Although the reading for this week focused on sound and how it is acquired, the chapter losing your voice made me think about something I have noticed in many non-native speakers of English. Macquarie University is a very diverse University with students from all around the world. The University has large majority of Asian students including students from Indonesia. As I walked passed a group of Indonesian students, I realized how the tone of their voice was louder when they spoke Indonesian. The tone dropped suddenly as soon as they started speaking English. I went to the dining hall and sat near a group of Asian students and listened to how they spoke. While speaking Chinese their tone was loud. I could clearly hear them from another table. But, while speaking English their tone was significantly low. I wondered if such trend is seen among all the internationals students.
As I came back to University of Richmond, I started noticing similar trend among many international students. Although I could hardly tell the difference in some, there were many whose tone of the voice got louder as they spoke their native language. I was curious if I fell in the same category and I asked my friend to notice the difference next time I was talking to my parents. I was surprised to find out I fell under the same category. I wondered why was there sudden change in the tone when switching from one language to another. Although, I believe the answer to that question depends on each language and how they are spoken, there are few things I feel has contributed to the trend.
It is not necessary for people to raise the tone of their voice while speaking Nepali. However I tend to raise the tone of my voice very frequently. I believe the comfort level in the language has a key role to play in the phenomena. I am very comfortable in Nepali as it is my native language while in English which is an acquired language, I am semi-comfortable. I would much rather speak Nepali with anyone than try to speak English and my confidence is clearly highlighted in the way I speak. Also, adding to the comfort label is the self-belief. If I believe I understand the language well and speak it properly, I am more inclined on speaking with more confidence. However, if I believe I am a learner, I am often hesitant on speaking, and even if I do say something, the tone of my voice would be low.
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