The Difference Between Speech and Language

The Difference Between Speech and Language

Brenda Van Wie  (2010) : Speech is the physical process by which we verbalize language.  It is a method of communication that uses voice and coordinated movements of the speech articulators (tongue, lips, jaw, teeth etc.).  Speech is the verbal expression of language and  consists of voice, fluency and articulation 

Chambers (2011) : Language is the set of rules, shared by the individuals who are communicating, that allows them to exchange those thoughts, ideas or emotions in order to express and receive information in a meaningful way.  Language can include spoken word but may also be expressed through writing, signing or gestures.

How is language and speech produced?

Acoustics.hut.fi : Human speech is produced by vocal organs. When speaking, the air flow is forced through the glottis between the vocal cords and the larynx to the three main cavities of the vocal tract, the pharynx and the oral and nasal cavities. From the oral and nasal cavities the air flow exits through the nose and mouth, respectively.

Belinchón, Igoa (1994) : Speech does not start in the lungs. It starts in the brain and it is, then, studied by Psycholinguistics. After the creation of the message and the lexico-grammatical structure in our mind, we need a representation of the sound sequence and a number of commands which will be executed by our speech organs to produce the utterance. So, we need a phonetic plan of and a motor plan.

Nay (2011) : The process of producing language can be divided into four steps. First is message, where the message that will be presented is processed. Second is functional, where lexical form is identified. Third is positional, where the constituent is formed and affixations are done. Fourth is phonology, where the structure of phonology has been formed.

REFERENCES

Van Wie, Brenda. 2012. Differences Between Speech and language. Available on :. http://topicsinspeechandlanguage.blogspot.com/2010/01/difference-between-speech-and-language.html. Accessed on: 7^th February 2012.

Chambers, Patricia. 2011. What is Speech and Language. Available

On : http://www.abilitypath.org/areas-of-development/communication--speech/hearing /articles/what-is-speech-and-language-02.html. Accessed on: 7^th February 2012.

Acoustics.hut.fi. 2012. Phonetics and Theory of Speech Production. Available on : http://www.acoustics.hut.fi/publications/files/theses/lemmetty_mst/chap3.html. Accessed on: 7^th February 2012.

Belinchón, Igoa. 1994. Psicologia del Lenguaje. Available on : Belinchón, Mercedes, José Manuel Igoa y Ángel Rivière, 1994, Psicología del Lenguaje: Investigación y teoría, Madrid: Trotta. Accessed on: 7^th February 2012.

Nay. 2011. General step to produce language. Available on :  http://linguasphereus.blogspot.com/2011/04/general-steps-to-produce-language.html. Accessed on: 7^th February 2012.