This post is from a blog post on Playing with Words 365. You can read the original and find more information here.
This is by far the most common question I get asked. In fact, my mom asked me this very question just a couple weeks ago! I am actually very surprised at how many people who work in the field of education cannot define the difference between the two. So I’d love to take a moment to explain the difference between speech and language because these terms are important for parents and educators to understand.
What is speech?
When speech pathologists refer to the term speech we are referring to three things: articulation/phonological skills, speech fluency and voice. We are looking at a child’s ability to:
- Physically produce the individual sounds and sound patterns of his/her language (Articulation).
- Produce speech with appropriate rhythm, and free of Stuttering behavior.
- Produce speech with an appropriate vocal qulity for his/her age and sex.
What is Language?
While speech involves the physical motor ability to talk, language is a symbolic, rule governed system used to convey a message. In English, the symbols can be words, either spoken or written. We also have gestural symbols, like shrugging our shoulders to indicate “I don’t know” or waving to indicate “Bye Bye” or the raising of our eye brows to indicate that we are surprised by something.
I like how ASHA, the American Speech Language Hearing Association, defines language: Language is made up of socially shared rules that include the following:
- What words mean (e.g., “star” can refer to a bright object in the night sky or a celebrity)
- How to make new words (e.g., friend, friendly, unfriendly)
- How to put words together (e.g., “Peg walked to the new store” rather than “Peg walk store new”)
- What word combinations are best in what situations (“Would you mind moving your foot?” could quickly change to “Get off my foot, please!” if the first request did not produce results)
Some of these “rule” systems that govern a language can include syntax, semantics, phonology, morphology, and pragmatics. Y
You can have language without having speech
Though speech and language are related, you do not have to have speech to have a language. How? The best example of this is the use of Sign Language. American Sign Language, or ASL, is it’s own language. It is not just a gestural form of American English. It has its own set of rules to govern how it is used: It’s own symbols, syntax, pragmatics, etc. For example, in spoken English, the symbol for a four legged animal that says “Meow” is “cat” however the symbol for this same thing in ASL is the sign for “cat”. You can completely communicate in ASL without ever speaking a word. This is a language that does not use speech.
So there you have it. Though related, speech and language are different! I hope this helps you all understand the two a little better.
Thank you to ASHA for their definitions of Language http://www.asha.org/