One of the key points that distinguish human development from animals (both physiologically and socio-psychological) is speech. It is a process of communication between people through language. In everyday practice, the concepts of "speech" and "language" are often used as synonyms. However, if you approach the issue from a scientific point of view, then these concepts should be distinguished.
Language structure
Language is a system of signs that serves as a means of implementing human communication and thinking (Psychological Dictionary / Ed. By V.V. Davydov, A.V. Zaporozhets, B.F. Lomov). It is developed in the process of social development, representing a form of reflection of social being in the consciousness of individuals. It is important to note that a person receives a ready-made language that was formed long before the birth of this particular individual. However, becoming a native speaker of a given language, an individual simultaneously becomes a potential source of its development.
The structure of the language includes the following components:
- vocabulary (system of significant words),
- grammar (system of forms of words and phrases),
- phonetics (a certain sound composition peculiar only to a specific language).
Semantic language specifics
The main specificity of the language lies in the fact that it, as a system of signs, ensures that each word is assigned a specific meaning. Thus, the meaning of the word is a generalized characteristic. For example, the word "city" can combine many specific cities - from small and little-known to real megacities, familiar to everyone. On the other hand, if we are referring to a specific locality (for example, Nizhny Novgorod or Prague), then we will also use the concept of “city”, but mean exactly the object in question.
Speech mechanisms
Speech is a historically established form of communication between people through language (The Big Psychological Dictionary / Edited by B. G. Meshcheryakov, V. P. Zinchenko). It can have a narrative, interrogative or incentive structure. Moreover, the psychological mechanisms of speech as a system of communication through language are no less complex than the mechanisms of the language itself. In the process of transmitting any information through speech, not only the selection of the corresponding words that have a certain meaning, but also their concretization is necessary. Since each word, as mentioned above, is a generalization, in speech it is necessary to narrow it down to the level of a certain meaning. How does this happen? The main role of the so-called “filter” in this case is played by the context by which the given word is introduced into speech. The mechanisms of speech from the psychological side, respectively, can be determined by such concepts as context, subtext, and emotional expressive component.
Semantic context
So, in our example with the word “city” it is important to understand what exactly we want to know about it: “What kind of city is this?” If the question sounds like: “Where is this city?”, Then we are talking about a spatial characteristic (location on the map, how to get there, how many kilometers, what is nearby, etc.). If we are interested in the question: “What is this city interesting for?”, Then we can talk about some sights (for example, historical, cultural or economic). Accordingly, the question itself as a linguistic construction ("what kind of city is this") has insufficient semantic load and requires additional context. The construction of this context, in turn, is carried out in the process of speech.
Speech Subtext
Of particular importance is the meaning of the message that the subject wants to convey through speech. The mechanisms of speech, carried out in the context of semantic subtext, are a reflection of the motivational side of our statement. As you know, the true meaning of a phrase is not always on the surface - we often say one thing, but mean something else (manipulation, flattery, desire to translate the topic of conversation, etc.).
Emotionally expressive side of speech
Also a significant difference between speech and language is emotional coloring. Through verbal meanings, we not only convey some content, information about the object - we express through speech our own emotional attitude to what we say. This characteristic represents the emotional and expressive side of speech and is formed due to the tone of the sound of the words used by us to pronounce the phrase being expressed.
Intonational mechanisms of speech
The development of speech as a holistic process covers all aspects of the verbal sphere of the individual, including the intonation side.
The intonation side - the melody (prosodic) of speech - is directly related to its purity, correctness and beauty. Intonation plays a huge role, enhancing the meaning of words and sometimes expressing more meaning than the words themselves. In addition, intonationally expressive sounding oral speech is easier to perceive, since it allows you to highlight the most important parts of the sentence in the semantic meaning.
The intonation mechanism of speech formation refers to the paralinguistic means of communication. These are non-linguistic (non-verbal) means included in a voice message and transmitting semantic information together with linguistic (verbal) means.
They can be divided into three types (B. Shevtsova, "Technology of formation of the intonational side of speech"):
- phonation (especially the pronunciation of sounds, words, utterances; sound placeholders pauses);
- kinetic (gestures, facial expressions, body movements);
- graphic (features of handwriting, substitutes for letters and words). Phonation means include intonation.
Intonation, in turn, is a combination of the sound means of a language that phonetically organizes speech, establishes semantic relations between parts of a phrase, tells the phrase a narrative, interrogative or exclamatory meaning, allowing the speaker to express different feelings. The mechanisms of written speech allow you to express a particular intonation using punctuation marks.
The formation of the intonational side of speech affects components such as melody, timbre, tempo, rhythm, stress and pauses.
1. Melody
It is the main component of intonation. The melody of speech determines the change in the frequency of the fundamental tone that unfolds in time (I. Torsueva). Melody Functions:
- the allocation of rhythmic groups and syntagmas in the structure of the utterance,
- highlighting the most significant moments of the statement,
- linking the individual parts of the statement into a single whole,
- determination of the relationship of the subject to the spoken text,
- expression of subtext, modal shades.
The melody of a statement is formed by a combination of several melodic motifs - the minimum units of melody associated with the rhythmic series. The melody of a statement is formed either by several different motives or by repeats of the same motive.
Speech melody and musical melody are not the same thing. Speech melody rarely enough maintains an even tone, constantly increasing or decreasing. Its intervals also change frequently, and tones do not have a specific duration. Unlike musical, speech melody does not fit into the scheme of a certain musical scale.
One of the components of the melody, which determines the anatomical and physiological mechanisms of speech, is the fundamental frequency (FET) - the lowest component in the sound spectrum, the inverse of the period of oscillation of the vocal cords. In normal speech, during a conversation there is a constant change in the frequency of the fundamental tone. As for the range of these changes, it is determined by the individual characteristics of the speaker’s speech, as well as his emotional and mental state.
Physiological mechanisms of speech in relation to CT:
- men: 132 Hz,
- women: 223 Hz,
- children: 264 Hz.
As for distinguishing sounds by height, it is determined by the speed of oscillation of the vocal folds of a person. In turn, the mechanism of speech generation due to fold fluctuations depends on such parameters as the speed of the air flow passing through the glottis; glottis width; the level of elasticity of the vocal folds; masses of the vibrating part of the folds.
With a constant change in the frequency of the fundamental tone in the sounding speech, the melodic performs a connecting function for the individual parts of the speech stream and at the same time a separation function.
2. Timbre
A characteristic such as a timbre of speech is directly related to melody. However, there is no unambiguous approach to the concept of timbre in studies aimed at speech perception mechanisms. On the one hand, the timbre means a special high-quality coloring of the sound, which is created due to the specific ratio of the strength of the fundamental tone and its overtones (depending on the shape of the resonator). From the point of view of this position, the timbre is associated with the purity and brightness of the sound of the voice. Thus, if the voice tone for many people can be common, then the timbre is an individual characteristic.
On the other hand, a timbre can be considered as an additional coloring of the sound, which gives the voice various emotional shades. This approach is primarily characteristic of linguistics (phonology). According to the researchers, timbre characteristics do not have the main communicative load, manifesting itself only in the expression of various kinds of emotions by changing the color of the voice.
3. The rhythm
It is a sequential alternation of stressed and unstressed elements of speech (words, syllables) at specific intervals. Determines the aesthetic organization of a literary text, ordering its sound expression.
4. Pace
The pace characterizes the speech of an individual in terms of the speed of pronunciation of speech elements (syllables, words, syntagmas). The amount of these elements spoken in a specific unit of time (for example, a second) is estimated. So, for example, the average rate of speech during a conversation is about 5-6 syllables in one second.
Among the main functions of the pace it is customary to single out the following: maintaining the intonational integrity of the speech utterance and the separation of significant / insignificant moments in the utterance. So, for example, at more important points in a statement, a person usually slows down. And vice versa, if we are talking about something not very significant, the speech of the individual is accelerated. You can also observe the acceleration of the pace of speech, when the individual does not want to attract the attention of the interlocutor to certain moments in the statement (often seen in advertising).
In addition, the pace can characterize the individual psychological characteristics of the speaker, which determine his speech mechanisms. Also important is the speaker’s social status, his desire to create a certain impression, etc.
5. Accent
The technique used to highlight any element of speech (syllable, word) from a number of similar elements. It is carried out by changing certain acoustic characteristics of this element - increasing the tone of pronunciation, increasing intensity, etc.
Such types of stress are distinguished as:
- verbal (phonetic integrity of the word),
- syntagmatic (syntagma borders),
- logical (underlining the most important word),
- phrase (completion of the statement).
6. Pause
It is a break (an element that stops speech). Speech mechanisms in this case can be of two types:
- the sounding speech is temporarily stopped, there is silence (a valid pause),
- creating a break effect in sounding speech by changing the melody, pace or stress at the syntagma border (psychological).
The intonational culture of speech in oratory has always been given considerable attention, starting from the time of Antiquity. Theorists of oratory in ancient Greece and ancient Rome studied speech melody, distinguished it from musical melody, characterized tempo, rhythm, pauses, and evaluated the importance of highlighting certain semantic parts in speech.
KS Stanislavsky in his studies of the role of intonation in the system of theatrical art wrote that the nature of intonation, the coloring of the voice depends on the sound of both vowels and consonants: "Vowels are the river, consonants are the banks." To master intonation perfectly, you need to know certain anatomical and physiological mechanisms of speech:
- the necessary positions of the mouth, lips, tongue, which form these or those sounds (device of the speech apparatus and its resonators),
- the specificity of the shade of sound depending on in which cavity it resonates and where it is directed.
Subsequently, these observations had a great influence on the development of technologies of expressive reading and speech.