女性流行公鴨嗓 在職場更有利

Females are adopting a croaky drawl known as 'vocal fry' and showcased by the likes of many US celebrities including reality TV stars the Kardashian family. One cultural critic complained that it made young women sound like 'ducks quacking.

女性中正在流行一種低啞的長音——“氣泡音”，這種發音效仿了許多美國明星的發音，包括真人秀明星卡戴珊家族。一位文化批評家抱怨說，效仿“氣泡音”讓很多年輕女性聽起來就像是“嘎嘎叫的公鴨”。

Also known as creaky voice, it involves elongating certain syllables so that they vibrate at the back of the throat, creating a tapping sound like a stick running along a railing. With vocal fry, the phrase 'no way' becomes 'no waaaaaaay' and 'whatever' turns into 'whateverrrrrr'.

這種發音方式也叫作“嘎音”，發音時需將特定音節拉長，在喉嚨後部發生震顫，形成一種拍打的聲音，就像是拿着一根木棍滑過欄杆那樣。用上“氣泡音”，短語“no way”(沒門兒)就成了“no waaaaaaay”，而“whatever”(管它呢)會變成“whateverrrrrr”。

An experiment by university researchers found 86 per cent students tested vocal fry in normal speech when asked to repeat a list of made-up words. Louisiana State University researchers said that women think that lower voices make them seem more masculine and so better able to take on men in the workplace.

在一項試驗中，大學研究人員要求讓學生們重複一組捏造的詞語，最後發現86%的學生在日常講話中都有“氣泡音”。路易斯安那州立大學研究人員說，女性認爲降低嗓音說話可以顯得更爲男性化，然後就能在工作場所更好地承擔男性的工作。

A spokesman of Elsevier, the Journal of Voice, said: "The results suggest that even when words have no meaning, young female speakers will seek to mark the end of an utterance or add emphasis with vocal fry."

一位來自愛思維爾出版集團旗下《語音雜誌》的發言人說：“研究結果表明，即使單詞沒有任何意義，年輕女性也會在音節最後或重音上加入氣泡音。”

However, while the vocal quirk hasn't done Kim Kardashian's career any harm, many believe it carries negative connotations. One study found that women with the speech pattern sound less competent and less employable.

然而，雖然這種發音癖好並沒有對金·卡戴珊的職業生涯帶來任何不良影響，很多人卻相信氣泡音裏蘊含一種消極意味。一份研究表明，用這種方式發音的女性會聽起來缺乏才幹，更不易受聘。