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Why no one sounds exactly like you

The features that make your voice unique.

Kimberly Mas
Kimberly Mas is a senior producer at Vox video focused on science explainers.

Most of us use our voices every day to communicate one way or another, but the way we produce sound is so much more than the words we say. Our voices are about as unique as fingerprints — similar on the surface, but with endless variations.

As humans, we each essentially produce sound in the same physiological way, but it’s not as simple as plucking a guitar string. When we talk we’re dropping clues about who we are, what we do, and where we’re from. A dialect can hint at where a person is from. An expressive range might suggest a person is a singer or actor. A slow and quiet tone could mean a person is feeling sad or tired.

Check out the video above to learn more about the ins and outs of how we produce sounds and why no one else sounds like you.

You can find this video and the entire library of Vox’s videos on YouTube.

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