FAQ: What’s the difference between speech and language?

A mum (not my own) asked me this question recently. She wanted to know why I’m called a Speech-Language Pathologist. ‘Isn’t that redundant?,’ she asked.  ‘Aren’t speech and language the same thing?’

Having assessed and treated speech and language disorders as separate beasts for so long, it took me a while to think about how best to respond. It was – and is – a very important question.

1. Speech and language are not the same thing  

Language is the method humans use to communicate with each other, often involving words and symbols used consciously by a group in a structured or conventional way. Languages can be spoken, signed and/or written. We are ‘wired’ for oral language – almost as if it’s an instinct. Language is one of the key ways we differ from other primates. It is an important element in what makes us human.

Speech is the expression of thoughts and feelings by humans through articulated sounds that come out of our mouths and noses (with help from our cranial nerves, lungs, vocal cords, throats, soft palates, teeth, facial and neck muscles and tongues). Speech is one way that we express language.

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(Cute fluffy bunnies can neither speak nor use language (with the exceptions of Peter Rabbit, Roger and the Velveteen Rabbits as well as the cast of Watership Down) – though we may just be splitting hares…)

2. Speech and language problems don’t always happen together

For example:

  • a child or adult may have normal language skills – she may understand what others are communicating and communicate her thoughts and feelings fully through signs, symbols/pictures or in writing – but be unable to speak clearly or fluently, e.g. because of a cleft palate, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, stutter or other issue; or
  • a child or adult may have the physical ability to speak clearly, but have limited language skills that make it hard to communicate with others, e.g. because of a developmental language disorder or as a result of a stroke.

3. Problems with speech development can sometimes affect language development and vice versa

For example:

  • a child who can make only a few sounds may struggle to communicate with others. A child who can only say /b/ and /m/ and a few vowels will find it difficult to ask for Daddy’s watch, although she may compensate with gestures, such as pointing; and
  • a child with a vocabulary of fewer than 50 words may not have much opportunity to practice or master some of his speech sounds, which may in turn affect his intelligibility.

Related articles:

Man wearing glasses and a suit, standing in front of a bay

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

David Kinnane
Speech-Language Pathologist. Lawyer. Father. Reader. Writer. Speaker.

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