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For other uses, see Speech (disambiguation).
Speech production (English) visualized by Real-time MRI

Speech is the vocalized form of human communication. It is based upon the syntactic combination of lexicals and names that are drawn from very large (usually about 10,000 different words) vocabularies. Each spoken word is created out of the phonetic combination of a limited set of vowel and consonant speech sound units. These vocabularies, the syntax which structures them, and their set of speech sound units differ, creating the existence of many thousands of different types of mutually unintelligible human languages. Most human speakers are able to communicate in two or more of them,[1] hence being polyglots. The vocal abilities that enable humans to produce speech also provide humans with the ability to sing.


Speech is researched in terms of the speech production and speech perception of the sounds used in vocal language. Other research topics concern speech repetition, the ability to map heard spoken words into the vocalizations needed to recreated that plays a key role in the vocabulary expansion in children and speech errors. Several academic disciplines study these including acoustics, psychology, speech pathology, linguistics, cognitive science, communication studies, otolaryngology and computer science. Another area of research is how the human brain in its different areas such as the Broca's area and Wernicke's area underlies speech.

It is controversial how far human speech is unique in that other animals also communicate with vocalizations. While none in the wild have compatibly large vocabularies, research upon the nonverbal abilities of language trained apes such as Washoe and Kanzi raises the possibility that they might have these capabilities. The origins of speech are unknown and subject to much debate and speculation.


Main articles: Speech production and Linguistics


Normal human speech is produced with pulmonary pressure provided by the lungs which creates phonation in the glottis in the larynx that is then modified by the vocal tract into different vowels and consonants. However humans can pronounce words without the use of the lungs and glottis in alaryngeal speech of which there are three types: esophageal speech, pharyngeal speech and buccal speech (better known as Donald Duck talk).


Main article: Speech perception



Main article: Speech repetition

Spoken vocalizations are quickly turned from sensory inputs into motor instructions needed for their immediate or delayed (in phonological memory) vocal imitation. This occurs independently of speech perception. This mapping plays a key role in enabling children to expand their spoken vocabulary and hence the ability of human language to transmit across generations.[3]


Main article: Speech error

Speech is a complex activity; as a result, errors are often made in speech. Speech errors have been analyzed by scientists to understand the nature of the processes involved in the production of speech.

Problems involving speech[edit]

There are several organic and psychological factors that can affect speech. Among these are:

  1. Diseases and disorders of the lungs or the vocal cords, including paralysis, respiratory infections (bronchitis), vocal fold nodules and cancers of the lungs and throat.
  3. Hearing problems, such as otitis media with effusion, and listening problems, auditory processing disorders, can lead to phonological problems.
  4. Articulatory problems, such as slurred speech, stuttering, lisping, cleft palate, ataxia, or nerve damage leading to problems in articulation. Tourette syndrome and tics can also affect speech.
  5. In addition to dysphasia, anomia and auditory processing disorder can impede the quality of auditory perception, and therefore, expression. Those who are Hard of Hearing or deaf may be considered to fall into this category.

Brain physiology[edit]


See also[edit]


  1. ^ Tucker, G. Richard (1999). "A Global Perspective on Bilingualism and Bilingual Education.". Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved 23 April 2012.  (Archive)
  2. ^ Kennison, Shelia (2013). Introduction to Language Development. Los Angeles: Sage. 
  3. ^ Masur, E. F. (1995). "Infants' early verbal imitation and their later lexical development". Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 41 (3): 286–306. OCLC 89395784. 

Further reading[edit]

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