Speaking: A Review

Abstract

We are usually not aware of the process of speaking, as we are unconscious of our breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide; as if they are automatic and effortless. We become conscious of our breathing only when we gasp for a little air and likewise, fumbling for the right word very often makes us aware of our speaking. Surprising facts about speaking are there. A chain of subtle and intricate activities takes place within moments. The starting is in our brain where the message is conceptualized, and then at the physiological level, the message travels through the nervous system, and finally, at the physical level, the message is passed to the articulatory speech organs to produce sounds. In this writing, we shall see how the messages are formed and monitored in a preverbal state and how those messages receive phonological and grammatical encoding following some phonetic plan. Various stages and features of speaking and the role of long and short-term memory are also dealt with here. This writing will hopefully facilitate interested learners of phonetics and psycholinguistics.