Communication

Language Science 2. Communication.

Communicating Information

What is Communication? 'Communication' as we roughly know it is correct. So do bacteria and cells communicate with each other? To conclude, it is right to communicate. To simplify, the word 'communication' comes to mind. It simply contains the genetic information for a reaction. However, some species we are familiar with communicate through visible eyes and ears.

In the case of bees, they can distinguish the presence or absence of food and its direction from a distance of 100 meters and communicate this to their colleagues. 

As another example, vervet monkeys can notify their companions that leopards, snakes, and eagles are approaching through different vocalization systems. It is similar to human language in that it conveys meaning by distinguishing situations and objects. 

What about chimpanzees? I heard that some friends even learn words. 

What do you think?

What language do the friends above use?

What is clear is that human 'Language' has a 'system of rules' that group words into sentences.

We looked into communication from an organic perspective, starting from the most fundamental aspects.

Next time, we will look at how we have evolved and differentiated ourselves from other apes. 

Fluency Disorders, Stuttering and Cluttering

Fluency 1. Fluency Disorders, Stuttering and Cluttering.

Fluency

If you look at the dictionary, fluency means 'a natural quality without obstruction' In language, it refers to the 'flow of speech'. In other words, it means that the listener can comfortably and easily perceive the flow of information and speech sounds that the speaker wants to convey.

However, in communication situations, there are times when speech does not flow smoothly in a natural melody appropriate to the required content, stutters, or becomes blocked. And as these phenomena worsen, the frequency of abnormal disfluency due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors increases, and when difficulties arise due to verbal behavioral / emotional symptoms, this is called a fluency disorder. 

Fluency Disorders.

Fluency Disorders are an abnormal rate, rhythm, and disruption of speech flow characterized by repetition or prolongation and blockage of phonemes, syllables, words, and phrases, and may be accompanied by excessive tension [ASHA, 1993].

Fluency Disorders are largely divided into Stuttering and Cluttering.

Stuttering is a symptom that interferes with the 'flow of speech' that should be produced smoothly and effortlessly due to Disfluency caused by 'repetition / extension / obstruction / insertion / silence'.

Cluttering is a disease in which speech speed is fast or uneven, phonemes and syllables are omitted, and speech is difficult to pronounce due to lack of space, leading to a downward curve in speech intelligibility. This is also why most people who speak quickly experience stuttering.

Disfluency occurs in both conditions, but the biggest superficial difference here is that people with typical stuttering symptoms increase their disfluency when asked to observe their own speech, whereas people with fast speech tend to speak at a normal rate and in a comfortable flow. It has the characteristic of immediate improvement. And compared to stuttering, there are fewer cases of people complaining of internal / external difficulties due to pure fasting speech symptoms. 

As such, fluency disorders, especially stuttering, are caused by interference between one's own efforts to speak fluently and the reactions of the surroundings, so they have a very complex mechanism, and the symptoms of stuttering that appear on the surface, like the tip of an iceberg, lie beneath the surface. Includes a variety of hidden temperamental / environmental factors. 

We took the time to briefly introduce fluency disorders. Let's look at them one by one.

The Chain process of Speech Sounds and Language

Speech Sounds : Articulatory Phonetics 1.  The chain process of speech sounds and language. 

Speech and Language chain in the communication process.

In this lesson, as the first part of the 'Speech Sound : Articulation Phonology' part, we will look at how the linguistic meaning and neuromuscular activity are distinguished and what flow they show in the production of speech sounds.

Firs of all, as we begin the area of speech sounds, we need to think about the meaning of speech sounds.

Speech sounds are neuromuscular activities to convey linguistic symbols phonetically and physically, and the premise is that they must be sounds with linguistic meaning.

The picture above is a 'speech chain' that schematizes the process in which the 'speaker' forms language and transmits it through speech sounds, and the 'listener' accepts and understands it in the process of communication centered on speech sounds.

Formation : Linguistic - Physiological

Speakers try to express their thoughts and feelings through language. In this process, the brain tries to 'convert' thoughts into speech sounds in order to communicate them, which must first be 'shaped' into linguistic form. In the picture, if the boy who is the 'speaker' thinks of a name while looking at a girl who is older than him, it is encoded in linguistic : 'Meaning-Phonology=Morphology-Syntax-Pragmatics' form through cerebral physiological processes [e.G. phonological knowledge ('s/y/s/t/e/r' - /syster/), and through the movement of the speech sound production organs 'lungs, vocal cords, oral cavity, nasal cavity, tongue, and lips', 'breathing - voice' It prepares for the process of 'resonance - articultation' and develops neuromuscular activity that will be converted into sound.

Transmission : Vocal - Physical

The formed speech sound is 'transmitted' through the vibration of the medium, air. This vibration is a sound wave and contains paralinguistic content with properties such as pitch, intensity, speed, intonation, and sound quality, and arrives at the listener (receiver).

Acceptance : Physical - Physiological

Arriving speech sounds are 'accepted' through the 'listener's' ears. The transmitted wave passes through the listener's external auditory canal, middle ear cavity, and inner ear (Cochlea-organ of Corte, etc.), is converted into neural electrical energy, and finally travels to the temporal lobe of the brain via the auditory nerve, the 8th cranial nerve, via the spiral ganglion.

Comprehension : Physiological - Linguistic

In the final step, the speech sounds that enter the listener's brain are interpreted and linguistically analyzed. The sound energy that enters the listener's brain is analyzed linguistically, including phonological knowledge, words, and phrases, and through this, the speaker's intention and message are 'understood'.

Prior to the speech part, we briefly looked at the core meaning and transmission process of speech sounds through 'Speech Chain'.

Language Development Introduction

Language Development 1. Introduction.

There is something I ask my children everytime they enter the therapy room. I often ask, 'Why did we meet?' and 'What did you think when you came?'.

Reactions Vary. Starting with "I don't know" or "I'm here to play", "I'm trying to speak better" or "I'm trying to improve my pronunciation", etc. Sometimes, some children just come up to me without saying a word and sit on a chair without making eye contact, while others are immersed in playing alone. Some children cannot interact properly. 

Introduction is always in this context. But why do I ask this question? Most children who enter the therapy room have areas that need to be strengthened in their speech and language skills, and due to the child's natural characteristics of innocence and immaturity, most of them behave in ways that are far from the therapist's guidance. So, I often do this in the hope that children will 'observe' with a little bit of 'sense of purpose'.

In other words, there is a big difference between following a 'milestone' and fallowing the path as you see fit.

Although I cannot explain all the diverse and vast areas of children's language development in a short article. I hope that I will explain the main points of language development and serve as an opportunity to expand your understanding of development.

Humans and Language

Language Science 1. Humans and Language.

Let's learn about 'Humans and Language' from the perspectives of communication, learning, and society.

Communication

Often, if we find someone who is lost in thought or talking to himself to be strange, we may all be strange people, Language is certainly a tool to convey thoughts, but no one uses it solely as a tool to convey their thoughts to others. In this way, in terms of thinking and communicaiton, language can be interpreted as a physical and wireless 'connection' of our 'thoughts'. In addition, Language is based on a symbol system. A symbol system is created so that is can be shared with others according to the rules of 'meaning, phonology, morphology, syntax, and pragmatics'. There are some non-verbal aspects, but mostly this is how we interact.

Leaning

Language also plays an important role in learning and education. In the process of learning language, we develop our cognitive and thinking skills, and use these to participate more actively in learning and education.

Society

Language is very socially connected. Unlike other species, humans have already been able to speak various language due to the development of speech ability through biological decision. Language is a means of connecting our thoughts and information, and has social significance in that it creates 'trends' and 'culture'.

We looked at 'Humans and Language' as broadly as possible. 

Next time, we will talk from the perspective of 'communication' mentioned above.

Structure and Function of the nervous system

Neurogenic Language 1. Structure and Function of the nervous system.

Before talk about neurogenic Language, it is necessary to construct a conceptual diagram of the overall nervous system. Looking at the picture above, I thought it would be helpful to conceptualize of neural structure.

In particular, in the case of the 12 crainial nerves, the paths reaching each cranial nerve are colored because they are directly related to our language and speech sounds. I think it would be easier to understand if you recognized the entire nerve diagram as 'gray' and thought that among the language and direct nerve pathways, the central nervous system(CNS) and peripheral nervous system(PNS) were additionally marked in 'blue'.

Our nervous system consists of the Central Nervous System(CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System(PNS).

The central nervous system(CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord. Looking at the central hierarchical structure, the brain is largely divided into the cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, midbrain, pons, and medualla. As shown in the figure above, 12 pairs of cranial nerves originage from each location. Thespinal cord transmits nerve signals originating from the brain and serves as an important control center related to autonomic nervous system.

The peripheral nervous system(PNS) is connected to the central nervous system(CNS) and operated through neurons and synapses. The peripheral nervous system is divided into the somatic nervous system(SNS) and the autonomic nervous system(ANS). and the 12 cranial nerves are also included in the peripheral nervous system. The somatic nervous system, in turn, directly influences our voluntary activities, such as hearing and speaking, through afferent sensory nerves and efferent motor nerves. The autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympatheic nervous system and th parasympathetic nervous system. Autonomic, as the name suggests, regulates automatic physiological functions in the body, such as heart rate, breathing, and digestion. 

As the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system work in harmony to perform various functions such as sensation, movement, physiology, and cognition, they play an important role that directly affects our language and speech sounds. 

We looked at the makeup of our nervous system ans a whole. Next, let's look at the process through which these nerve signals are transmitted.

Speech and Language Pathology Classroom

This Speech-Language Pathology Classroom is about the pathology and therapy of language.

Speech-Language Pathology is the study of communication disorders that arise from genetic, physiological, psychological, or environmental causes.

In terms of etiology, communication disorders are often categorized as either disorders of temperament or disorders of function, or as congenital or acquired, depending on the time of onset.

However Currently, speech-language pathologists use a symptom-based classification of language development disorders, speech sound disorders, fluency disorders, voice disorders, and neurolinguistic disorders for an effective 'test-assess-treat' approach.

Therefore, this language classroom category is also divided into the most common categories : Language Development, Speech Sound, Fluency, Voice, and Neurogenic Language. In addition, cognitive science areas related to our thinking and language / behavior will be described separately under the category 'Language Science'.

The categories and contents of the language classroom are as fallows.

Language Science (Linguistics/Cognitive Information, Processing/Computers)

Language Development (Child Development, Developmental Disability)

Speech Sound (Speech Sound Disorders, Articulatory Phonetics)

Speech Fluency (Fluency Disorders : Stuttering and Cluttering)

Voice (Voice Disorders)

Neurogenic Language (Neurolinguistic Disorders : Aphasia, Dysarthria, Apraxia of Speech)

The categories and order are illustrated by representative photos, and additional categories may be created or modified based on operational purposes and subject matter appropriateness.

Everyone is welcome. Even those who are new to speech-language pathology, such as non-specialists, partents, and clients, are encouraged to understand as much as possible, and accessibility is kept open through diagrams and illustrations.

We will always try to make our articles helpful and easy to understand.