The book represents oral communication as a wide spectrum of speech events ranging from daily perfunctory comments to highly structured, formal speeches. The introductory chapter summarizes various approaches to the study of the communication process. The subsequent chapters present: (1) elements of communication language structure, language meaning, voice, perception, listening, message content, and structure; and (2) the social interaction aspects of communication. Finally, the authors present a broad outline of the communication process, presenting models from various points of view. (RN)