This introduction presents speech science as an academic subject and as an applied science. The focus is on the sub-disciplines of phonetics, rhetoric, and the art of speaking in their specific professional forms and their transdisciplinarity with other natural and social sciences. Building on the foundations and framework conditions of speech scientific thinking and working methods, the subject matter, professional understanding, basic concepts, theories and models, levels of analysis, as well as research methods and perspectives are discussed. Audio and video sequences can be accessed by readers. The second edition has been updated and supplemented with the latest views and sources. Press reviews: "A very interesting, important, and worthwhile publication" (Journal of Applied Linguistics 60/2014) "An optimal tool for speech science.".