Frontmatter -- Table of contents -- Short portraits of the authors -- Talent and proficiency in language -- Assessment of phonetic ability -- Cognitive aspects of pronunciation talent -- Personality and pronunciation talent in second language acquisition -- Functional imaging of language competentbrain areas -- Brain and language talent: a synopsis -- Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS): An incidental "speech talent" following acquired brain damage? -- Musicality and phonetic language aptitude -- Sociolinguistic factors in language proficiency: phonetic convergence as a signature of pronunciation talent. -- Segmental factors in language proficiency: Coarticulatory resistance as a signature of pronunciation talent -- Prosodic factors in language proficiency: intonational variation as a signature of pronunciation talent -- Direct brain feedback and language learning from the gifted -- Beyond talent: a short language biography of Prof. Max Mangold -- Backmatter