1958-06-09 — Page 4

THE CHINA...“ MAIL, MONDAY, JUNE." 9,` ́~ ́1958.

LONDON UNIVERSITY STARTS STARTLING AND NOTABLE NEW EXPERIMENT

Does your Speech stamp you?

TRUE-LIFE 'PROFESSOR HIGGINS' AND HIS TEAM FACE TAPE-RECORDER TEST TO TELL WHAT FAMOUS VOICES GIVE AWAY... by Merrick Winn

THE laboratory was quiet, except for a woman's tape-recorded voice. Five scientists listened and, without knowing who the woman was, they said: "She's large and fat." They listened more, then: "She doesn't Lother too much about clothes, she's square cut, motherly, responsible, aged between 55 and 60." Then I told them who the woman was. Mrs Bessie Braddock, MP, who is all they said. Motherly and responsible.. Large, certainly plump. And 59.

So the scientists were had almost complete suc doors and windows; lusted

the right and

extraor- cess. Like this:

nearly five hours. In charge with Dr D. B. Rry, head of dinary experiments went

the phonetics department at On.

University College, and an Internationally known voica expert.

Firat tape-recorded the voices of unconceited people It was an experiment, at who would only laugh if University College, London, they came out badly (as to try to answer questions come did). Famous people,, we all must ask who like, ordinary people, a flower admit it or not, to hear girl from Lambeth and

receiver of stolen goods not ourselves talk.

Joes voice reveal charac- long out of gaol.

ter? Or nge and job? Can

you hide your origin by

A

for a third bearing, sally reached more or less agreemîni.

Like this-with Mrs Brad- dark:

Fry: She comes from west of the Pennines, not too far north.

Gimson; Probably Lancashire. Lut sho's lost a lot of her Loncashire characteristics. That a lot in may mean she speaks

public.

Manen: Yes. Did you notler slight snack of the Ips the before she started talking. She enjoys talking for her it's like entir

A

Nialtr:

motherly Type, stendy very responsible.

Trini: Uncompromising. So there you are-Mrs

His team included Dr Fry: She's large and fat---11'n Frieda Eisler, psychologist a welghly volee. and speech expert; Mr A. C. Gimson, lecturer in Phonelic Association; Mr John Trim, lecturer in phonetics: and Miss Lucie Brad-dock, and all the THE SECOND Manen, teacher of singing.

All right, Dr Fry, shirt- do in Shaw's "Pygmalion?" The experiment, carried eeved, played each recording Or

volec out your

Hound-proofed twice. The team in ALWAYS give you away? laboratory with double argued the toss, sometimes asked U seconds.

putting a new voice as Pro-

fessor Higgins mude Eliza

mut

It was an extraordinary experiment for this reason: j it had never, so far as these scientists know, been carried aut before and they pre- dicted almost total failure.

Success

It can't be done, they

said. But it could, and they

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Note-taking

had done was lo read from

a

DR. FAY AT THE TAPE.

BACKGROUND 1. THE PONDERING TEAM.

Fry said sixiyish. He is, foot, 72.

newspaper SITTING OF THE Jurabering piece about steel-workers. For about EXPERTS TOMORROW

of For:

BRASIK" BRADDOCK

T.8. ELIOT

X

BADRINA

in wurds Like

literary gone to Hollywood or a. Holly- civil servant, over 60 bernuse wood girl come to the Windmill. he speaks with authority and precision."

How did the team get their Hsults? I don't know, nor co scientists, Here is # the

mystery. made notes,

In one year Tommy Steele carned £100,000

which is as much as:

10

20

55

Prime

Ministers

OR

Chancellors of the Exchequer

OR

Grade 1 Engineers on Government rocket research

who is

Chan-

Ronald Squire, the actor, read Evening R loader from the Standard in under two minutes while making up his dressing- room at the Prince's Theatre.

It probably took him about 30 minutes to make up, to pretend to be someone he isn't. It took Dr Fry and his team father less than ten to strip him down to what he 1. Like this:

No rules

bo 50 ure to rules for this

Dr Fry told me afterwards: "Wo didn't expect to #uccesful because there far no scientific kind of personality anglyals.

"I believe the rules are there, waiting to be discovered, and

Fry: He's tall. Probably got the thing will one day be put

on a belentific basis a big nose.

Gimson: Very English, upper- class, university type,

Elster: Self-confident, prefect phrasing. A poliucian? No, too food for that, Perhaps actor.

na

Fry: He's got false teeth. Trim: Right-wing in politics, possibly cynicnL A club man, likes to be well thought of

Manen: Ho likes the good lfe, French food and so on,

His age

i

"But meanwhile we have to depend much more on intuition based on experience than mathematical judgment"

on

knew

But it was more than intelll Eent guesswork. There are some ruits, even though sketchy ones. For instance, the team plmost for certain Ronald Squire

nose from

the had legish some of his voice (they were much less certain about the false teeth's often impossible to tell").

They were also pretty sure he "upper class." Why? Because although he was slap- dush over certain words he clearly did not care. He bowled happily on.

Well, Ronald Squire is 6ft. to Wellington 10% west College, belongs to two clubs,

Dr FTY likes dgars and although I know nothing about his teeth here is middle-clas no doubt that his distinguished required culture hestates face bears a distinguished nose, be slips up,

Explained: "The person with when

How much is Tommy Steele's carn in his entire working life this subject. The man

worth 20 iness

hypotheticni cost him? The of fifty years.

I know nothing either about "The true upper-class type answer is here demonstrated by Or, put it another way. cellors of the Exchequer has

his politics or hin "gynicism" doesn't mind. He can even lapse Michael Rand's Expressograph Every minute of bla normal duty to the real Chancellor.

but I do know about his age, Into cockney without getting working day that Tommy Steele In Biving statistics.

From his massive carring. The team did not. They were self-conscious," Janguishes In unproductive Tommy Steele pays massive tax wildly, and flatteringly, out, If the young rock 'n' roller is silence he is poster by some You could say he pays the ill for four months he will lose £100,

Prime Ministan-and quite aj Dr Eller put him in his as much as a working man сап But there is another side to few of the Cabinet as well, forties. Gimam said 50 to 05.

ESCAPER-EXTRAORDINARY: -

LOST

ALFRED HINDS

ESCAPE

IN 30 MINTENA

The team wETT right about T. S. Ellot (from granio- phone record)...."Oxford' volce,

ס

by GILES

How am

aren'

Alfred Hinds disgufued an Bort Higgins,

our fecal

They were right, and wrong, about

even Diana Wynyard

voice Lhough they found her ane of the most difficult of the

Ist. Like this;---

Glason: A frace of Welsh?

Fry: I don't think so, sibly the North

Pos-

Trim: A Briush Counell vulee, Elsters Very competent, career woman.

Gimson: Perhaps o novelist,

anndministrator,

Trim: A plaunum blonde, Nest of the tona: Why?

Trim: She must be good-look-

she's not a great, actress,

Eisler: But sho'a'a trier, the moment she's too little faith

At

In herself. And she's foo, fonso,

Fry: Probably a light enter- tilner. Supposed to be sexy, but she's not really sexy at all

oj

Trim: Or tho has to poem fresh and naive and thon gets n depressed when it doesn't comer

off.

Fry: WhatevCE she 15 she's well established.

Manen; And lemperamental, She mostly purrs like a cat, but she has claws (by the aggreK- sive" way Miss Wynyard spoke certain phrases),

Manen: She could Oasily break down" "in tears,

Glmson: She's dong a bit of

speech training. Not much.

But the's a girl who wants to make her way.

Fry: And she's got gula.

Dissection

Not bad, but not good because Miss Waayaid is a bundener, Yes, Sabrina has guta, Sho And over her age the team went knew, like the rest, she might to pieces. Only Girson uld be in for a pretty brutal dis- she was around 50 (she is '52). sec lor but, ilke the rest, the

All the rest suld thirties"

"In her hasn't many pretensions,

She recited

Then

Sabrina. Sho recited for me a verso called, I believe, Think Big," and she also read a bit from a newspaper, It all look about three minutes and he is the result!~~

Gimson; Aged between 20 and 25. Filmish.

One of the team said, before kuwing who she was; "Sho has less than her fair share of human awank.” True. -All sho sald when I recorded her was: I hope they don't think I'm Lancashire. I'm Cheshire, born in Blockport,"

She need not have worried. The team all thought she was a Southerner,

Then came the leam's one rest failure, The crimitia).' But of their folure was significant For it reventos, as I will tell you tomorrow, why he bad boen was wondering, until fairly recently such a Windmill gri successful criminal,

FYY: There's a irace American accent. Genuine?

Glison: I She's either

prison

IT'S TOO EASY TO GET OUT OF GAOL

says a man who has done it

TS it too easy to Escape

from prison?

who should know

"Yes,"

A

now make keys to open mast man doors. says

The extra beds in the three- to-d-cell overcrowded goals have thick wire mesh under the hair maitresses. This wire is ideal self- for making keys which will open confessed thief" of the $230,000 heavy locks ins swiftly sa Oppenheimer jewels in South ordinary key.

He is Tony Radley,

Africa three years ago,

"Prisoners vialf each other in

He has been in prison 10 times their cells at night to pass -in South Afcles, America, and messages and tobacco. England since 1933. He says: "And reading this,

"It is casiest 10 escape in warders will now know how England.

BOMU of their own. tobacco.

"I doubt if there is a prison cigarettes,

In England which

and miscellaneous could bo articles have disappeared from.

certain to hold such people as their cloakrooms!"

Alfred Hinda and Bentface

Pomors once they made up their minds to break out."

Discipline

Hinds's break-out from Where are the keys hiddent Chelmsford wds his third Easy. Just hook them back on escape from custody.

to the wire mesh. Hadley says: "The country. He adds: "Although warders prisons are not good enough to wear slippers at night they can hold a really determined man, he heard padding about With -and Wormwood Scrubs ·la "such a köy, and keeping your. probably the easiest of the larger eyes and ears open, it is any su prisona "to escape from.” - walk about inside, the prison..

Many prisoners did..

The Keys

"The key sound the

doors leading out of the main

Radley released from Wands building."

worth recently; sold: "I had a Why is it so clay to cacaus nine-month sentence. I had not from some of our prison? Bays been in there for 10 years and Radley: "Because the moners. I was amazed how, muay things: discipline la not string in arbre had, become.*

-ROBERT MOORE

Ha tók how paisonnes could

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