During spoken communication, a complex chain of events links speaker to listener—a chain that involves not only physics and acoustics but also anatomy, physiology, linguistics, and psychology. The Speech Chain explains simply and clearly the basic mechanisms involved in spoken communication, from the speaker’s production of words, to the transmission of sound, to the listener’s perception of what has been said.

The Speech Chain has been admired as an easy-to-read introduction to the fundamentals of spoken communication. Professionals, teachers, students, and others interested in how we communicate with one another will find the latest edition of The Speech Chain a useful introduction to this uniquely human capability. This interdisciplinary account is also accessible to persons with no previous knowledge of the fields involved.