In class write up

I am comparing my conversation with a woman at the museum with my friend’s conversation with a friend of ours (Elena). My conversation was with a woman working at the front desk of the Museum of Contemporary Art. The context of my conversation with the woman at the museum was basically paying the entrance fee to get into the museum; in addition she gave me information on other services they offered (price of ticket, directions, exhibits open, etc.). The context of Abby’s conversation with her friend (Elena) was about a project. Abby was explaining a project to Elena (recording our voices for this assignment). Elena simply responds to this and asks Abby questions, meanwhile Elena doesn’t know that Abby is recording their conversation.

In the conversation with the woman at the front desk of the museum, my average pitch of my voice was 60.21 and average loudness was -25.34. Abby’s average pitch was 64.23 and average loudness -17.02. This conversation is different from Abby’s conversation with her friend because I was talking to someone I had never met before so my voice was much higher than it usually is. However, Abby’s voice was much lower than it usually is because she was explaining a project and answering questions (more dominant role in the conversation).  Her conversation was a little more serious than mine, which may have been the cause of her voice to be lower.

The average pitch of the woman at the front desk was 62.31 and her average loudness was -20.33. This may have been because I was closer to the microphone compared to the employee. Her pitch stayed pretty much the same throughout the conversation because she deals with talking to new people everyday so she was very comfortable. The employee had a more submissive role in the conversation, she had more authority and experience talking to people coming to the museum everyday. The average pitch of the Abby’s friend (Elena) was 62.20 and her average loudness was -15.23. This may be because they are close friends and the topic of the conversation. Her average loudness might be low due to the fact that the microphone was closer to Abby compared to Elena.