Reviewer: Matthew H Rouse, MS, SLP.D., CCC-SLP(Biola University)
Description: This is a new book on the basics of speech and language sciences written by William R. Culbertson, a professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northern Arizona University.
Purpose: These concepts are not easy for undergraduate students to grasp, especially those who have not had a proper science foundation in high school. This is a student friendly, well-written book that will either be a supplemental text in an introduction class or a main text in a speech and language science course.
Audience: It is designed to meet the needs of undergraduate students studying communication sciences and disorders, but it also may be of interest to students studying vocal performance, special education, and/or speech communication/rhetoric. Dr. Culbertson is a recognized authority in communication sciences and disorders, and his book accomplishes the goal of meeting the needs of undergraduate communication sciences and disorders students.
Features: The book explores the scientific method, basic physics, the physics of sound, and acoustic and articulatory phonetics. In addition, it covers the neuroscience of speech and language, including how speech is produced and perceived, brain centers involved in language production and perception, motor functioning, and hearing. Lastly, the book covers the main components of speech including respiration, phonation, and articulation. The backdrop for discussing these subjects is the history of science. Throughout the book, the author discusses scientific concepts by noting some of the giants of science, such as Isaac Newton. Highlighting these famous scientists draws readers' attention to the importance of curiosity and asking questions, two characteristics crucial to science. The book has many black-and-white figures, scholarly references at the end of each chapter, and an index. There are two main shortcomings. First, many illustrations have low pedagogic quality; a great number of them are portraits of famous scientists that students could search for on the internet if they were interested. Second, there is only a meager explanation of hearing science (about three pages). This may be due to the author's institution having a speech and language science course (for which this book was probably designed) and a separate hearing science class that most likely uses another book. For students who do not have this type of curricular arrangement in their undergraduate program, a more robust book may be needed. Many undergraduate courses are called speech and hearing science, so this book may not adequately prepare students for the hearing science portion of this type of course and another one might be needed.
Assessment: This book has two main competitors: the first is The Speech Chain: The Physics and Biology of Spoken Language, 2nd edition, Denes and Pinson (Waveland Press, 2015), which is 246 pages, and the other is Speech Science Primer: Physiology, Acoustics and Perception of Speech, 6th edition, Raphael et al. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011), a heftier book at 416 pages. In contrast, the Culbertson book is 112 pages in length. The lengths of the books tell a story, with the former two being more detailed, while the latter is much more of an introductory book and, perhaps, a better choice as a complementary text than as a main text for a course. The Culbertson book does focus on language science, which Speech Science Primer does not, but The Speech Chain does address this topic and in a more detailed way than the Culbertson. Thus, Culbertson may be a good complement to a text like Speech Science Primer in a class that combines language, speech, and hearing science. Overall, it is a well-written, accessible book for undergraduate students in their first year of college who are studying communication sciences and disorders. Unfortunately, it does not have ancillary materials, like a companion website. In addition, it may not be the best choice as a main text for a class on language, speech, and hearing science, but might make a good complementary text.
