How does pitch relate to frequency in speech?

Pitch being the perceptual correlate of frequency is a key concept in understanding speech science. Frequency, measured in hertz (Hz), refers to the physical measurement of sound waves—the number of vibrations per second that produce a sound. In contrast, pitch is how humans perceive those frequencies. As the frequency of a sound wave increases, the pitch is perceived to be higher. Therefore, pitch can be thought of as the way we interpret the physical properties of sound—specifically, how high or low a tone sounds to us based on its frequency.

This relationship is crucial in fields such as speech science and phonetics, where understanding how people perceive different pitches can affect the interpretation of speech sounds and the emotional quality of spoken language. It emphasizes that pitch is not a physical property itself but rather a subjective experience influenced by the frequency of the sound.