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ACQ
uiring knowledge
in
sp eech
,
language and hearing
, Volume 11, Number 1 2009
17
MULTICULTURALISM AND DYSPHAGIA
D
efining
L
anguage
and
its
R
elationship
to
C
ognition
, L
iteracy
and
C
haos
T
heory
Regina Walsh
The speech pathology profession stakes a claim as experts
in language and language disorders. It is surprising,
therefore, that no single, precise, widely used and
practical definition of
language
is found in the speech
pathology literature. Each professional has “working
definitions” of key terms that underpin practice; however,
these definitions may or may not be made explicit. This
article explores the articulation of definitions of some key
speech pathology terms and the development of a
conceptual model of language.
Keywords:
conceptual model,
definition,
language,
speech pathology
T
his article tracks a personal profes
sional journey of exploration into
definitions and concepts around
language
.
The context of the journey was the
Literacy Outcomes and the Role of the
Speech-Language Pathologist Project conducted in Brisbane
from 2005 to 2007 (Education Queensland, 2008).
Speech pathologists stake a claim as experts in language
and language disorders (Speech Pathology Australia, 2005). It
is therefore surprising to find no single, precise, widely used
and practical definition of
language
stated in our professional
literature. Discussions with other speech pathologists revealed
a widespread concern: the vagueness of a key term for the
profession –
language
– and the impact on theories and practice.
My colleague Kelly Stassi and I decided to tackle the challenge
to find a definition of
language
that would better support our
practice. Our journey included some of the professional
literature, but was mainly based on the experiences and
challenges of our everyday practice.
Definitions of
language
The first stage in the journey to define
language
entailed a
review of existing general and specialist definitions. Table 1
lists some definitions derived from WordNet (2008) and other
everyday examples of the use of the word
language
.
In contrast to the everyday uses of language, our profession-
specific definitions are more comprehensive with the added
complexity necessary to underpin scientific thinking. For
example:
n
“Socially shared code or conventional system for
representing concepts through the use of arbitrary
symbols and rule-governed combinations of those
symbols” (Owens, 2005, p. 7);
n
“The communication system that enables an individual to
function in society […] learned system of rules that
enables a person to communicate ideas and express wants
and needs” (Speech Pathology Australia, 2005, p. 4).
However, the professional definitions above are not
consistently applied within our professional practice (Apel,
1999; Kamhi, 2004; Snow, 1996). This may indicate that the
definitions are not accurate or perhaps not adequate to serve
the needs of speech pathologists. For example, Owen’s (2005)
definition most accurately refers to what Clark (2006) calls the
“material” language – the actual physical symbols or words.
It better defines a language (such as English or Tagalog) than
it defines the complex phenomenon of a meaning-making
system which is language. Furthermore, in the common
speech pathology terms below, the meaning of is not con
sistent, with some terms actually referring to everyday
meanings of the word language, rather than professional
definitions:
n
language impairment
n
language test
n
expressive language
n
language structures
n
language learning
n
language delay
n
language cues
n
decontextualised language.
Thus
language
is used to refer to a number of quite different
concepts, even by speech pathologists themselves. Wilson
(2005) has decried the situation where professionals neglect
the definitions of key terms within their field. He stated that
without attention to definitions, we literally do not know
what
we are talking about, leaving much theory and practice
Table 1. Common definitions of
language
Use
Interpreted meaning of
language
The language of flowers Symbol/s
English language
Specific set of symbols and
Language of the region rules for combining symbols
“He didn’t have the
Individuals’ knowledge of
language to fill out
vocabulary
the form”
Teachers are interested
Reading and writing skills
in language arts
Medical language
Profession/context specific
vocabulary
“She used very
Figurative or metaphoric tools
expressive language” for imagery
“The article used very
Concepts (and dense as in lots
dense language”
of concepts expressed through
relatively few words)
“Watch your language” Appropriate communication
Street language
in context
Language system Symbols and rules for use
Written language
Words/sentences/discourse
in text
Language processing Mental processes involved in
expression and
comprehension of meaning
Regina Walsh