Speech, Language and Communication - Essay Example

? Speech, Language and Communication Speech, Language and Communication Speech widely described as the vocalised form of human communication consists of names drawn from a wide range of vocabulary type. Concisely, these vocabularies are classified under language. Communication relation, therefore, is the literal conveyance of this language or rather speech to give a meaning that can be understood and trigger feedback to form a loop of information. Therefore, this paper aims at comparing and contrasting speech, language and communication as different aspects of the same process. Communication is the transfer of knowledge and ideas in a way that enables the receiver to understand, react to and act upon the information received. Therefore, language and speech are both different aspects of a communication process. It is regarded as a process with various characteristics including its continuous, dynamic and has elements that occur simultaneously (Miller, 2011). It is also regarded as a process because of its symbolic nature, that is, it relies heavily on symbols with arbitrary meanings. Communication as a process also occurs in a contextual manner. That being another feature of communication, the context includes language, cultures, social structure and the individual relation between the receiver and the source (Miller, 2011). A speech is also regarded as what one gives in front of a group of either people, which can be interpersonal or public speaking, which, in turn, means language is what we use to deliver the speech (Miller, 2011). Communication, therefore, is the way the speech is delivered. Language is different from speech because it consists of socially shared rules, which include how to put words together to make a meaning, what or the exact meaning of each of the words used, how to make or constitute new words from those existing, and what best word combinations are thoroughly placed, in a situation, to give meaning (Kuhl, 2010). On the other hand, speech is a verbal means of communication, which constitutes articulation that exactly ease how the speech sounds are constituted. It also consists of voice whereby vocal folds and breathing are initiated to produce sound. Fluency is another vital constituent of speech, which is described as the rhythm of speech (Kuhl, 2010). Therefore, language can be grouped, in terms of problems, whereby, receptive language is when a person has trouble with understanding others. Sharing thoughts, ideas and feelings perfectly with others with poor conveyance is categorized under expressive language disorders (Crosbie et al., 2005). Language disorders are, therefore, when a person cannot receive and express themselves perfectly to others to give meaning. On the other hand, when a person is not able to produce speech sound fluently and correctly or maybe has problems with their voices, then they have speech disorders (Kuhl, 2010). An example is when an infant or a child, learning how to talk, is unable to express his or herself effectively for his or her friends and family to understand because he or she speaks softly and not produce vivid sounds. This aptly captures the aspect of speech, language and communication are interdependent, but different, and when one is dysfunctional, the meaning is affected (Kuhl, 2010). Communication, as a process involving speech and language, has many other aspects that affect it. These include the source or the initiator of a process or the originator of the message. The message includes all aspects of language and speech. The source of the message encodes it through activities such as putting thoughts into words (Xu, 2011). Another example is in a telephone call where the phone encodes the words spoken into radio waves, and through an electromagnetic wave medium, the message is transferred across to the receiver whose phone, in turn, decodes the waves into words that he or she can understand and is able to give feedback, making the process a loop hence a conversation (Xu, 2011). For this information to reach the receiver, from the source in a meaningful conveyance, the source must use appropriately speech and language aspects (Crosbie et al., 2005). This proves that speech, language and communication are always inter-related and work hand in hand to give meaning. The medium through, which the information is conveyed, can be through sound waves, light waves, airwaves or even physical channels. However, the information is never necessarily delivered because of outward and internal interference known as noise between the receiver and the source of the information (Crosbie et al., 2005). In many cases, speech and language disorders are regarded as noise to any communication event because they hinder perfect conveyance of the message. Therefore, the source and the receiver must explore on their word formation and pronunciation, which are aspects of language and speech (Crosbie et al., 2005). Communication occurs in different levels and includes variables or rather constituents that are susceptible to change. The levels, which include intra-personal communication, refer to the process of sharing as well as understanding meaning within the self of different personalities (Xu, 2011). It also describes the thought process, which relates to an internal problem solving, resolution or internal conflict, evaluation of the relationship between others and us. Nonetheless, it also brings about the evaluation of others and us. It involves only the self and must be clearly understood by the self because it constitutes the basis of all other forms of communication (Xu, 2011). Consequently, inter-personal communication is the personal process of understanding and sharing, in between people, and at least one other person when relatively mutual opportunity for listening and speaking occur. Communication even between two people is DYADIC, and TRIADIC is communication between three people (Xu, 2011). Inter-personal communication generally involves a few individuals in close physical and emotional proximity. All these participants should indulge their language and speech skills for perfection of information conveyance. Language and speech disorders clearly shade communication negatively and can exist together or independently. However, if the problem is severe, a speech-language pathologist should do an evaluation, comprehensively, to counter and improve language and speech problems (Xu, 2011). On the other hand, group communication covers situations ranging from participating in a business meeting, students going to class to even attending a music concert (Xu, 2011). However, the number of participants increase influences this. Mass communication, on the other hand, involves a communicator using a medium to communicate to large audiences. For example, a newspaper agency that prints daily issues of newspapers must appropriately engage speech and language use to make the readers understand the information produced (Xu, 2011). Clarity, which is an aspect of language, should be thoroughly emphasized, in this case. Language can also be classified as verbal and non-verbal language. Spoken or verbal language relates to the use of words, which are crucial components of speech (Kuhl, 2010). Understanding these words have no arbitrary meanings to the ones you have assigned to them. Words are also obstructions in that they are only simplifications of what they stand for; captured by the English diplomats “the word is not the thing” (Kuhl, 2010). Different words are lamped, into another, to make meaning since not everything can be accounted for, in the world. For example, all two-legged living things with arms and faces are called human beings (Kuhl, 2010). By virtue of their meanings, words and phrases enter, into relations with one another, to provide a different meaning from that assigned to the word. This forms the difference in wordings like synonyms and antonyms (Kuhl, 2010). In situations where a word has two different meanings, the word is referred to as polysemy. For example, “bright” means something shiny or being intelligent. For a perfect communication event, the proper use of words is forte of speech delivery. Non-verbal language, on the other hand, refers to the use of non-verbal codes to send a message (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). Principally, they include symbols that are not words. Therefore, as an aspect of language, a meaningful communication event must initiate them. Non-verbal language includes kinesics, which is the physical body movement, including gestures, facial expressions, and even to some extent, body poses (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). Through gestures, we are able to convey a variety of emotional responses and states, during speech delivery. We can be able to show that something is unpleasant, for example, we are unhappy, afraid, surprised or angry using proper facial expression and gestures. Proxemics, which is another aspect of non-verbal language, is the use of space to communicate (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). Two people in a conversation will approach one another as closely as circumstances on their relationship dictates. Therefore, space is a powerful non-verbal communicator as most people are possessive about their personal space that when invaded, might feel uncomfortable and will hesitate to communicate until the correct distance is re-established (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). Haptic, which is the use of touch, in non-verbal communication to convey meaning, is effective when properly applied. Chronemis, which refers to the use of time as a code, can also be used as a form of non-verbal language communication (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). Objectics is another form of non-verbal communication, which relates to the language of artefacts or rather object language. In speech delivery, this is a vital aspect as it shades perception (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). An individual’s dressing describes the type of individual he, or she is. In addition, many people feel that clothing and physical appearance are significant in forming first impressions. Paralanguage, as a form of non-verbal communication, refers to non-content speech behaviour that accompanies oral language (D'Melloa & Graessera, 2009). Research has also proven that different cultures have their own vocalic patterns that, in turn, attest that the way things are said substantially influences the meaning of what is said (Liebal et al., 2011). Therefore, language and speech delivery, in a communication process, must evidence a good command in the use of tone, pitch, volume of speech and speed of speech (Liebal et al., 2011). Tone, a vital aspect of speech, refers to the quality and character of sound, and it is a paralinguistic feature that determines a speaker’s ability to communicate effectively. Although a slight difference exists between speech and language, they are interdependent since language is a constituent of speech and vice versa (Liebal et al., 2011). Paralinguistic features help us to communicate our feelings, regulate the give and take in our conversations, as well as a comment and reflect on social alternatives (Liebal et al., 2011). In conclusion, language, speech and communication are nothing, but co-relating aspects of information conveyance. This is proven by their common characteristics that rather exceed the differences between them. Each of them supplements the other; therefore, a person with language and speech disorder cannot communicate to other people or audience and infer the intended meaning or message effectively. References Crosbie, S., Holm, A., & Dodd, B. (2005). Intervention for children with severe speech disorder: A comparison of two approaches. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders Vol. 40, No. 4 , 467-491. D'Melloa, S., & Graessera, A. (2009). Automatic Detection Of Learner's Affect From Gross Body Language. 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