For each person, speech is the most important means of communication. The formation of oral speech begins from the earliest periods of the child's development and includes several stages: from screaming and babbling to conscious self-expression using various linguistic techniques.
There are concepts such as oral, written, impressive and expressive speech. They characterize the processes of understanding, perception and reproduction of speech sounds, the formation of phrases that will be voiced or written in the future, as well as the correct arrangement of words in sentences.
Oral and written forms of speech: concept and meaning
Expressive oral speech actively involves the organs of articulation (tongue, palate, teeth, lips). But, by and large, the physical reproduction of sounds is only a consequence of brain activity. Any word, sentence, or phrase first represents an idea or image. After their complete formation takes place, the brain sends a signal (order) to the speech apparatus.
Written speech and its types directly depend on how developed the oral form of speech is, since, in fact, it is a visualization of the same signals that the brain dictates. However, the features of written speech allow a person to more carefully and accurately select words, improve the sentence and correct what was written earlier.
Thanks to this, written language becomes more literate and correct than oral. Whereas for oral speech the important indicators are the timbre of the voice, speed of conversation, clarity of sound, intelligibility, written speech is characterized by the clarity of handwriting, its intelligibility, as well as the arrangement of letters and words in relation to each other.
Studying the processes of oral and written speech, specialists make up a general concept of a person’s condition, possible violations of his health, as well as their causes. Violations of speech function can be detected both in children with a speech apparatus that has not yet fully formed , and in adults who have had a stroke or suffer from other diseases. In the latter case, speech can be fully or partially restored.
Impressive and expressive speech: what is it
Impressive speech refers to the mental process that accompanies I understand the different types of speech (written and oral). Recognition of speech sounds and their perception is not an easy mechanism. Most actively involved in it:
- the zone of sensory speech in the cerebral cortex, which is also called the Wernicke zone;
- auditory analyzer.
Impaired functioning of the latter provokes changes in impressive speech. An example is the impressive speech of deaf people, which is based on the recognition of spoken words by the movement of the lips. At the same time, the tactile perception of volumetric symbols (points) is the basis of their written impressive speech.
Schematically, the Wernicke zone can be described as a kind of card index containing sound images of all the words learned by a person. Throughout his life, a person turns to these data, replenishes and corrects them. As a result of the defeat of the zone, the sound images of words that are stored there are destroyed. The result of this process is the inability to recognize the meaning of spoken or written words. Even with excellent hearing, a person does not understand what they say (or write) to him.
Expressive speech and its types are the process of pronouncing sounds, which can be contrasted with impressive speech (their perception).
Expressive Speech Formation Process
Starting from the first months of life, the child learns to perceive the words addressed to him. Directly expressive speech, that is, the formation of design, inner speech and pronunciation of sounds, develops as follows:
- Screams.
- Walking.
- The first syllables, as a kind of gulennie.
- Babble.
- Simple words.
- Words related to the adult vocabulary.
As a rule, the development of expressive speech is closely related to the way in which and how much time parents devote to communicating with the child.
Everything that they hear and see around them affects the volume of vocabulary, the correct formulation of sentences and the formulation of their own thoughts of children. The formation of expressive speech occurs as a result of imitation of the actions of others and the desire to actively communicate with them. Attachment to parents and relatives becomes the best motivation for the child, stimulating him to expand his vocabulary and emotionally colored verbal communication.
Violation of expressive speech is a direct result of developmental disabilities, the result of injuries or illnesses. But most deviations from the normal development of speech are amenable to adjustment and regulation.
How speech developmental disorders are detected
Speech therapists examine children’s speech function, conduct tests and analyze the information received. The study of expressive speech is carried out in order to identify the child's formed grammatical structure of speech, to study vocabulary and sound pronunciation. It is for the study of sound pronunciation, its pathologies and their causes, as well as for the development of a procedure for correcting disorders, the following indicators are studied:
- Pronunciation of sounds.
- The syllabic structure of words.
- The level of phonetic perception.
Taking up the examination, a qualified speech therapist clearly understands what exactly is the goal, that is, what kind of expressive speech disorder he should identify. The work of a professional includes specific knowledge about how the survey is carried out, what kind of materials should be applied, and also in what way to format the results and draw conclusions.
Given the psychological characteristics of children whose age is related to preschool (up to seven years), the process of their examination often includes several stages. Each of them uses special bright and attractive visual materials for the specified age.
Inspection Process Flow
Thanks to the correct formulation of the examination process, it is possible to identify various skills by studying one type of activity. Such an organization allows you to fill out more than one point of the speech card in one go for a short time. An example is a speech therapist’s request to tell a fairy tale. The objects of his attention are:
- pronunciation of sounds;
- diction;
- skills to use the voice apparatus;
- the type and complexity of the sentences used by the child.
The information received is analyzed, summarized and entered into certain columns of speech cards. Such examinations can be individual or for several children at the same time (two to three).
The expressive side of children's speech is examined as follows:
- The study of the volume of vocabulary.
- Observation of word formation.
- Sound pronunciation research.
Of great importance is the analysis of impressive speech, which includes the study of phonemic hearing, as well as monitoring the understanding of words, sentences and text.
Causes of Expressive Speech Disorders
It should be noted that communication between parents and children who have an expressive speech disorder cannot be the cause of the violation. It affects exclusively the pace and general nature of the development of speech skills.
Definitely about the reasons leading to the occurrence of disorders of children's speech, not a single expert can say. There are several factors, the combination of which increases the likelihood of detecting such deviations:
- Genetic predisposition. The presence of violations of expressive speech in any of close relatives.
- The kinetic component is closely related to the neuropsychological mechanism of the disorder.
- In the vast majority of cases, impaired expressive speech is associated with insufficient formation of spatial speech (namely, the zone of the parietal temporal-occipital intersection). This becomes possible with left-hemisphere localization of speech centers, as well as with impaired functioning in the left hemisphere.
- Insufficient development of neural connections, concomitant with organic damage to the cortical zones responsible for speech (usually in right-handed people).
- Adverse social environment: people with very low speech development . Expressive speech in children who are in constant contact with such people may have deviations.
When establishing the probable
causes of speech disorders, one should not exclude the possibility of deviations in the functioning of the auditory apparatus, various mental disorders, congenital defects of the organs of articulation and other diseases. As already proven, full-fledged expressive speech can only be developed in those children who are able to correctly imitate the sounds they hear. Therefore, timely examination of the organs of hearing and speech is extremely important.
In addition to the above, the causes can be infectious diseases, insufficient development of the brain, its injuries, tumor processes (pressure on the structure of the brain), and hemorrhage in the brain tissue.
What are the violations of expressive speech
Among disorders of expressive speech, dysarthria is most common - the inability to use the organs of speech (paralysis of the tongue). Its frequent manifestations are chanted speech. Manifestations of aphasia are not uncommon - impaired speech function, which has already formed. Its peculiarity is the preservation of the articulatory apparatus and full hearing, however, the ability to actively use speech is lost.
There are three possible forms of expressive speech disorder (motor aphasia):
- Afferent. It is observed if the postcentral sections of the dominant hemisphere of the cerebrum become damaged. They provide the kinesthetic basis necessary for the full movement of the articulation apparatus. Therefore, it becomes impossible to sound some sounds. Such a person cannot pronounce letters that are similar in the way they are formed: for example, hissing or front-language ones. The result is a violation of all types of oral speech: automated, spontaneous, repeated, naming. In addition, there are difficulties with reading and writing.
- Efferent. It occurs when the lower parts of the premotor zone are damaged. It is also called the Broca area. With such a violation, the articulation of specific sounds does not suffer (as with afferent aphasia). For such people, the difficulty is switching between different speech units (sounds and words). With a distinct pronunciation of individual speech sounds, a person cannot pronounce a series of sounds or a phrase. Instead of productive speech, perseveration or (in some cases) speech embolus is observed.
Separately, it is worth mentioning such a feature of efferent aphasia as the telegraphic style of speech. Its manifestations are the exclusion from the dictionary of verbs and the predominance of nouns. Spontaneous, automated speech, singing can be saved. The functions of reading, writing and naming verbs are violated.
- Dynamic. It is observed when the prefrontal regions, the areas in front of Broca's zone , are affected . The main manifestation of such a disorder is a disorder involving active, arbitrary, productive speech. However, reproductive speech (repeated, automated) is preserved. For such a person, it is difficult to express a thought and ask a question, but articulating sounds, repeating individual words and sentences, as well as correct answers to questions are not difficult.
A distinctive feature of all types of motor aphasia is a person's understanding of speech addressed to him, the completion of all tasks, but the impossibility of repetition or independent utterance. Speech with obvious defects is also common.
Agraphia as a separate manifestation of expressive speech disorder
Agraphy is the loss of the ability to write correctly, which is accompanied by the preservation of the motor function of the hands. It arises as a result of damage to the secondary associative fields of the cortex of the left hemisphere of the brain.
This disorder becomes concomitant with speech disorders and as a separate disease is extremely rare. Agraphia is a sign of aphasia of a certain type. As an example, we can give a connection between the defeat of the premotor region and the disorder of the uniform kinetic structure of writing.
In case of minor damage, a person suffering from agraphy can correctly spell specific letters, but allow erroneous spelling of syllables and words. Probably the presence of inert stereotypes and violation of the sound-letter analysis of the composition of words. Therefore, it is difficult for such people to reproduce the desired order of letters in words. They can repeat individual actions several times that violate the general writing process.
Alternative Interpretation of the Term
The term "expressive speech" refers not only to the types of speech and the features of its formation from the point of view of neurolinguistics. It is the definition of a category of styles in Russian.
Expressive speech styles exist in parallel with functional ones. The latter include book and conversational. Written forms of speech are a journalistic style, official business and scientific. They relate to book functional styles. Conversational is represented by the oral form of speech.
The means of expressive speech increase its expressiveness and are intended to enhance the impact exerted on the listener or reader.
The word "expression" means "expressiveness". Elements of such vocabulary are words designed to increase the degree of expressiveness of oral or written speech. Often, one synonymous word can pick up several synonyms of expressive coloring. They may vary, depending on the degree characterizing emotional stress. Also, there are often cases when for a single neutral word there is a whole set of synonyms that have the exact opposite color.
Expressive coloring of speech can have a rich gamut of various stylistic shades. Dictionaries include special notation and markings to identify such synonyms:
- solemn, high;
- rhetorical;
- poetic;
- playful;
- ironic;
- familiar;
- disapproving;
- dismissive;
- contemptuous;
- derogatory;
- sulgar;
- swearing.
The use of expressively colored words should be appropriate and competent. Otherwise, the meaning of the statement may be distorted or get a comic sound.
Expressive Speech Styles
Representatives of modern language science attribute the following to such styles:
- Solemn.
- Familiar.
- Official.
- Joking.
- Intimate and affectionate.
- Mocking.
The opposition to all these styles is neutral, which is completely devoid of any expression.
Emotionally expressive speech actively uses three types of evaluative vocabulary as an effective tool to help achieve the desired expressive coloring:
- The use of words that have a bright evaluative value. This should include words that characterize someone. Also in this category are words that evaluate facts, phenomena, signs and actions.
- Words with meaningful meaning. Their basic meaning is often neutral, however, when used in a metaphorical sense, they acquire a rather vivid emotional coloring.
- Suffixes, the use of which with neutral words allows you to convey a variety of shades of emotions and feelings.
In addition, the generally accepted meaning of words and associations attached to them have a direct impact on their emotionally expressive coloring.