What Do These Terms Mean: Speech, Language and Communication? Part II
In our previous edition of Parent Matters, we reviewed the concept of speech and discussed that speech independent of language does not carry meaning. This leads us to a discussion of language. Language is a socially agreed upon systems of codes that enables the users to share ideas with one another. A language relies on a supply of arbitrary symbols that can be written, verbal or nonverbal. A symbol is something that stands for something else-an event, object, or relationship. Words are the most common symbols. For example the word "cat" is a symbol for the four legged animal that says "meow." It is arbitrary in that it could have just as easily been "tac" or another combination of sounds. However, the meaning of the word "cat" is shared in that when you hear or see the word, you understand what is being talked about. (Van Riper & Emerick, 1990). Words are symbols for concepts that we have stored in our mind.
Although the relationship between meaning and symbol is arbitrary, the arrangement of the symbols in relation to one another is not arbitrary. There are underlying rules that govern the organization of linking symbols together . It is this organization and combination of symbols that provide much of the meaning. For example the sentences, "Bo is a dog," and "Is Bo a dog?" involve the same symbols, however, by changing the order of the symbols, the meaning is changed (Owens, 1996).
Language is a productive or creative tool. Knowledge of a language and its rules allows a speaker to form meaningful utterances. We do not learn or memorize all possible word combinations or create scripts, but rather we learn the symbols and the rules that allow us to create an infinite number of meaningful utterances (Owens, 1996).
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, speech and language are terms that can be easily confused. To further illustrate the difference, think of an orchestra playing a tune. The music that is composed by Bach or Mozart is equivalent to the language. The sound produced by the instruments is similar to speech. Without the music (the language) of Mozart, the sounds played by the instruments would be meaningless noise, just as speech without language would be meaningless jargon (Van Riper & Emerick, 1990).
The complexity of language can be better understood by considering its three functional components, form, content, and use. Form involves morphology, phonology, and syntax. Morphology relates to how words are constructed. It involves word beginnings and endings that change the meaning of a word. For example, plurals, possessives, and verb tenses such as 'ing' and 'ed' are examples of morphology. Phonology relates to the rules that govern the structure and sequence of speech sounds. These rules determine the position of specific sounds in words and which sound combinations can or cannot occur. For example, in the English language the sound combination 'ng' cannot occur at the beginning of a word. 'dn' cannot occur back to back in the same syllable (Owens, 1996). Syntax refers to the order and combination of words to form sentences. Syntactic rules determine which word combinations are acceptable or grammatically correct. Syntax is what teachers often refer to as grammar. Content relates to semantics which is the meaning of words and word combinations. Semantics can be thought of in simple terms as vocabulary. Use relates to pragmatics.
Pragmatics is a set of rules related to language use in context. Pragmatics is concerned with the way language is used rather than its structure. It is often described as social use of language. Some examples of pragmatic language include using an appropriate tone of voice, greeting others, conversational turn taking, and providing an appropriate amount of information based on listener knowledge. Pragmatics is the organizational principle of language because a need or motivation exists prior to the selection of content or form. The concepts of form, content, and use, although discussed independent of one another, are intertwined and influence one another (Owens, 1996).
Language is also discussed in terms of receptive and expressive language. Receptive language refers to an understanding of language. Expressive language refers to an ability to share thoughts, feelings, and ideas. In typical development, receptive language far exceeds expressive language.
In our next edition of Parent Matters when we will discuss communication.
Colleen Chambers, MS, CCC-SLP
Owens, R. (1996). Language development: An introduction. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Van Riper, C. & Emerick, L. (1990). Speech Correction: An introduction to speech pathology and audiology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
