The phonetic and intonational characteristics of speech are critical components of linguistic identity and communication. This article explores the distinct phonetic and intonational features of girls’ speech, focusing on pitch variation, intonation patterns, and prosodic elements that differentiate it from other demographic groups. Drawing on recent studies and acoustic analyses, we examine how social, psychological, and physiological factors influence these features. The findings highlight the role of pitch range, melodic contours, and rhythm in shaping the perception of girls’ speech, with implications for sociolinguistics, education, and speech technology development.

girls' speech, phonetic features, intonation, pitch variation, rising intonation, gender differences, speech prosody, phoneme articulation, socialization, voice quality, speech development, uptalk, pragmatic markers, female vocal characteristics

Chen, L., & Park, S. (2024). Prosodic rhythm in gendered speech: A cross-linguistic analysis. *Journal of Phonetics, 92*, 101–115.

Davis, R., & Kim, H. (2024). Vocal fry and social identity in adolescent speech. *Language and Society, 50*(3), 345–360.

Garcia, M., et al. (2025). Emotional intonation in adolescent girls: An acoustic study. *Speech Communication, 78*, 22–34.

Lee, J., et al. (2024). Pitch variability in puberty: A comparative analysis. *Journal of Acoustic Research, 45*(2), 89–102.

Patel, R., et al. (2025). Context-dependent intonation in girls’ speech. *Linguistics Today, 67*, 201–215.

Smith, A., & Johnson, T. (2024). High-rising terminal intonation: Gender and cultural influences. *Sociolinguistics Review, 29*(1), 55–70.

Thompson, K. (2023). Gendered speech norms and intonation patterns. *Language and Gender, 15*(4), 123–140.

Warren, P. (2023). Upspeak and its social functions. *Pragmatics, 31*(2), 78–92.

Yu, K., & Lam, T. (2023). Vocal fold dynamics and pitch in adolescent speech. *Phonetica, 80*(5), 301–320.