We explain what speech is and what are the components of this human capacity. Also, his speech act disorders and theories.
What is speech?
The word speaks comes from the Latin word fable, which refers to the faculty of speaking, proper to the human being. This is a faculty that persons they begin to develop gradually, expanding their vocabulary throughout childhood.
The societies Over time they build different languages, which function as instruments admitted and transmitted by their own community, thanks to which individuals can communicate with each other. While language is the set of signs and rules with which this code understood by all manifests itself, speech is the individual appropriation of language, which is acquired in a much more passive way.
This distinction was formalized by Ferdinand de Saussure, the Swiss linguist father of the semiology, what is the discipline that deals with signs (and understands them as an acoustic image-concept) and with their social behavior.
Speech components
- Joint. It is the way in which the sounds of a letter.
- Voice. Use of the vocal cord system and breathing to be able to talk.
- Fluency.Rhythm with which messages are transmitted.
Speech disorders
It consists of problems that prevent a subject from being able to make adequate use of the voice, not being able to emit sounds correctly or because of the shape or its rhythm. It is often confused with disorders of the language, but they are not the same, since the latter is related to understanding what others say. Although both types of pathologies can occur simultaneously.
Some examples of speech disorders are dysrhythmias and stuttering.
Speech act theory
Regarding the philosophy of human language, one of the first authors to delve into speech was John austin, which produced the well-known speech act theory. This theory comprises the communication oral between one person and another, understanding that the message is captured and produces an effect on the receiver.
The first classification that Austin makes is according to the function of the sentence:
- Telephone booths. The statements themselves, any of the acts based on saying something. Its components are three, the phonetic, which corresponds to the emission of sounds, the factual, which is the combination of the words in prayers, and the rético, which is the use of those words in the form of meaning and cohesion. "The doctor told me ‘take these pills’”Would be a sentence of this kind.
- Ilocutory. In the facet of the intention contained in the statement, in the force that will end up producing an effect on the receiver. Inform, warn, threaten, promise or order, among others: "The doctor advised me to take a few days off.". Within this dimension corresponding to intention, two actions are differentiated that will be very different: direct and indirect.
- Direct acts. They are those in which the speaker clearly expresses his intention when speaking. The call ‘primary illocutionary act ' is mentioned.
- Indirect acts. They are the ones that the intention must be interpreted by the receiver. It will be a reading ‘Between the lines’, which will generate a secondary illocutionary act: (when asked to go dancing) 'I have a lot to study'
- Perlocutory. The dimension that deals with the effects that the word will necessarily have on the receiver. It is the dimension that focuses on the interlocutor, and will vary depending on who he is. 'The doctor convinced me to take a few days off. '.
In the case of sequences of various speech acts, arranged in the form of dialogue, a new act may come off. This is the macro-speech act, which will be a brief resume, the trunk and main part of the process of various speech acts, performed by one or more people. An example of this could be an invitation to a place, or a promise. The macro-act of speech may also be direct or indirect, depending on whether or not there is an explanation.
Depending on their purpose, the acts can be classified between:
- Assertive acts. When the speaker uses them to affirm or deny something, talking about the reality.
- Expressive acts. They are those who verbalize an emotional or physical state.
- Acts managers. In them the main facet is the intention, in the sense of convincing of something, be it an idea or a way of acting.
- Compromissory acts. In which the speaker directly or indirectly affirms the assumption of a responsibility, which aims to carry out some activity.