The difference between "Speech" and "Language"

Do you know the difference between speech and language?

Let's put it this way: language is what you use to communicate, and speech is how you talk.

Language can be written, signed, or spoken. It is made of rules that tell us what sounds to use, how to organize them in syllables, how words are combined, what words mean, etc.

Speech is what we say. It can be produced by us or by a machine (e.g., an AAC device) using all sorts of different accents. We can produce speech sounds and say things that have absolutely no meaning, for example.

People can have speech disorders, language disorders, and definitely a combination of both. They can also be developmental or acquired through different kinds of brain injuries.

If you have questions about speech or language disorders, send us a message! It will be a pleasure to continue this conversation 1:1.