10 Daily Things

The first attempts to produce human speech by machine were made in the 2nd half of the 18th century. Professor of physiology Kratzenstein in Copenhagen succeeded in producing vowels using resonance tubes connected to organ pipes.

At that time, Wolfgang von Kempelen from Hungary had already begun with his own attempts that led him to construct a speaking machine. Von Kempelen was an ingenious person in the service of empress Maria Theresa in Vienna.

Von Kempelen’s machine was the first that allowed to produce not only some speech sounds, but also whole words and short sentences.

Do you speak English? Sorry, I don’t! The problem of interlanguage communication.

One of the most obvious and significant attributes to mankind is the ability to communicate through speech. An interesting corollary is that we can also communicate our thoughts in real time; we do not need to plan what we’re going to say before we say it. This has both advantages and disadvantages. It would be clearly undesirable for us to have to formulate our thoughts before we issue an immediate warning (“run!”) and communication would be dramatically slowed if we were unable to respond, naturally, to people in normal conversation.

On the other hand, this innate ability is often the source of consternation when what we say on the spur of the moment is something we later wish we had either not said, or said differently; it happens to everyone, sometimes, the trick is to remember when. Typically, this happens when we are responding quickly in stressful situations, or during confrontation, although it can happen at any time. Recognizing that we do not always say what we would like to communicate is an important realization - how to help mitigate that issue is not complex, but does require some behavioral changes. The goal is to be aware of when to talk naturally and fluidly, and when to think before we speak… and when to not speak at all.

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