Language, Speech, and Communication Disorders

Language

Language is a rule-based system of arbitrary symbols through which we encode our thoughts and ideas to others. To further explore this definition, it may be helpful to consider an example of a sentence spoken by 3-year-old Rashaun: “I'm eating the cake!” Rashaun has followed a number of rules in this sentence, such as (a) positioning the subject I at the start of the sentence, before the verb; (b) contracting the auxiliary am to create I'm; and (c) placing the determiner the before the noun cake to create a noun phrase. There are numerous other rules that Rashaun followed (too many to mention here), yet describing these three is useful for understanding the rule-based nature of language. When we produce language, we follow a number of rules that we have internalized since birth to order sentences, create verb inflections (the contracted form of I am), and build phrases. Also inherent in this definition of language is that it comprises a set of arbitrary symbols. The most important symbols in language are words: Spoken words are groups of sounds that map onto a referent. For instance, the spoken word dog (comprising three sounds) maps onto a very concrete referent of a type of animal that is friendly and often cute, whereas the spoken word freedom (comprising six sounds) maps onto a much more abstract referent concerning autonomy and independence. These symbols—the sounds and the words they create—are arbitrary. In other words, the word conveying the referent dog could be any other set of sounds (such as “trif” or “masp”).

Speech

Speech is a neuromuscular process through which humans articulate sounds into meaningful [Page 1314]units of language (syllables, words, sentences). Speech is, in essence, the means through which humans are able to share spoken language with others (writing is another means, as is signing). The production of a spoken word (or any other unit of spoken language) involves the precise expression of speech sounds using the articulators, including the tongue, lips, and mandible, as coordinated with respiratory and phonatory systems. Respiration (inspiration and expiration of airflow) is necessary as it creates the airflow that moves across the vocal folds within the larynx and through the pharynx (back of throat) and is exhaled through the oral and nasal cavities. As the airflow moves through these cavities, the articulators move to create the individual speech sounds. For instance, to produce the speech sound /s/, the teeth are held together, the tongue is raised against the roof of the mouth (behind the upper teeth), and the airflow is forced through the teeth to create friction. Spoken English utilizes about 44 different speech sounds (the exact number depends on one's dialect) to create a seemingly infinite supply of different words.

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