We explain what a speech is, what its characteristics are and how it is classified. In addition, we explain the ways in which it is presented.
A speech is a specific and determined way of transmitting a message.
What is a speech?
A speech is a set of words and expressions with which thought is manifested. It is a term with many meanings. Some authors consider that it is synonymous with “text”, while others maintain that they are two different but complementary terms, that is, that one exists in relation to the other.
Speeches, in general, They are the meeting point between verbal language and culturethat is, they are units of meaning that encompass one or more texts. Thus, for example, when we talk about a media discourse, we are referring to the message that frequently appears in the media.
However, in everyday speech, A speech is called an address, presentation or oral presentation that an individual makes in front of an audience or public.as in a political rally. In this sense, it can be synonymous with public address or conference.
Characteristics of the speech
In general terms, all speech meets the following characteristics:
- It can be oral or written, and transmitted to the audience through various platforms, media and means of communication.
- It contains a precise message, expressed in a more or less obvious way.
- It can be aimed at a wide audience or a specialized audience.
- It can cover a few words or a large amount of text.
- It presents a specific context that determines the way in which it is received and interpreted.
- It must be coherent, cohesive and in a language that can be understood by its recipients.
Types of speech
Political discourse seeks to influence the thinking of the majority.
According to its purpose and the aspects of reality on which it focuses, it is possible to classify discourse into the following types:
- Scientific-technological discourse. It is one that undertakes the knowledge of reality and its transformation for the benefit of human beings.
- Aesthetic discourse. It is one whose concern is the very way in which the message is being presented: the arts and literature are a perfect example.
- Religious speech. He is the one who, through stories, allegories and comparisons, proposes a model of cosmogony (origin of things) or a moral code justified in divine commandments.
- rhetorical speech. It is one that aims to influence, convince or persuade the interlocutors to mobilize them towards a certain attitude or thought.
- Educational speech. It is one whose main concern is the transmission of information and knowledge in the ideal way.
- historical speech. It is one that seeks to rescue the events that occurred in the past and establish between them some margin of understanding or conclusions.
- Political speech. It is one that tries to promote a model for running the country and influence the thinking of the majority.
- Social discourse. It is one that focuses on people’s daily lives and community building.
Forms of speech
The forms of discourse, or discursive forms, are the specific strategies that allow the transmission of the message in the most effective way for the audience and most appropriate for the situation. They are:
- Narration. It consists of the recounting of a series of events, whether real or imaginary, located in a specific setting and time.
- DescriptionIt consists of the presentation of the characteristic features of an object, person or situation in order to provide as many details as possible.
- Exposure. It consists of referring in an objective, clear and direct manner to an idea, information or a set of details, without giving room to subjectivity.
- ArgumentationIt consists of the exposition of opinions, arguments and conclusions, to influence the public’s point of view regarding a given topic.
Speech analysis
Discourse analysis allows us to understand its true forms.
The discipline that studies discourses is known as “discourse analysis.” It is a transdisciplinary way of approaching communication, emerged in the second half of the 20th century. Its purpose is to delve into the discourse and identify its parts, its context, its strategies and its cultural content (such as ideology or social values).
Born within linguistics, discourse analysis was widely developed thanks to figures such as the Dutch linguist Teun van Dijk (1943) and the Spanish philologists Helena Calsamiglia (1945-2017) and Amparo Tusón (1949). Thanks to his studies, Starting in 1970, there was a renewal in the ways of understanding discourse and human communication..
Follow with:
References
- Bolívar, A. (Comp.). (2007). Speech analysis. Why and for what? The books of El Nacional.
- Londoño Zapata, O. (2020). Speech in society. Eduvim.
- Van Dijk, T. (2013). Speech and context (Trans. A. Lizasoain). Gedisa.