引言: 对于在言语加工领域中工作的研究者来说,现在正是一个令人激动的时期。很多人确信,我们正面临着研究和理论上的重大突破,许多古老和长期存在的问题有可能在近几年中得到解决。这些问题的解决很可能有一定的实际应用,例如,研制改进的言语识别系统、更实用的助听器和应用言语技术的各种消费品。 Introduction: It is an exciting time for researchers working in speech processing. Many are convinced that we are facing a major breakthrough in research and theory and that many ancient and long-standing problems are likely to be resolved in recent years. Solutions to these problems are likely to have some practical applications, for example, the development of improved speech recognition systems, more practical hearing aids and various consumer products that use speech technology.