Speech
spoken language; uttered sounds intended to convey meaning, and produced by the organs of voice, namely, the larynx, and the mouth and its parts, including the tongue and teeth. In speech two great classes of sounds are produced, these being usually known as vowels and consonants. Vowels are pronounced by sounds coming primarily from the larynx and passing with comparative freedom through the mouth cavity, though modified in certain ways; while consonants are formed by sounds caused by the greater or less interruption of the current of air from the larynx in the mouth. Vowels can be uttered alone and independently of consonants, and their sounds can be prolonged at will; consonants have no importance in speech as apart from vowels, and are named consonants from being used along with vowels. Both vowel and consonant sounds are very numerous if we investigate the different languages of the world, but any one language only has a fraction of those that may be used. A single sound may convey an idea of itself and thus form a word, or several may be combined to a SPEEDWELL is uttered by several distinct successive changes in position of the vocal organs it is a word of so many syllables.
Words, again, are combined to form sentences or complete statements, and the aggregate of words used by any people or community in mutual intercourse forms its language. See PHILOLOGY; VOICE: VOWEL.