Intro to Communication Disorders Chapter 2
Speech vs. Language vs. Communication:
These terms are frequently misused, often interchangeably
“His speech consisted of multiple sound errors in all position of words during spoken conversation.”
“Their language had similar grammatical structures as the English language.”
“The parent’s lack of communication made it difficult to assist in the generalization process.”
Language:
Communicates thoughts, ideas and meaning.
Shared code by a group of people.
Arbitrary symbols- symbols have meaning because we say they do (letters, words)
Creative and generative- new words enter code, others drop out, can generate an infinite number of sentences.
Language: a rule-governed system for communicating meaning through a shared code of arbitrary symbols.
Nearly 7,000 languages spoken in the world today.
Language disorders: There are three major aspects of language. Language Disorders may involve any of these in any combination.
The content of language (semantics)
The use (or function) of language in communication (pragmatics)
Terms:
Phonology: rules for constructing sounds into syllables and words; sound system of a language.
Morphology: rules for constructing words; word forms
Syntax: rules for constructing sentences.
Semantics: systems that governs the meaning of words and sentences.
Pragmatics: rules for appropriate and effective, functional and socially appropriate communication.
Phonology= form/sound system
Morphology= form/ word structure
Syntax= form/sentence structure
Semantics= content/ meaning
Pragmatics= use/social
Language is complex
We must master all 5 elements of language to be an effective communicator
Speech: The neuromuscular act of producing sounds that are used in language- difficulty with actual sound production.
Neuromuscular at of producing sounds that are used in language.
oral output of language
Speech problems=difficulty with actual sound production.
Includes articulation, voice and fluency
Communication:
The process we use to exchange information
Must include: SENDER, RECEIVER, SHARED INTENT, SHARED MEANS.
If one of these is missing, communication breaks down.
Shared means- communicating in a foreign country
Shared intent- indirect requests (“its cold in here’)
Factors that can Impact Communication:
Culture
Age
Socioeconomic status
Geographical background
Ethnicity
Ability
Location
Participants
Nonverbals
Communication encompasses both speech and language.
Our communication skills grow and change throughout our lifetime:
Largest period of speech/language growth is during ages birth-5 years.
Steady growth and change of other language areas throughout our lifetime (syntax, pragmatics, vocabulary, figurative, language, technology)
May see decrease/change in communication skills with advanced age.
Some important terms in communication disorders:
Etiology- cause or origin of an impairment.
Congenital- present at birth.
Acquired- result of accident or illness later in life.
Levels of severity- from borderline to profound.
Two components of language:
Receptive: how well we understand, what we hear and read.
expressive: how well we organize and express our ideas, verbally and in writing.
Characteristics of a Language Disorder:
Syntactic weaknesses:
Incorrect verb tense
Subject verb do not agree
Use of simple sentence patterns; noun+ verb+ noun
Inability to repeat sentences
Trouble making up sentences using given word
Difficulty using pronouns
Using false starts (um, oh, well)
Incorrect word order in sentences
Morphological weaknesses:
Omits or incorrectly uses word ending like plurals (my cookies), possessives (dads car), regular past tense (he walked), 3rd person singular verb (he sits in the chair), comparatives (bigger, biggest).
May incorrectly mark irregular plurals and past tense form (foots/feet, drinker/drank)
Often involve word prefixes.suffixes or correct forms of words (not sentence forms)
START AT SLIDE 18