The Discipline of Speech

In spite of the diversity of subjects subsumed under the generic term speech, all areas of this discipline are based on oral communication with its essential elements--voice, action, thought, and language. Speech may be viewed as a community of persons with a common tradition participating in a common dialog, described in part by the memberships and activities of its learned societies. Speech as a separate discipline evolves from (1) the informal rhetorical theories of the Egyptians (2900 B.C.), (2) the systematic treatises of Aristotle, Cicero, Quintilian, and Augustine, (3) the 18th century concern for communication in a parliamentary society, (4) the 19th century interest in language and style, and (5) the 20th century need for a clear, precise system of communication based upon research using such modes of inquiry as description, experimentation, and historical or rhetorical analysis and synthesis. Since the act or process of communication (an essential function of mankind) is the domain of the discipline of speech, and is a necessary element in most intellectual and scientific disciplines, the practitioners of speech must construct relevant programs which provide links between theoretical principles and effective practices. (JM)