SPEECH TECHNOLOGY FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Speech is the easiest, most expressive and most natural means of human communication. Most of us have received intensive training in using i t from the day we were born! Brit speed? is more than just a way of tr ansmitting words or ideas - it conveys the essence of human emotion, m oods, and personality. It is BT's core business, accounting for over 9 0% of revenues. It is also our primary means to access both the 26 mil lion customers of the UK telephone networks, and around a half a billi on telephone users world-wide. This paper introduces the key speech te chnologies, which are described in detail in the associated papers of this issue, and makes some personal predictions about future trends an d challenges in this important, exciting and far-reaching field.