LISTENER AGE ESTIMATES OF ELDERLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN MALESPEAKERS

Speech samples were obtained from 28 male speakers between the ages of 65 and 85 years. Half the speakers were African American and half wer e Caucasian. The tape-recorded speech samples were presented to groups of African American and Caucasian listeners who estimated the age of each speaker in a forward and backward play condition. Both African Am erican and Caucasian listeners tended to underestimate the ages of the Caucasian speakers. Fundamental frequency, frequency range, reading r ate, and number and length of pauses were determined. African American speakers demonstrated slower reading rates and longer and more freque nt within-sentences pauses. Age estimates were significantly correlate d with reading rate in the forward speaking condition.