We all know that one way of relating to others, and that we human beings have, is communication. This can be verbal or non-verbal. So far, the definition is quite understandable. With non-verbal communication, reference is made to signs, signals, gestures that we use to reinforce our oral discourse. And in verbal communication language would be involved.
In a broad sense, one speaks of the language of flowers, of stars, of animals. Especially in the latter, although some of them, who live in a community (bees, ants), have communication procedures. But it is not language in the strict sense.
Throughout this article we will refer to this need and communication capacity of human beings. In this activity, organs of the human body are involved such as: the larynx, the pharynx, the mouth or the lips. There is no single language that encompasses all.
In fact, there are various types of language and surely many of them will be familiar to you, but until now you had never noticed them. Among these languages we can cite as such: painting, music, mime, dance, smoke signals, literature, among others; but without a doubt the most important is the language.
However, many people have, even today, the difficulty in differentiating the language of language and speech. In general, people believe that these three concepts mean the same thing, but it is not so. With this article we hope to help you know how to differentiate language, language and speech. For this we will design a small scheme that will help you with a simple glance to see what each of these three terms consist of.
What do you need to differentiate language, language and speech?
- Pen or pencil.
- Ruler.
- Paper, foil or cardboard.
Instructions to differentiate tongue, language and speech
- On a folio sheet, make three columns with a ruler. Try to have the same distance.
- In the first box we will put language, in the second language and in the third speech, as shown in the drawing.
- Let’s go with the first column the In it we will put the following characteristics:
- Communication system.
- Social and individual.
- Objective: to allow communication.
- It varies with the passage of time and according to the communities.
- Conveys ideas or thoughts through speech, writing, or gestures.
- In the language column we will write down the following:
- It is a system of linguistic signs (Meaning/Signifier).
- Social, conventional and cultural heritage.
- It stays in memory.
- Here we could locate the dialects.
- Talk, in this section we will write down the following terms:
- (Each one decides when to speak).
- Use: Individual, that is, the use that each person makes of the language.
- It is material because speech can be heard and read.
- Types of speech: slang (professional language), slang (certain professions have their own vocabulary), Caló.
Tips to differentiate tongue, language and speech
- Given the scheme that we have made, we could add that language would be something like a mental dictionary shared by the members of a certain community.
- If you realize it, it is like a chain in which one leads to its application in daily life. Language is related to language and speech, since in order to communicate we need a language (language) that will depend on the country where we are and in turn each individual makes use of that language, according to their knowledge of it. That is to say, the language would be something like, as we said before, a dictionary and the speech the resources that we know of that dictionary and that we habitually use.
- In turn, we must take into account that within the language there are different ways of articulating it, hence the Spanish spoken in Spain in the North is different from that of Andalusia or between the different countries of Latin America. Therefore, within the language we would also include the dialects. On the other hand, if we use jargon, the language is the same, but we would be within speech since it is a specific use for certain individuals.
- Regarding language, we have to take into account that there are different types. Specifically, we can list the following languages: auditory, visual, tactile and olfactory. The first one that we have mentioned, that is, the auditory language is divided into verbal language (which uses the sign) and non-verbal language (sounds). Likewise, the visual language is also divided into two. On the one hand, we have the verbal (written word) and the non-verbal (alphabet for deaf-mutes, hieroglyphics, signs…). For its part, when we talk about tactile language we are referring to the one in which we use our touch. To give some examples, tactile language occurs in caresses, movements that we make when greeting or saying goodbye. And finally we have to mention the olfactory language in which the smells would be.