Speech versus Language versus Communication
Understanding the difference between speech, language, and communication can expand our view of what’s possible for people with speech or language disabilities
During my orientation to a training program in speech/language therapy, the teachers instructed us to play a game. The goal was simple: we had to arrange ourselves in line by age. Most of us were strangers, ranging from fresh out of college to forty-something.
We were given a challenge: we had to accomplish this without speaking.
This restriction prevented us from following most able-bodied people’s default: to go from one person to the next, asking out loud, “When is your birthday?” Thus, we had to think creatively about how to convey this information.
In other words, we had to communicate (send and receive information) without using speech (saying words out loud).
Playing the Game
Imagine you were playing this game. How would you try to get past this restriction on speech?
We thought of several ways.
We could write instead of speak. (In this game, we were forbidden from writing, too).
We could sign, if we knew a signed language. (Unfortunately, most of these future SLPs did not).
These methods are not speech, but they are still language. They have a vocabulary of specific actions with consistent meanings. For example, the word “birthday” is always spelled the same way, and conveyed with the same movements. Most importantly, these communication methods have a grammar, which arranges these words in specific orders that provide an additional layer of meaning. For example, “Larry ate the apple” means something different than “the apple ate Larry.”
Language is so useful and omnipresent in our lives that we may forget there are other ways to communicate. Yet, every day, most people send and receive information without using language.
Humans communicate with our bodies. We can send and receive messages by using facial expressions and gestures. For most people, these movements effectively convey emotions and intentions. However, in this game, we struggled to use them to express birthdates.
We did not rely on facial expressions. Unlike words, which are spoken, written, or signed roughly similarly and have consistent meanings, facial expressions are idiosyncratic and inconsistent. While arguably all people smile, these look surprisingly different between individuals. (I even knew someone who could unambiguously smile with the corners of his mouth turned down). The meaning of facial expressions is also too broad. Different people may use the same expression in different situations, both because of personal preferences (one person may adore watching baseball games, while another is bored stiff) and because of cultural rules for displaying emotions. There is no smile for “I’m happy that it’s my birthday.”
Gestures are more consistent, and thus more promising. When you wave to someone, both convention and context make clear that it means “hello” or “goodbye.” When you give someone in America the finger, they know you’ve insulted them (other cultures have different, but equivalent, gestures).
For the purposes of this game, pointing seems the most promising. Pointing has a consistent meaning: you are always indicating something, and requesting attention to it. Pointing is also extremely flexible: we can convey a wealth of meanings just by pointing at different things. You can point at objects, such as a tree; actions, such as a person running; or symbols, such as a red traffic light or written words. Whatever you point at helps carry the meaning.
However, gestures have one problem: they are bound to specific contexts in the here and now. We can’t point to something that happened 100 years ago. At best, we can point to a piece of text that discusses it.
We can only point at something that can be seen and at least metaphorically located in space. We can’t point at the sound of a C sharp; the smell in the air after it rains; the feeling of hunger; the cells in our body; a black hole; or justice. Instead, we make do by pointing at symbols of these things.
In our game, if we wanted to communicate by pointing, we needed to point at something that conveys the idea of a birthdate. We weren’t allowed to write words, so we had to think of something else.
We considered visual symbols. These can convey abstract, complex meanings that gestures alone do not. For example, when we are driving and see the distinctive red, white-lettered shape of a stop sign, we hit the brakes. When we see the number zero, we ponder emptiness or nothingness. Of all the means of communication discussed so far, visual symbols seem the most promising.
The problem with symbols is that their meaning must be agreed upon in advance. Normally, we can simply discuss the need for a new symbol and invent one. We could devise a way to match symbols to birthdates (or related concepts of months, years, and so on). However, during the game, we didn’t know how to create the necessary symbols without speaking or writing.
How we solved the problem
Ultimately, we held up, and often pointed to, our driver’s licenses or state ID’s. These objects contained numbers representing our birthdates.
Instead of language, we used gesture combined with visual symbols.
TL;DR: What are speech, language, and communication again?
We can think of speech, language, and communication as a series of nested circles.
The broadest circle is communication, the ability to send and receive messages.
The middle circle is language, a symbol system with a vocabulary and grammatical structure. Here, order conveys meaning. Language can be spoken, written, typed, or signed.
Finally, the narrowest circle is speech, the act of saying words out loud or understanding the spoken words you hear.
Next time you interact with someone, observe the spoken and unspoken conversation. What meanings are you sending and receiving through speech, language, and other forms of communication?
Notice that language is unique in its flexibility and independence from the here-and-now. There’s a reason most humans rely on some form of language.
Notice, too, that there is more to communication than language. Communication is incredibly broad, and available to anyone.
The moral of the story
You might be wondering: why did our teachers ask us to play this game?
Having to communicate without speech and with limited language forced us into the position of our clients.
We appreciated that speech is ubiquitous. We experienced how hard it can be to communicate abstract ideas without spoken or written language. The experience helped us appreciate the effort and creativity communication demands of our clients — reinforcing our respect for them.
The game also pushed us to consider how many ways people can communicate. Those who cannot speak or write can still convey meaning in a variety of ways. We must presume competence: that is, we must recognize that people with difficulty speaking and writing can communicate, and as human beings, have the right to do so.
A respectful, well-trained SLP will recognize every available means of communication and help clients find the best way to convey their meaning at any given moment. You have the right to ask this of them. If they can’t or won’t, you have the right to replace them.
