Fred Cummins, Dublin Title: Why Dynamics? Notes on Autonomy, Coupling and Embodiment in the Study of Speech Abstract: Dynamical Systems Theory has established itself as a powerful explanatory framework in modeling and understanding human behavior. I will present some thoughts about why this framework may be of special interest to speech researchers. In considering forms of coordination between speakers and metronomes, between speakers and speakers, and between diverse parts of a single speaker, I will attempt to show how the dynamical concepts of Autonomy, Coupling and Embodiment can usefully be employed. The resulting models naturally lead to a view of lawfulness in human behavior that cuts across boundaries between brains, bodies and the world.