pitch (n.)

The attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which a sound may be ordered on a scale from ‘low’ to ‘high’. It is an AUDITORY PHONETIC feature, corresponding to some degree with the acoustic feature of FREQUENCY, which in the study of speech is based upon the number of complete cycles of vibration of the VOCAL FOLDS. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), e.g. 440 Hz = 440 cps (cycles per second). The frequency of a sound can be determined automatically using a ‘FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY analyzer’, or pitch meter. There is however no direct or parallel correlation between pitch and frequency: other factors than frequency may affect our sensation of pitch (measured in units known as mels). Variations of pitch are more easily produced using VOICED sounds, because of their regular waveform. It is, however, possible to hear pitch contrasts in voiceless sounds; and even in whispered speech, impressions of FALLING, RISING, etc., pitches can be heard, reflecting the changing configurations of the VOCAL TRACT.

The linguistic use of pitch is of particular interest to the PHONOLOGIST, and this is studied under the headings of INTONATION and TONE. However, the term pitch accent is used phonologically in the description of languages in which the distribution of the tones within a word is totally predictable once one has specified a particular tonal feature of the word (as in Japanese). The notion has also been applied to English, where some phonological models analyze intonation CONTOURS as a sequence of one or more pitch accents, each associated with a STRESS-prominent SYLLABLE in a word.