What are you views on Julia Gillard's voice?
I find Julia Gillard's voice to be so typically 'Aussie' as she over articulates her vowels and I also find her to be quite quite nasally (Frenkel, 2011). According to the Oxford Dictionary (2016), over articulate means 'to articulate too much or to an unnecessary degree'. Her voice is very strong and she speaks with real confidence. I also find her voice to be a little bit aggressive at times. However, I find her pace to be quite slow. Australians are known sometimes to speak very fast so it is interesting to hear her speak so slow and almost robotic like (Frenkel, 2011). Her tone in voice really lacks any smoothness, so I can imagine many people would try to avoid listening to her, to prevent discomfort.
Consider her 'Misogny' speech - what is your reaction to this speech?
Personally, I think Gillard had many good points and is a topic that needs much more attention, particularly in parliament. However, although she seemed very passionate about the topic, I still found it hard to focus on the important message that she was discussing. This is because her nasally and discomforting voice distracted me from the message. I feel like I am sounding very harsh, but it is just my honest opinion. Nevertheless, I applaud Gillard for her efforts and for the message she put out to Australia and the world about women.
Would your views be influenced if Gillard sounded different (like actress Cate Blanchett, for example)?
I think my views would be influenced differently if someone else had voiced the speech. Cate Blanchett for example, has a very smooth and relaxing voice that is able to deliver a speech and let the audience understand and really soak the message in. Blanchett can deliver this speech without bringing too much attention to her voice like Gillard unfortunately would.
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| Source: ABC, 2011 |
Activity two
The link below is my recording of myself reading the news script.
https://soundcloud.com/user-235036193/week-1-newsread
By reviewing and listening to my voice, I have found various strengths and weaknesses in it. To begin with, I think my recording wasn't as great as it could have been. This is because I have never read the script before. This made me a little bit nervous which is evident in my voice. I also do not enjoy public speaking of any kind which is something I need to strongly work on and become comfortable with. When I was young, my school teachers had recommended to my parents that I start attending sessions with a speech therapist. It was clear that I had trouble with pronunciation and was mumbling my words. My speech improved within a few sessions, however I still find myself to stumble and mix up my words every now and again. This is why I don't enjoy public speaking, especially improvised speaking. As a result, I talk very fast and will want to say a word, but unfortunately another word might come out of my mouth. It can be very nerve-wracking and sometimes embarrassing!
I believe my voice has a good tone and pitch and is not too high or too low. However, I do not enunciate my words enough but instead, I slur and mumble my words a bit. According to the Cambridge Dictionary (2016), enunciate means to 'pronounce words or parts of words clearly'. At times, I also talk too fast which makes the understanding of my words hard to hear. From talking to fast, I then sometimes stumble on my words, which makes me talk slower. So in order to improve my voice, I think I need to keep a steady pace and enunciate my words a little more, rather than slur them. There is a lot I can see that needs to be improved, and hopefully by the end of the course my voice has changed dramatically and more professionally.
References:
ABC 2011, Julia Gillard, digital image, viewed 8 March 2016, www.splash.abc.net.au
Cambridge Dictionary 2016, enunciate, viewed 8 March 2016, http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/enunciate
Frankel, D 2011, 'Drop the Gillard twang: it's beginning to annoy', The Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 8 March 2016, http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/drop-the-gillard-twang-its-beginning-to-annoy-20110420-1dosf.html
Oxford Dictionary 2016, over articulate, viewed 8 March 2016, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/overarticulate
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