Language

Language is the comprehension and/or use of a spoken (i.e., listening and speaking), written (i.e., reading and writing) and/or other communication symbol system (e.g., American Sign Language). Communication difference/dialect is a variation of a symbol system used by a group of individuals that reflects and is determined by shared regional, social, or cultural/ethnic factors (ASHA, 1993).

Language can be classified as receptive (i.e., listening and reading) and expressive (i.e., speaking and writing). In some cases, augmentative/alternative communication may be required for individuals demonstrating impairments in gestural, spoken, and/or written modalities. (ASHA, 1993).

Spoken language and written language and their associated components (i.e., receptive and expressive) are each a synergistic system comprised of individual language domains (i.e., phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics) that form a dynamic integrative whole (Berko Gleason, 2005). Descriptions of the five language domains follow.

• Phonology—study of the speech sound (i.e., phoneme) system of a language, including the rules for combining and using phonemes.
• Morphology—study of the rules that govern how morphemes, the minimal meaningful units of language, are used in a language
• Syntax—the rules that pertain to the ways in which words can be combined to form sentences in a language.
• Semantics—the meaning of words and combinations of words in a language.
• Pragmatics—the rules associated with the use of language in conversation and broader social situations.

Taken from the American Speech Language Hearing Association on 3/6/2019

ASHA Language in Brief