What is the Difference Between Speech and Language?
Speech and Language: Knowing the Difference
We often hear the words speech and language used interchangeably. They might mean the same thing when we’re talking casually about communication. But to speech–language pathologists (SLPs), they have very different meanings.
Speech refers to the actual sound of spoken language. It’s the oral form of communicating. Speech is talking: using the muscles of the tongue, lips, jaw and voice in a precise and coordinated way to produce the recognizable sounds that make up language.
Language refers to a whole system of words and symbols—written, spoken or expressed with gestures and body language—that is used to communicate meaning.
Just as speech and language differ, there’s a difference between speech disorders and language disorders.
A speech disorder usually indicates that someone has trouble producing or pronouncing certain sounds accurately.
Young children who are learning how to speak may substitute, leave out or distort normal speech sounds. For example, it’s not unusual for 3-year-olds to use the f sound for th in their speech: “I’m firsty (thirsty).” But that pronunciation would be considered an articulation error in a 5-year-old. This is a speech problem.
Language has to do with word meaning. A child with a language disorder may have a difficult time understanding the meaning of what’s being said (receptive language impairment). Or he may have trouble communicating his own thoughts (expressive language impairment).
Speech disorders and language disorders may occur separately. Or an individual may have both kinds of disorders at the same time.
As a speech therapist in Hinsdale, Illinois, I help children grow and progress through speech, language, and feeding therapy. Contact me today for an assessment!
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It really helped when you said that speech would be the sound of the spoken language which means that it is the oral form of communication. I guess speech pathology is what is needed for those with kids who are having a hard time speaking actual words. They probably are able to make sounds and all, but they cannot express themselves with the right words and the right pronunciation.