Quantity:

Express Checkout with PayPhrase

What's this? | Create PayPhrase

More Buying Choices

69 used & new from $0.24

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Share with Friends

The Human Voice: How This Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are

See larger image

Share your own customer images

Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Tell the Publisher! I�d like to read this book on Kindle Don�t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.

The Human Voice: How This Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

List Price:	$24.95
Price:	$18.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save:	$5.99 (24%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Wednesday, November 25? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

33 new from $3.98 36 used from $0.24

Formats		Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Hardcover $18.96 In Stock. Published August 21, 2006	Hardcover, August 21, 2006	$18.96	$3.98	$0.24
	See # more hardcovers
	Show fewer hardcovers
Paperback Available from these sellers. Published April 29, 2006	Paperback, April 29, 2006	--	$2.91	$4.00
	See # more paperbacks
	Show fewer paperbacks

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

A Voice and Nothing More (Short Circuits)

by Mladen Dolar

4.0 out of 5 stars (3) $16.34

Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond

by Theodore Craig Levin

4.3 out of 5 stars (3) $20.70

For More than One Voice: Toward a Philosophy of Vocal Expression

by Adriana Cavarero

$26.95

Listening

by Jean-Luc Nancy

4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $14.53

Listening and Voice: Phenomenologies of Sound

by Don Ihde

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $26.46

› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This lively and intelligent guide reveals how powerfully and pervasively the human voice shapes our everyday world. Karpf, a British sociologist and columnist for the Guardian, engages with current research while interspersing intimate, reflective interviews with friends and relatives. In linguistics, the medium of voice traditionally receives short shrift, as Karpf points out: "We raid speech for its semantic meaning, and then discard the voice like detritus, leftovers." Karpf begins by demystifying the physical components of voice. She explores babies' capacity to recognize voices and their innate ability to focus on the rhythm of speech. Karpf then explores the psychological dimensions of voice, including how our voices change in different circumstances: when talking to oneself, say, or to pets. Tackling gender, Karpf speculates on why women's voices have deepened significantly over the last 50 years (to sound more trustworthy, i.e., masculine). Looking at voices in a global context, she notices that volume means different things in different cultures: "Arabs sound loud to Americans, and Americans not loud enough and insincere to Arabs." As clear and accessible as a good radio series, Karpf's fluent study provides an excellent introduction to an often-overlooked subject. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—Karpf, a sociologist and BBC journalist, argues that although much attention has been paid lately to speaking styles, surprisingly little focus has been on the voice itself. Here, in lively prose, she goes a long way toward filling that gap. The author discusses the mechanics of the sounds people make; what distinguishes human sounds from those of other animals; the effects of emotions on voices; cultural and gender differences; and how technology has been changing the ways we express ourselves. Hot current topics such as voiceprinting and the importance of voice in the workplace are addressed, as are the social effects of cell phones and musical experimentation on the new "audio-aware generation." Karpf shines a clear light on Hitler's speaking style and shows how crowds were manipulated by it. Through analyses of Tony Blair and the American politicians Reagan, Clinton, Gore, Kerry, and both Presidents Bush, she challenges readers to understand what they are really hearing in the voices of today's politicians-where, she asserts, the voice is no longer an instrument for argument, but for seduction. This is fine popular-science writing, and it will leave teens with a fresh and useful perspective on an important aspect of life that might have been, until now, misunderstood or unquestioned.—Christine C. Menefee, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (August 22, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1582342997
ISBN-13: 978-1582342993
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #568,871 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Anne Karpf Page

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	84% buy the item featured on this page: The Human Voice: How This Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are 4.3 out of 5 stars (6) $18.96
	8% buy A Voice and Nothing More (Short Circuits) 4.0 out of 5 stars (3) $16.34
	5% buy Where Rivers and Mountains Sing: Sound, Music, and Nomadism in Tuva and Beyond 4.3 out of 5 stars (3) $20.70
	2% buy Listening 4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $14.53

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

anthropology(2)

linguistics(1)

social science(1)

tech(1)

zizek(1)

Agree with these tags?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get to Know Your Instrument, August 23, 2006

By	R. Hardy "Rob Hardy" (Columbus, Mississippi USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Animals of all different kinds busy themselves with making noises in order to feed or mate or protect themselves. Humans are no different, but have taken the use of their anatomical noisemaking devices to extreme utility. Of course, this is tied to our use of language, and language is full of puzzling aspects, but so is the human voice when considered as an instrument or tool rather than just an auditory word delivery system. In _The Human Voice: How This Extraordinary Instrument Reveals Essential Clues About Who We Are_ (Bloomsbury), Anne Karpf looks at the importance of the voice to human society, and the paradoxical way that we take it for granted. Karpf skillfully takes us through many surprising aspects of how we use our voices, and cites many curious studies that have used clever tricks to make the voice give up its secrets; this isn't an academic treatise, but there are eighty pages of footnotes with sources from Aristotle to The Simpsons. She has done fifty interviews with people about their own voices, what they think about other people's voices, and how much information a voice can give them. It's a perfect subject for a book: everyone has a voice, everyone has intimate vocal connections to others, and everyone has more to learn about how it all works.

She begins with an examination of how our anatomy works to make the voice. Among the complexities of our vocal systems is that all the components have other functions rather than producing voices, functions that are vital to life while voice-making is a mere option. Teeth and tongue modify the voice, for instance, but they are really there (as they are in voiceless animals) for purposes of eating. We are programmed to recognize voices even before we are born. A baby within the uterus can react to some sounds as early as fourteen weeks on, and quickly becomes attuned to the mother's voice, which some studies show has a calming effect, slowing the fetal heart rate. After birth, a baby reliably reacts more to the voice of the mother than to anyone else. It is a familiar phenomenon that if one baby in a group starts crying, other babies will be likely to start to do so themselves, indicating that even infants have some programmed sympathy for the distress of others. It is fascinating, though, that a baby tends not to start crying if played a recording of its own cries, indicating a knowledge at birth of the difference between me and not-me. In the sixties, the word "voiceprint" was coined, and it was thought that each individual voice might be visually represented with the fidelity of fingerprints. Forensic identification of speakers, however, has required subjective opinions of experts in ways that fingerprints do not, and often such evidence has yet to be declared admissible in state courts. Part of the problem is that age, mood, and situation change our voices in ways that vary voiceprints out of identifiability.

Karpf has just mentioned key findings of many studies, not all of which are conclusive. She does express her doubts on studies such as those of professor Albert Mehrabian who supposedly found that 7% of the information conveyed by a voice consists of words and their meaning, while the rest of the communication comes from vocal and facial expression. Karpf generally campaigns, however, that the voice is more important than we have thought, and she is convincing. Her enthusiasm for her subject is readily apparent; she is eager to make sure the voice gets the recognition it deserves, and all who read this book will gain an increase of appreciation for their own voices and what voices can do for us. Karpf takes note, for instance, that some large firms are promoting "e-mail free Friday", whereby for one day a week e-mail will be ditched, with the aim that employees will begin talking and listening to each other.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Talkativeness is a mouth's fart" . . ., November 29, 2006

By	Found Highways (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

. . . is a Japanese proverb that British sociologist Anne Karpf uses, along with scientific data, to show how one culture values silence (especially for female speakers, or non-speakers, as the case may be).

But just across the Bering Sea, Karpf found that Alaska Native Americans who were convicted of crimes got longer jail sentences when they spoke slower and paused more when speaking to non-Native police and judges (vocal behavior that would have been interpreted as respectful in Japan).

The voice, like so much else, is partly determined by nature and partly determined by culture. Karpf also shows many other ways that My Voice is determined by Your Ear.

So much in this entertaining book is pertinent today. Just yesterday I saw a headline in The Drudge Report that said WOMEN TALK 3 TIMES MORE THAN MEN. (Drudge does like his caps.) But Karpf quotes evidence rather than impression proving MEN TALK MORE!!! AND THEY INTERRUPT!!!!!

The most interesting section of the book for me was on "The Public Voice." Here Karpf eviscerates British and American politicians. Karpf is fair, analyzing politicians of the the left and right. I'm not fair, so I'll just quote Karpf on Tony Blair, whose voice has been "emotionally incontinent" ever since Diana died. And Blair has also puposefully stuck an "Estuary-style mini glottal stop" in his speech to add "blokeishness" to his voice.

But Blair's political voice is just one example of the "new intimacy" evinced by politicians in Britain and the U.S. They want to "act sincere," which is, as Karpf points out, a contradiction in terms. That reminds me of the old joke (was it Samuel Goldwyn who said it?): "The most important thing is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made."

The Human Voice is full of fascinating facts. For instance, opera singers make THEMSELVES deaf from listening to the vibrations of their own voices in their skulls. (Margaret Thatcher apparently ruined her voice by shouting down opponents in parliament. Whether she listened to what she was saying is an interesting question.)

There have been several great books on linguistics lately (by scientists who write well, not language scolds like Lynne Truss). There's David Crystal's new book How Language Works (the section on phonetics is good to read before or in conjunction with Anne Karpf's The Human Voice), and also Australian linguist Kate Burridge's Blooming English and Weeds in the Garden of Words.

But I'm definitely going to read anything else by Anne Karpf.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Not What we Say, It's How We Sound, February 8, 2007

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is quite a fascinating Pop-Science book on the voice. But the first thing you have to realize is the list of things that this book is not:

It is not on how the human body makes noises, although there's a little bit of that.

It is not on how the ability to speak separates us from the other animals on this planet.

It is not even on what words we use to express ourselves.

Instead it is a book on how our voice sounds. It's about the communication that takes place even when the words are removed. It's about how listening to politicians sound rather than listening to what they say. It's about how the way Churchill and Roosevelt, and yes, George W. Bush sound that got them elected rather than their opponents.

I was amused at her comments about Al Gore's stiff, sanctimonious monotone putting him at a disadvantage beside George Bush's vocal affability. Remembering back that was true. But now when you listen to Gore in his documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth,' he doesn't sound the same at all, like his comment about once being known as the 'Next President.'

Her reporting on the experiments where the actual words are removed from speech and people are asked questions about the speaker are especially interesting.

This is not a highly technical book, instead it is written for a popular audience but it lets you know what the pros are thing about and doing.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 6 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't get into the book
I could not preview the book digitally before buying it. I read 1 chapter and couldn't get interested.

Published 5 months ago by Meredith S.

5.0 out of 5 stars An in-depth "view" of the human voice
Who knew voices could be so interesting? This book provides a wealth of truly fascinating information about the human voice and its often under-appreciated role in our society... Read more

Published on March 11, 2007 by Nataly Kelly

1.0 out of 5 stars Profoundly disappointing
It would be hard to express how irritating this book is. The human voice is indeed an amazing instrument, but it is ill-served by the pop sociology, psychobabble, and profound... Read more

Published on January 28, 2007 by A reader

› See all 6 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jqOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jqOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jqOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jqOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; }

Customer Discussions

This product's forum

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
science Global warming is nothing but a hoax and a scare tactic	4440	1 minute ago
science I really need an answer before I proceed	7	20 minutes ago
science Why are cretionists allowed in the science Section?	156	31 minutes ago
medicine Am I a dead woman? or what?	18	1 day ago
medicine Medical fraud, let's count the ways ...	12	3 days ago
linguistics How has english changed in your lifetime?	13	20 days ago
linguistics Interested in Linguistics	5	20 days ago