Phonology/Sounds: To clearly express ourselves orally, we must accurately produce the individual sounds of our language. Further, we must be able to effortlessly blend these sounds together to produce words and sentences.
Morphology/Word Parts: As very young children, we learn how to build words by listening. We use suffixes like the plural marker “-s” and the past tense marker “-ed.” As we get older, our command of word parts grows, and we use longer words with more sophisticated prefixes and suffixes.
Semantics/Vocabulary: A robust vocabulary is necessary for expressing ourselves effectively. The use of figurative language also help us communicate our thoughts and ideas to others. Importantly, we must be able to quickly and accurately retrieve the exact word or expression we want to use in a specific moment.
Syntax/Sentences: Stringing words together in the correct order, using appropriate verb tenses, and producing complex sentence structures are all crucial syntactic skills. We must choose prepositions (e.g., in, on, above), correct pronouns (e.g., he, she, they), and specific conjunctions (e.g., but, because, and) effortlessly to communicate our intentions in real time.
Pragmatics/Social Language: As communication partners, we need to understand conversational turns, stay on topic, transition to new topics, and adjust our word choice depending on our listener.
other important components of talking
Voice/Resonance: Vocal quality and pitch significantly impact our ability to speak and be understood by others. Qualities like hoarseness, nasality, and high or low pitch can impact how well someone understands what we say.
Speech Fluency: The fluency of our speech, or how smoothly and effortlessly we can produce sounds, words and sentences, is an important component of oral expression.