Spoken language: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Language produced with articulated sounds}} | {{Short description|Language produced with articulated sounds}} | ||
A '''spoken language''' is a | {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2025}} | ||
[[File:Stephen Avenue 3.jpg|thumb|A statue of two men using a spoken language to converse]] | |||
A '''spoken language''' is a structured system of [[communication]] that is produced with articulate sounds using the vocal tract, sometimes specifically also called an '''oral language''' or '''vocal language''' to differentiate it from [[written language]] and possibly from [[sign language]]. However, the term "spoken language" may also be used to incorporate sign languages, referring to any [[natural language]] or forms of language other than [[transcription (linguistics)|transcribed]] or written ones.<ref name="groce">{{cite book |last1=Groce |first1=Nora Ellen |title=Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard |date=1985 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-27041-1}}</ref><ref name="hoemann">{{cite book |last1=Hoemann |first1=Harry W. |title=Introduction to American sign language |date=1986 |publisher=Bowling Green Press |location=Bowling Green, Ohio |isbn=978-0-9614621-0-9}}</ref><ref name="brooks">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Patricia |last2=Kempe |first2=Vera |title=Language Development |date=2012 |publisher=Wiley |location=Chichester, West Sussex |isbn=978-1-4443-3146-2}}</ref> | |||
Spoken (including signed) language is traditionally ephemeral, only communicated once, and not retrievable after being produced—notwithstanding modern [[Voice recording|voice-recording]] and [[audiovisual]] technology. This differs from written language, whose explicit purpose is to represent an enduring message on a physical surface. The major written languages of the world developed secondarily from naturally-emerged spoken languages. As such, spoken languages are usually the more relevant focus to the study of [[human history]], the [[origin of language]], and [[language acquisition]]. | |||
==Definition== | ==Definition== | ||
The term "spoken language" is sometimes used to mean only oral languages, especially by linguists, excluding sign languages and making the terms 'spoken', 'oral', 'vocal language' synonymous. Others refer to sign language as "spoken", especially in contrast to written transcriptions of signs.<ref>{{ | The term "spoken language" is sometimes used to mean only oral languages, especially by linguists, excluding sign languages and making the terms 'spoken', 'oral', 'vocal language' synonymous. Others refer to sign language as "spoken", especially in contrast to written transcriptions of signs.<ref name="groce"/><ref name="hoemann"/><ref name="brooks"/> | ||
All spoken languages make use of distinct speech patterns, called [[phonemes]], to distinguish and select [[words]] from a shared [[vocabulary]]. In oral languages, phonemes are sound patterns like [[Vowel|vowels]], [[Consonant|consonants]], and [[Tone (linguistics)|tones]], whereas in sign languages, phonemes are distinct components of signs, such as [[Location (sign language)|location]], [[handshape]], and [[Movement_(sign_language)|motion]]. The study of [[phonemes]] in spoken language is called [[phonology]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blevins |first=Juliette |date=2024-07-24 |title=Phonology |url=https://oecs.mit.edu/pub/xep4vfyz/release/2 |journal=Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science |language=en |doi=10.21428/e2759450.032c68ca |access-date=2025-12-15|doi-access=free }}</ref> | |||
==Origin== | |||
{{main|origin of language|origin of speech}} | |||
The origin of language occurred early in human [[prehistory]], before the invention of writing systems and therefore written language. The origin of language is thus synonymous with the origin of spoken language, whether it was oral or signed. Evidence from [[animal communication|animal]] and [[Origin_of_language#Primate_communication|primate communication]] suggests that human language developed from animal [[gestures]] and vocalizations produced by human ancestors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pollick |first1=A. S. |last2=de Waal |first2=F. B. |date=May 2007 |title=Ape Gestures and Language Evolution |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=104 |issue=19 |pages=8184–8189 |bibcode=2007PNAS..104.8184P |doi=10.1073/pnas.0702624104 |pmc=1876592 |pmid=17470779 |doi-access=free}}</ref> | |||
Although non-human animals are capable of communication, humans are the only animals capable of using [[language]].<ref name="Martinelli 2010">{{Cite book |last=Martinelli |first=Dario |title=A Critical Companion to Zoosemiotics: People, Paths, Ideas |publisher=[[Springer Netherlands]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-90-481-9249-6 |series=Biosemiotics |volume=5 |location=Dordrecht |pages=1–64 |chapter=Introduction to Zoosemiotics |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-9249-6_1}}</ref> The organization of communication into a system of phonemes and the development of [[lexical semantics|lexical rules]] capable of producing an infinite number of new messages (see [[digital infinity]]) are defining features which separate language from unstructured forms of communication. The exact process by which the structured systems of language developed is not known, as the process occurred before [[recorded history]], and is the subject of several hypotheses in [[anthropology]], [[linguistics]], and [[evolutionary biology]]. | |||
==Relation between spoken and written language== | ==Relation between spoken and written language== | ||
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==Acquiring spoken language== | ==Acquiring spoken language== | ||
Hearing children acquire as their [[first language]] the language that is used around them, whether vocal, [[Cued speech|cued]] (if they are sighted), or signed. Deaf children can do the same with Cued Speech or sign language if either visual communication system is used around them. Vocal language | Hearing children acquire as their [[first language]] the language that is used around them, whether vocal, [[Cued speech|cued]] (if they are sighted), or signed. Deaf children can do the same with Cued Speech or sign language if either visual communication system is used around them. Vocal language is traditionally taught to them in the same way that written language must be taught to hearing children. (See [[oralism]].)<ref name="5 minute linguist">{{cite web|last=Rickerson |first=E.M. |title=What's the difference between dialect and language? |url=http://spinner.cofc.edu/linguist/archives/2005/08/whats_the_diffe.html?referrer=webcluster& |work=The Five Minute Linguist |publisher=College of Charleston |access-date= 23 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219070627/http://spinner.cofc.edu/linguist/archives/2005/08/whats_the_diffe.html?referrer=webcluster& |archive-date= 19 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wie-sagt-man-noch.de/language/all-languages.html |title=Languages Facts |access-date=23 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024022550/http://www.wie-sagt-man-noch.de/language/all-languages.html |archive-date=24 October 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Teachers give particular emphasis on spoken language with children who speak a different primary language outside of the school. For the child it is considered important, socially and educationally, to have the opportunity to understand multiple languages.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Clay |first=Marie M. |title=Record of oral language: observing changes in the acquisition of language structures: a guide for teaching|location=Auckland, New Zealand |publisher=Global Education Systems|isbn=978-0-325-07457-3|oclc=989724897|date=30 April 2015}}</ref> | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
Latest revision as of 04:02, 22 December 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates
A spoken language is a structured system of communication that is produced with articulate sounds using the vocal tract, sometimes specifically also called an oral language or vocal language to differentiate it from written language and possibly from sign language. However, the term "spoken language" may also be used to incorporate sign languages, referring to any natural language or forms of language other than transcribed or written ones.[1][2][3]
Spoken (including signed) language is traditionally ephemeral, only communicated once, and not retrievable after being produced—notwithstanding modern voice-recording and audiovisual technology. This differs from written language, whose explicit purpose is to represent an enduring message on a physical surface. The major written languages of the world developed secondarily from naturally-emerged spoken languages. As such, spoken languages are usually the more relevant focus to the study of human history, the origin of language, and language acquisition.
Definition
The term "spoken language" is sometimes used to mean only oral languages, especially by linguists, excluding sign languages and making the terms 'spoken', 'oral', 'vocal language' synonymous. Others refer to sign language as "spoken", especially in contrast to written transcriptions of signs.[1][2][3]
All spoken languages make use of distinct speech patterns, called phonemes, to distinguish and select words from a shared vocabulary. In oral languages, phonemes are sound patterns like vowels, consonants, and tones, whereas in sign languages, phonemes are distinct components of signs, such as location, handshape, and motion. The study of phonemes in spoken language is called phonology.[4]
Origin
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The origin of language occurred early in human prehistory, before the invention of writing systems and therefore written language. The origin of language is thus synonymous with the origin of spoken language, whether it was oral or signed. Evidence from animal and primate communication suggests that human language developed from animal gestures and vocalizations produced by human ancestors.[5]
Although non-human animals are capable of communication, humans are the only animals capable of using language.[6] The organization of communication into a system of phonemes and the development of lexical rules capable of producing an infinite number of new messages (see digital infinity) are defining features which separate language from unstructured forms of communication. The exact process by which the structured systems of language developed is not known, as the process occurred before recorded history, and is the subject of several hypotheses in anthropology, linguistics, and evolutionary biology.
Relation between spoken and written language
The relationship between spoken language and written language is complex. Within the fields of linguistics, the current consensus is that speech is an innate human capability, and written language is a cultural invention.[7] However, some linguists, such as those of the Prague school, argue that written and spoken language possess distinct qualities which would argue against written language being dependent on spoken language for its existence.[8]
Acquiring spoken language
Hearing children acquire as their first language the language that is used around them, whether vocal, cued (if they are sighted), or signed. Deaf children can do the same with Cued Speech or sign language if either visual communication system is used around them. Vocal language is traditionally taught to them in the same way that written language must be taught to hearing children. (See oralism.)[9][10] Teachers give particular emphasis on spoken language with children who speak a different primary language outside of the school. For the child it is considered important, socially and educationally, to have the opportunity to understand multiple languages.[11]
See also
References
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