Speech:

• (n.) an oral presentation by one person to a group (or sometimes just an individual); closely related terms include:
• Conversation (infomal speech by more than one person on a topic),
• Debate (formal communication between two groups holding opposing views before an audience), and
• the academic discipline of communications.
• (v.) the act of producing voice through the use of the vocal cords or other means, such as sign language, to create linguistic acts that communicate information from an initiator to a recipient. Synonyms for the verb usage include talk, say, oral, speak, tell, oral; verbal includes written communication.

In more colloquial terms, speech can be described in several different ways:

1. A linguistic act designed to convey information orally.
2. Various linguistic acts where the audience includes more than one individual, including public speaking, oration, and quotation.
3. The physical act of speaking, primarily through the use of vocal chords to produce voice. See phonology and linguistics for more detailed information on the physical act of speaking.

However, speech can also take place inside one's head, known as intrapersonal communication, for example, when one thinks or utters sounds of approval or disapproval . At a deeper level, one could even consider subconscious processes, including dreams where aspects of oneself communicate with each other (see Sigmund Freud), as part of intrapersonal communication, even though most human beings do not seem to have direct access to such communication.

Problems

There are several factors that can affect the clarity of speech as such. Among these are:

1. Diseases and disorders of the lungs or the vocal cords, including paralysis, respiratory infections , and cancers of the lungs and throat.
   
2. Diseases and disorders of the brain, including alogia, aphasias and speech processing disorders, where impaired perception of the message (as opposed to the actual sound) leads to poor speech production.
   
3. Articulatory problems, such as stuttering, lisping, cleft palate, ataxia, or nerve damage leading to problems in articulation. Tourette syndrome and nervous tics can also affect speech.
   
4. Problems in the perception of sound and auditory information can affect speech. In addition to aphasias, anomia and certain types of dyslexia can impede the quality of auditory perception, and therefore, expression. Hearing impairments and deafness can be considered to fall into this category.

Thus, it is clear that speech has both expressive and receptive elements. The purpose of speech can be to convey meaning or to increase social bonds between individuals and/or groups (it is often both). For the latter shallowness is not a problem. The success of a speech act depends on numerous factors, including the presence or absence of a variety of speech disorders, the ability of the speaker to express the intended message, and the ability and willingness of the audience to play the role of recipient.

Glossophobia is the widespread fear of public speaking.

See also

• Language
• Linguistics
• Eloquence
• Esophageal speech
• Individual events (Speech competition)
• List of speeches
• Speech synthesizer
• Talking animal
• Utterance
• Vocalization
• Voice