Every profession has its own specialized vocabulary and sometimes we, as professionals, tend to assume that everyone else knows exactly what we’re talking about. This, of course, isn’t true, so let’s take a look at some basic vocabulary that is related to speech and language therapy.
What Is It?
LANGUAGE
Language is a very consistent, structured set of rules that we use to exchange our thoughts, ideas, needs, wants, feelings; just about everything. A language is actually determined by its speakers. What this means is that if enough people use the same combination of sounds to refer to the same thing for a long enough time, that group of sounds will become a word and will be used by others to mean the same thing. This is why the dictionary is periodically revised and updated to include new words like ‘photobomb’ and ‘jeggings’ and obsolete words are deleted. Of course, you can’t just willy-nilly throw out a bunch of sounds and they will become a meaningful word; it takes a LOT of time and a LOT of people have to use the new “word” before a rule of language is established.
Beyond words and their meaning, language includes the sounds of language that we use when we speak, our grammar or sentence structure, and special rules about verb tenses and how we indicate that something is more than one or that it belongs to someone. It also includes how we use language socially.
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE
This is our understanding or comprehension of the speech and language used by others. We can understand verbal messages, signed or gestured messages, and print messages.
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE
This is the system we use to convey or express our thoughts, emotions, etc. Expression can come in many forms: speech, signing and gestures, writing, body language, and facial expressions.
SIGN LANGUAGE
When the ability to hear is absent or impaired, sign language is an alternative to oral language. It is the same consistent, structured set of rules as above (even though no one
is actually “talking”) and it allows individuals with diminished hearing to express themselves completely.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
This is a very important part of our daily communication. We communicate all kinds of information using nonverbal language or communication. Body language, such as shrugging shoulders or crossing arms across the chest, send a message loud and clear. Body posturing, such as turning your back on someone, also sends a strong message; no words needed. Our many facial expressions tell much about how or what we are feeling. And, sometimes, our voices, not the words, do the talking. We’ve all spoken or heard words spoken with a tone or inflection that didn’t match the word at all; a little bit of sarcasm, for instance?
I’ve read many accounts of just how much nonverbal language or communication we use on a regular basis and it varies from about 60% to as much as 90% of our total communication. Many parents worry that gestures or early sign language will interfere with the development of speech but that is not true at all. Research has shown that gestures or sign language and other supplemental forms of communication actually encourage the development of speech. As important as speech is, this nonverbal part of our communication is essential.
SPEECH
Speech is often used as a universal term to include, not only talking, but all of the language elements as well. Like how we (at least I do) say ‘Kleenex’ instead of ‘tissue.’ Speech is actually the way we express language verbally. It is how we create the sounds of our language and put those sounds together to make words. As natural and easy as it seems, producing speech is an extremely complex human function and it must be learned. Unfortunately, because it seems so easy and such a natural part of us, being able to produce speech is often taken for granted. Speech is just one of the wondrous ways we have to express our language and communicate with one another.
Why Do We Need It?
Human communication is the purpose and function of our language; this is why we need language. This is what it’s all about. We are social creatures and we need to communicate. We need to be able to express ourselves in so many different ways and for so many different reasons and we need to get feedback that we are understood. This is how we know we are loved, needed, wanted, appreciated, and on, and on, and on.
The ability to use language for communication makes us unique in the animal kingdom. Someone once said, “We are human because we have the ability to say we are human.” Our ability to communicate with language empowers us.
Contact me today to learn more about language and the importance of speech therapy.