ABSTRACT
Speech is a possession of mankind. No animals have it, and there are no human societies, of which we have knowledge in the past or present, so simple or primitive that they have not evolved a language elaborate and complex. Speech is the communication between individuals by means of sounds produced by the vibration of a column of air, passing between the larynx and the mouth and nostrils and coming into contact with the neighbouring parts of the throat, palate, tongue, cheeks, teeth and lips. The meaning of a group of speech-sounds is that which is communicated to the mind of the hearer through, firstly, the vibrations of sound so produced and heard, and, secondly, the context in which those sounds have been uttered by the members of that community on past occasions, and are uttered by the speaker on the particular occasion.
