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Spoken language
 
 
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A spoken language is a human natural language
Natural language

In the philosophy of language, a natural language is a language that is spoken, Sign language, or writing by humans for general-purpose communication, as distinguished from formal languages and from constructed languages....
 in which the word
Word

A word is a unit of language that represents a concept which can be expressively communication with Meaning . A word consists of one or more morphemes which are linked more or less tightly together, and has a phonetic value....
s are uttered through the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
. Most human language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s are spoken languages.

Speech communication stands in contrast to sign language
Sign language

A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to express fluidly a speaker's thoughts....
 and written language
Written language

A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken language or sign language languages....
. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, spoken is prior to written language. The writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
 of any language is developed or "invented" by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even today, there are many world languages that can be spoken but have no standard written form.






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A spoken language is a human natural language
Natural language

In the philosophy of language, a natural language is a language that is spoken, Sign language, or writing by humans for general-purpose communication, as distinguished from formal languages and from constructed languages....
 in which the word
Word

A word is a unit of language that represents a concept which can be expressively communication with Meaning . A word consists of one or more morphemes which are linked more or less tightly together, and has a phonetic value....
s are uttered through the mouth
Mouth

The mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva....
. Most human language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
s are spoken languages.

Speech communication stands in contrast to sign language
Sign language

A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to express fluidly a speaker's thoughts....
 and written language
Written language

A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken language or sign language languages....
. From the point of view of linguistic evolution, spoken is prior to written language. The writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
 of any language is developed or "invented" by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even today, there are many world languages that can be spoken but have no standard written form. Hearing persons acquire their first language
First language

A first language is the language a human being learns from birth. A person's first language is a basis for sociolinguistic identity....
 by way of spoken language. Writing is learned later. In linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
, spoken language reveals many true features of human speech. Transcripts
Transcription (linguistics)

Transcription is the conversion into written, typewritten or printed form, of a spoken language source, such as the proceedings of a court hearing....
 of actual speech show numerous hesitancies which are usually glossed over in written forms of 'speech' such as screenplay
Screenplay

A screenplay or script is a written work especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works....
s. Thus linguists' data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regard as authentic. Even from the point of view of syntax
Syntax

In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing Sentence s in natural languages. In addition to referring to the discipline, the term syntax is also used to refer directly to the rules and principles that govern the sentence structure of any individual language, as in "the Irish syntax"....
, spoken language usually has its own set of grammar patterns which sometimes may be quite different from that in written language.

Sign languages have the same natural origin as spoken languages, and the same grammatical complexities, but use the hands, arms, and face
Face

The term face refers to the central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head and can depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, tooth, skin, and chin....
 rather than parts of the mouth as their place of articulation
Place of articulation

In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact, where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an active articulator and a passive articulator ....
.

See also

  • Language
    Language

    A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
  • Origin of language
    Origin of language

    The origin of language, also known as glottogony, is a topic that has attracted considerable attention throughout human history. The use of language is one of the most conspicuous traits that distinguishes Homo sapiens from other species....
  • Vocal tract
    Vocal tract

    The vocal tract is the cavity in animals where sound that is produced at the sound source is filtered. In birds it consists of the Vertebrate trachea, the Syrinx , the oral cavity, the upper part of the esophagus, and the beak....