# speech Perception **Keywords:** auditory pattern recognition, categorical perception, phonetic context effects, perceptual learning, speech production ■ Abstract This chapter focuses on one of the first steps in comprehending spoken language: How do listeners extract the most fundamental linguistic elements— consonants and vowels, or the distinctive features which compose them—from the acoustic signal? We begin by describing three major theoretical perspectives on the perception of speech. Then we review several lines of resea **Opening (not a real abstract):** Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2004. 55:149–79 Copyright c ! 2004 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved First published online as a Review in Advance on September 15, 2003 **Authors:** [[Diehl]]