Speech
Speech refers to the actual sound of spoken language. It’s the oral form of communicating. Speech is talking: using the help from our cranial nerves, lungs, vocal cords, throats, soft palates, teeth, jaw, lips facial and neck muscles and tongues in a very precise and coordinated way to produce the recognizable sounds that make up language. It is how we say sounds and words. It includes:
Articulation
How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. For example, we need to be able to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit.”
Voice
How we make speech sounds using the mouth, lips, and tongue. For example, we need to be able to say the “r” sound to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit.”
Fluency
This is the rhythm of our speech. We sometimes repeat sounds or pause while talking. People who do this a lot may stutter.
Language
Language refers to a whole system of words and symbols - written, spoken or expressed with gestures and body language - that is used to communicate meaning. Language refers to the words we use and how we use them to share ideas and get what we want. Language includes:
What words mean. Some words have more than one meaning. For example, “star” can be a bright object in the sky or someone famous.
How to make new words. For example, we can say “friend,” “friendly,” or “unfriendly” and mean something different.
How to put words together. For example, in English we say, “Peg walked to the new store” instead of “Peg walk store new.”
What we should say at different times. For example, we might be polite and say, “Would you mind moving your foot?” But, if the person does not move, we may say, “Get off my foot!”.
Speech And Language Are Not The Same Thing
Language is the method humans use to communicate with each other, often involving words and symbols used consciously by a
group in a structured or conventional way. Languages can be spoken, signed and/or written. We are “wired” for oral language –
almost as if it’s an instinct. Language is one of the key ways we differ from other primates. It is an important element in what makes
us human.
Speech is the expression of thoughts and feelings by humans through articulated sounds that come out of our mouths and noses. Speech is one way that we express language.
Language And Speech Disorders
We can have trouble with speech, language, or both. Having trouble understanding what others say is a receptive language disorder.
Having problems sharing our thoughts, ideas, and feelings is an expressive language disorder. It is possible to have both a receptive
and an expressive language problem.
When we have trouble saying sounds, stutter when we speak, or have voice problems, we have a speech disorder.
Speech And Language Problems Don’t Always Happen Together
For example:
A child or adult may have normal language skills – she may understand what others are communicating and communicate her thoughts and feelings fully through signs, symbols/pictures or in writing – but be unable to speak clearly or fluently, e.g. because of a cleft palate, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, stutter or other disability; or
A child or adult may have the physical ability to speak clearly, but have limited language skills that make it hard to communicate with others, e.g. because of specific language impairment or as a result of a stroke.
Problems With Speech Development Can Sometimes Affect Language Development And Vice Versa
For example:
A child who can make only a few Sounds may struggle to communicate with others. A child who can only say /b/ and /m/ and a few vowels will find it difficult to ask for daddy’s watch, although she may compensate with gestures, such as pointing; and
A child with a vocabulary of less than 50 words may not have much opportunity to practice or master some of his speech sounds, which may in turn affect his intelligibility
Where To Get Help
Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) work with people who have speech and language disorders. SLPs work in schools, hospitals, and clinics, and may be able to come to your home.
