Concept, physiological basis and types of speech in psychology

The article discusses concept of speech in terms of psychology.

It is revealed as a mental process, its properties, types, functions and role in communication are described in detail.

What it is: definition

Speech - self-activity, consisting in a consistent logical pronunciation of sounds (if oral) or writing characters (if written) in communication.

With its help, communication occurs, the interaction of people with each other.

Also she is medium of information, the expression of their own thoughts and sensory experiences.

The concept of language and speech in psychology: briefly

At first glance, both terms are similar, synonymous. But speech - focused process which uses language in communication.

Speech is an acquired skill that stays with a person regardless of the language he speaks.

It is the ability to express thoughts, feelings, emotions, logical arguments, and language is expression tool, transfer information.

Speech is impossible without language. While the language is able to develop and evolve independently as long as it is spoken.

For example, if a person was raised in a pack of wild animals and his speech is not developed, the language still exists - it is spoken by other people.

Physiological basis

Why man able to speak articulately and conceptually, and the animals - no?

In humans, in comparison with animals, in the process of evolution, more mobile lips and tongue (as an organ) became prerequisites for the formation of speech.

The oral cavity has increased, which allowed to pronounce a lot of soundswith a unique tonality, the difference in which is audible.

Also, a person has a well-developed auditory zone, which allows you to understand spoken words.

The ear zone is bigger by itself. (in comparison with the monkeys closest to humans - monkeys), plus speech centers are concentrated in it. They are responsible for a clear and sharp perception of sounds.

Speech as the highest mental function

Through speech, a person can absorb information from external sources. It is one of the main mental processes, because it allows you to actively build communication between people. With its help, implemented:

Communicating with others in everyday life.
Upbringing The adoption of existing rules and laws in society. The ability to learn from other people morality, to develop personal values.

Cognition. The opportunity to study the history of the planet, to understand the structure of the world through the natural sciences (biology, physics, chemistry).
Transfer of information and experience through the centuries. The ability to capture knowledge using speech on physical media (paper, audio, video).

Kinds

The main types of speech in psychology are divided into three groups: oral (dialogue and monologue), internal and written:

Oral. It is divided into monologue and dialogic. The monologue is conducted in the form of public speaking to a large audience or a long, long speech in an informal company. Dialogue assumes the presence of at least one interlocutor.
There is a direct verbal contact - the exchange of messages, as well as the analysis of what was said to each other.
Inner. Pronounced in the head of a man. It happens directly (when a person thinks about something, talks to himself) and deliberately pronounced it - for example, while reading.

Written. It is fixed on a physical medium (paper, papyrus, etc.). has its own characteristics. Allows you to think about the statement, or rather express the idea with the help of epithets, punctuation marks. It is aimed at a large circle of people, since countless people can read it. In turn, written speech can be divided into two processes - writing and reading.

Functions

The following psychological functions of speech are distinguished:

Conceptual function. It consists in the formation of concepts, definitions. The set of sounds is connected in a word that describes a phenomenon, object or process.
Conceptual speech is one of the main differences between humans and animals.
Generalizing function. If the conceptual is responsible for the name of objects, then the generalized one is for the ability of the word to express several meanings. For example, a bow is one set of sounds and symbols, but two designations are plant and weapon.
Communicative function. It consists in the exchange of information between people, allows people to communicate, distribute data, to negotiate.

Properties

In psychology, there are 4 key properties of speech:

Meaningfulness. The more facts that correspond to reality, the more specifics and depth in the presented information, the more informative it is. If there is nothing useful in the data, then such a speech is called empty, superficial. In the people - chatter, chatter. Sometimes an informational message is diluted with words by parasites, excess expressive turns, lengthy statements and deviations from the topic - it contains “water”. In this case, speech is of average pithiness. This property is affected by the vocabulary and competence of the speaker in the message subject. The more words a person operates with, the more accurately he can express a thought.
The most useful information on the issue can be given by a professional who is theoretically grounded and has tried out knowledge in practice.
Conceptual. If conceptuality as a function gives an idea of the subject, then conceptualism as a property is the ability to convey information to the interlocutor. Speak in a language he understands. The more knowledge a person has in a particular area, the higher the conceptual nature of what has been said. For example, programmers know specific terminology, but unprofessional people do not. For an ordinary man in the street jargon programmer will be less conceptual, because knowledge is not enough. Even if the programmer expresses his thoughts clearly, consistently and meaningfully - communication cannot be fully successful. Difficult conceptual and different meaning of words in different people. For the same programmer, a “teapot” is a user who understands little in computers, and for an ordinary person, a device for heating water.
Expressiveness. It is determined by the intensity, emotional coloring and ability of a person to place accents in a sentence, to highlight important words with intonation. Another parameter of expressiveness is polished diction, when words are pronounced clearly and clearly.
Expressiveness is particularly pronounced in the dialogue.
For example, the information message “FC Spartak defeated St. Petersburg Zenith” conveys the essence of the event, but in oral speech a person’s attitude to the fact may be added. He can say the news with joy or with sadness (if he supported Zenit). You can make the story richer in several ways: increasing vocabulary, using metaphors, references, irony.

Exposure. The degree of influence on the listener. The task of speech is not only to send information, but also to manipulate the interlocutor's behavior: persuasion, provocation, pressure. The greater the impact on a person is speech, the higher its impact. The property is influenced by the ability to convince, argue their position, present information in an understandable language, and speak sincerely.

Development

Speech is an acquired property. And her development is possible only in the conditions of society.

There are cases when children were outside human society and raised by animals. After, even having got to people, they could not learn to speak.

Formation ends in 5-6 years. The child’s mastering of speech occurs through the ability to correctly pronounce the words and sounds, the necessary vocabulary, the ability to conduct a dialogue with others and build a consistent monologue.

The development of literate speech depends on parents. To improve the learning process, it is recommended to instill in the child a love of reading and to talk with him regularly, in order to consolidate communication skills.

Relationship with thinking

Between these two concepts - close relationship.

Without speech, thinking is impossible.

Any thought that occurs in a person’s head, is a word or a set of words.

The images of the surrounding objects are fixed in the mind in the language in which the person speaks (that for Russian is a “table”, then for an American “table”).

Thinking happens in a language thanks to inner speech.

The more carefully a person thinks about an informational message, the more expressive it sounds in the language (epithets are added, as well as words that best reveal the essence of the thought).

Speech - complex psychological process playing one of the most important roles in everyday life. Thanks to it, the cooperation of people and the ability to preserve the acquired experience and knowledge in symbolic form is possible.

The concept and function of speech in psychology: