Falsetto, 比如唱歌的时候用的假声。

Whistle, 哨音是非常罕见的超高海豚音。

Vitas的超高海豚音大家都听过吧，全程替他捏着嗓子！

虽然超高海豚音不是人人都会，但我们每个人都可能发出气泡音。

不过，通常是在无意识或者比较疲累的时候，特别是在句尾词尾容易出现气泡音。

Vocal Fry occurs in everyone, men and women at some time. Usually just momentarily.

Most commonly when we wake up in the morning before we're fully conscious, or when we are tired or deenergized, This is a very normal vocal representation.

03

Why do people us Vocal Fry?

有的人会觉得气泡音非常性感、非常迷人；也有人会非常反感气泡音。

这可能是因为，一直以来，男性都会用比较低沉的声音来彰显权威性。想想标准霸总人设的声音，声线一定不会特别高。

甚至还要调查表明，是否拥有这种低沉权威的声音直接会影响CEO的收入和任期。

People, especially men, would use deep voices to convey authority.

Looking at the CEOs of public companies, scientists found deeper voices made more money.

As pitch of the voice decreased, the CEO's salary increased, and deeper voices do infer longer tenure too.

Other studies found women associate sexual attractiveness with deeper, breathier male voices.

同时女性也会把男性的这种低沉声音和性吸引力连接到一起。

比如没有人会忘记经典电影《这个杀手不太冷》里Leon的气泡音吧。

I had a lot of work lately, so I'm little behind. Mathilda, you are just a little girl, so don't take it badly, but I don't think you could do it.

不过近些年来, 越来越多的年轻女性会下意识的采用这种气泡音.

But in recent years, we're seeing more and more younger women intentionally using the Vocal Fry to lower their pitch.

有一种说法就是认为女性希望能够拥有更多的权利和权威性, 因此会刻意的降低声音，给自己赋能。

The first assumption is women might be trying to mimic the Vocal Fry that is usually associated with power and attractiveness in a male dominated world.

另外一种解释就是像卡戴珊这样的流行文化、明星网红带火了这样的说话方式。

The other assumption is even simpler, pop culture icons such as Kim Kardashian helped popularize this special vocal register; and younger generations simply followed suit.

And I said sure she'd always said it. I thought she was kidding. It's a kid's clothing store. It opens next month in May.

Emotional tour in Europe, we're showing it around, and hanging out and had friends from Paris. They’re so amazing.

????听听“抓马”女皇的气泡音

04

Controversies around Vocal Fry

关于是否要刻意使用气泡音，近些年来也是争议不断。

有不少调查研究就会告诉你，职场并不欢迎这种刻意去使用的气泡音，特别是对于女性求职者。

因为它会让你听起来似乎很倦怠，很无聊。

For example, some surveys are suggesting that using Vocal Fry might hurt our chances in job interviews.

Since the majority of respondents hearing the Vocal Fry, especially in women's voice, have given rather negative feedback.

Many describe the intentional Vocal Fry as sounding weary, bored, and put out.

But then there are others who are also questioning whether the society is policing young women's voices too much.

当然也有人说，凭什么女性用个气泡音，大家就会群起而攻之；而男性使用气泡音就被广泛接受。

不过在中文的环境里，似乎男性气泡音也通常会被冠上【渣男气泡音】这样的称号。

My understanding is this, everyone has their own uniqueness about their voice.

We should try to focus more on the content of our speech.

05

Other discussions re.Vocal Fry

其实，学习声乐的人会刻意练习气泡音，这是因为：

1.它能舒展、按摩声带，就像给你的喉咙做个Jacuzzi.

2. 发气泡音时，气息是集中的，所以能让我们更好地控制声带，让声音更加集中。

3.让声音更加有质感，更有辨识度。

陈奕迅的《孤独患者》了解一下？情感是不是更饱满了？

4.探索你的低音“底线”，让音域更加宽广。

所以，看完这些，你对“气泡音”持什么态度呢？

A. 音高很低，刚好试试；

B. 涨姿势了，可以练练；

C. 强烈抵制，很不喜欢；

例句示范

Example 1：

-Young women who use the vocal fry tend to get more criticism compared with their male counterparts.

Example 2：

-The vocal fry has received increasing attention from both linguists and the popular media in the last 10 years.

Key Words

本期关键词

Vocal Fry

气泡音

Vocal register

声区

Vocal cords

声带

Pitch

音高

Creaky (voice)

（声音）嘶哑

四个声区（从低到高）：

Vocal fry

气泡音（超低）

Modal

真声

Falsetto

假声

Whistle

哨音（海豚音）

Authority

权威

Sexual attractiveness

性吸引力