Speech Sounds

Speech Sounds is a 1983 short story by Octavia E. Butler. It won the 1984 Hugo Award.

Publications

• 1983: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Dec. 1983
• 1984: The Norton Book of Science Fiction
• 1995: Bloodchild and Other Stories
• 2005: Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995 ed.)

Commentaries

• Paul Brians, "Notes on Selected Stories from The Norton Book of Science Fiction", Aug. 25, 2005.

"After Samuel R. Delany, Octavia Butler is the other most distinguished African-American SF author. Like him, she does not usually concentrate on racial issues; she is particularly interested in the healing of damaged societies. What have been the main effects of the loss of language on society? What hope for the future is presented at the end?"