ABSTRACT
Pure tones, clicks, and the like enable us to study specific aspects of audition in a precise and controllable manner. On the other hand, we communicate with each other by speech, which is composed of particularly complex and variable waveforms. A knowledge of how we perceive simpler sounds is the foundation upon which an understanding of speech perception must be built. As one might suppose, speech perception and intimately related areas constitute a voluminous subject encompassing far more than hearing science per se. For this reason, more than a cursory coverage of the topic would be neither prudent nor profitable within the current context. The interested student will find numerous sources addressing the topic at various levels (e.g., Miller, 1951; Fletcher, 1953; Liberman et al., 1967; Lehiste, 1967; Fant, 1970; Flanagan, 1972; Pisoni, 1985; Pickett, 1999; Miller et al., 1991; Kent and Read, 2002; Ryalls, 1996; Jusczyk and Luce, 2002; Borden, Harris, and Raphael, 2003).
