One of the key points that distinguishes the development of a person from an animal (both in physiological and socio-psychological terms) is speech. It is a process of communication between people through language. In everyday practice, the concepts of "speech" and "language" are often used as synonyms. However, if we approach the issue from a scientific point of view, then these concepts should be distinguished.
Language structure
Language is a system of signs that serves as a means of human communication and thinking (Psychological Dictionary / Edited by V. V. Davydov, A. V. Zaporozhets, B. F. Lomov). It is developed in the process of social development, representing a form of reflection of social life in the minds of individuals. At the same time, it is important to note that a person receives a ready-made language that was formed long before the birth of this particular individual. However, becoming a native speaker of a given language, an individual simultaneously becomes a potenti althe source of his development.
The structure of the language includes the following components:
- vocabulary (system of meaningful words), - grammar (a system of forms of words and phrases), - phonetics (a certain sound composition, characteristic only of a particular language).
Semantic language specifics
The main specificity of the language lies in the fact that it, as a system of signs, ensures the assignment of a certain meaning to each word. Thus, the meaning of a word is a generalized characteristic. For example, the word "city" can combine many specific cities - from small and little-known to real megacities, familiar to everyone. On the other hand, if we have in mind a specific locality (for example, Nizhny Novgorod or Prague), then we will also use the concept of "city", but mean the exact object in question.
Mechanisms of speech
Speech is a historically established form of communication between people through language (Big Psychological Dictionary / Edited by B. G. Meshcheryakov, V. P. Zinchenko). It can have a narrative, interrogative or incentive structure. At the same time, the psychological mechanisms of speech as a system of communication through language are no less complex than the mechanisms of the language itself. In the process of transmitting any information using speech, it is necessary not only to select appropriate words that have a certain meaning, but also to specify them. Because every wordas mentioned above, is a generalization, then in speech it is necessary to narrow it down to the level of a certain meaning. How does this happen? The main role of the so-called "filter" in this case is played by the context through which the given word is introduced into speech. The mechanisms of speech from the psychological side, respectively, can be determined by such concepts as context, subtext and emotional and expressive component.
Semantic context
So, in our example with the word “city”, it is important to understand what exactly we want to know about it: “What kind of city is this?” If the question sounds like: “Where is this city?”, Therefore, we are talking about a spatial characteristic (location on the map, how to get there, how many kilometers, what is nearby, etc.). If we are interested in the question: “What is interesting about this city?”, It means that we can talk about some sights (for example, historical, cultural or economic). Accordingly, the question itself as a language construction (“what kind of city is this”) has insufficient semantic load and requires additional context. The construction of this context, in turn, is carried out in the process of speech.
Subtext of speech
Of particular importance is the meaning of the message that the subject wants to convey through speech. The mechanisms of speech, carried out within the framework of the semantic subtext, are a reflection of the motivational side of our statement. As you know, the true meaning of a particular phrase is not always on the surface - often we say one thing, but mean something else (manipulation, flattery,desire to translate the topic of conversation, etc.).
Emotionally expressive side of speech
Emotional coloring is also a significant difference between speech and language. Through verbal meanings, we not only convey some content, information about an object - we express our own emotional attitude to what we say with the help of speech. This characteristic is the emotional and expressive side of speech and is formed due to the tone of the sound of the words we use to pronounce the phrase being expressed.
Intonational mechanisms of speech
The development of speech as a holistic process covers all aspects of the verbal sphere of the individual, including the intonational side.
The intonation side - the melody (prosodic) of speech - is directly related to its purity, correctness and beauty. Intonation plays a huge role, reinforcing the meaning of words and sometimes expressing more meaning than the words themselves. In addition, intonationally expressive sounding oral speech is easier to perceive, as it allows you to highlight the most important parts of the statement in the semantic meaning.
The intonation mechanism of speech formation refers to paralinguistic means of communication. These are non-linguistic (non-verbal) means included in a speech message and conveying semantic information along with linguistic (verbal) means.
They can be divided into three types (Shevtsova B. B., "Technology for the formation of the intonation sidespeech"):
- phonation (features of pronunciation of sounds, words, statements; sound pause fillers);
- kinetic (gestures, facial expressions, body movements);
- graphic (handwriting features, substitutes for letters and words). Phonation means also include intonation.
Intonation, in turn, is a set of sound means of a language that phonetically organizes speech, establishes semantic relationships between parts of a phrase, gives the phrase a narrative, interrogative or exclamatory meaning, allowing the speaker to express various feelings. The mechanisms of written speech allow you to express this or that intonation using punctuation marks.
The formation of the intonational side of speech affects such components as melody, timbre, tempo, rhythm, stress and pauses.
1. Melodika
It is the main component of intonation. The melody of speech determines the change in the frequency of the main tone, which unfolds in time (Torsueva I. G.). Melody functions:
- highlighting rhythmic groups and syntagmas in the structure of the utterance, - highlighting the most significant moments of the statement, - linking separate parts of the statement into a single whole, - determination of the relationship of the subject to the spoken text, - expression of subtext, modal shades.
The melody of an utterance is formed by combining several melodic motifs - the minimum melodic units associated with a rhythmic series. The melody of the utterance is formed either by several different motives or repetitionsthe same motive.
Speech melody and musical melody are not the same thing. Speech melody quite rarely maintains an even tone, constantly rising and falling. Just as often, its intervals change, and the tones do not have a definite duration. Unlike music, speech melody does not fit into the scheme of a specific musical scale.
One of the components of the melody, which determines the anatomical and physiological mechanisms of speech, is the fundamental tone frequency (PFC) - the lowest component in the sound spectrum, the reciprocal of the period of oscillation of the vocal cords. In normal speech, when speaking, there is a constant change in the frequency of the fundamental tone. As for the range of these changes, it is determined by the individual characteristics of the speaker's speech, as well as his emotional and mental state.
Physiological mechanisms of speech in relation to FOT:
- male: 132 Hz, - women: 223 Hz, - children: 264 Hz.
As for the distinction of sounds in height, it is determined by the speed of vibration of the human vocal folds. In turn, the mechanism of speech generation due to the fluctuations of the folds depends on such parameters as the speed of the air flow passing through the glottis; glottis width; the level of elasticity of the vocal folds; the mass of the vibrating part of the folds.
With a constant change in the frequency of the main tone in the sounding speech, the melody performs a connecting function for individual parts of the speech stream and at the same time -separator.
2. Timbre
The timbre of speech is directly related to the melody. However, there is no unambiguous approach to the concept of timbre in studies aimed at the mechanisms of speech perception. On the one hand, timbre means a special qualitative coloring of the sound, which is created due to the specific ratio of the strength of the main tone and its overtones (depending on the shape of the resonator). From the point of view of this position, the timbre is associated with the purity and brightness of the sound of the voice. Thus, if the voice tone for many people can be common, then the timbre is an individual characteristic.
On the other hand, the timbre can be considered as an additional coloration of the sound, which gives the voice various emotional shades. This approach is typical primarily for linguistics (phonology). According to researchers, timbre characteristics do not have the main communicative load, manifesting themselves only in the expression of various kinds of emotions by changing the color of the voice.
3. Rhythm
Is a sequential alternation of stressed and unstressed elements of speech (words, syllables) at specific intervals. Determines the aesthetic organization of a literary text, ordering its sound expression.
4. Pace
Tempo characterizes the speech of an individual in terms of the speed of pronouncing speech elements (syllables, words, syntagmas). The number of these elements spoken in a certain unit of time (for example, a second) is estimated. So, for example, the average rate of speech during a conversationis about 5-6 syllables in one second.
Among the main functions of tempo, it is customary to single out the following: maintaining the intonational integrity of a speech statement and separating significant/insignificant moments in a statement. So, for example, at more important moments of the statement, a person, as a rule, slows down the pace. And vice versa, if it is about something not very significant, the speech of the individual is accelerated. You can also observe the acceleration of the pace of speech, when the individual does not want to draw the attention of the interlocutor to certain points in the statement (often seen in advertising).
In addition, the tempo can characterize the individual psychological characteristics of the speaker, which determine his speech mechanisms. Also important is the social status of the speaker, his desire to create a certain impression, etc.
5. Emphasis
A technique used to distinguish any element of speech (syllable, word) from a number of similar elements. It is carried out by changing certain acoustic characteristics of this element - increasing the tone of pronunciation, increasing intensity, etc.
There are such types of stress as:
- verbal (phonetic integrity of the word), - syntagmatic (syntagma boundaries), - boolean (underline the most important word), - phrasal (end of statement).
6. Pause
Represents a break (an element that stops speech). The mechanisms of speech in this case can be of two types:
- sounding speechstops temporarily, there is silence (actual pause), - creating the effect of a break in sounding speech by changing the melody, tempo or stress on the border of syntagmas (psychological).
The intonational culture of speech in oratory has always been given considerable attention, since the time of Antiquity. The theorists of oratory in ancient Greece and ancient Rome studied speech melody, distinguished it from music, characterized tempo, rhythm, pauses, and assessed the importance of highlighting certain semantic parts in speech.
K. S. Stanislavsky, in his studies of the role of intonation in the system of theatrical art, wrote that the nature of intonation, the color of the voice depend on the sound of both vowels and consonants: “Vowels are a river, consonants are banks.” To master perfect intonation, you need to know certain anatomical and physiological mechanisms of speech:
- the necessary positions of the mouth, lips, tongue, which form certain sounds (the device of the speech apparatus and its resonators), - the specifics of the tone of the sound, depending on which cavity it resonates and where it is directed.
Subsequently, these observations had a great influence on the development of technologies for expressive reading and speech.
