Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology of the Organs of Hearing, Vision, and Speech - Shvetsov A.G. 2006

Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology of Voice and Speech Production

Speech is one of the core human Functions essential for leading a fulfilling life. The first three years of a child's life represent the natural window for speech acquisition. If favorable conditions for The Development of this cognitive function are not established during this time, compensating for the deficit later becomes significantly more difficult, and sometimes altogether impossible!

The development of children's speech and vocabulary, along with mastering the richness of their native language, is a cornerstone of personality development and the assimilation of cultural values. It is closely linked to cognitive, moral, and aesthetic development, making it a top priority in the language education and instruction of children, particularly preschoolers.

Research by numerous scientists in this field indicates that the development of a child's speech requires the normal maturation and functioning of the CNS, the healthy state of higher cognitive processes (memory, attention, reasoning, and imagination), as well as the child's overall physical health. However, even with all the necessary prerequisites, a child will never speak without a linguistic environment. On the other hand, The formation of higher mental functions and sentiments (moral, aesthetic, and intellectual) in humans occurs solely through speech. If speech does not develop (as seen in "feral children"), then neither moral, aesthetic, nor intellectual sentiments are formed, even in their most primitive state. The development of perception, reasoning, and memory also suffers significantly, because the second signaling system, which plays a leading role in the development of these higher mental functions, is based on the word—both spoken and written language—as a system of meaningful speech signals unique to humans.

METABOLISM/2.html">THE CONCEPT OF language does not coincide with the concept of speech activity in general, since language is only a specific—albeit the most important—part of speech activity. Speech activity is the product of the functioning of speech Organs that have phylogenetically developed and are inherent to any Homo sapiens. All humans are capable of producing the same sounds, but each society shapes them into verbal signs representing specific concepts. These signs become the language of communication for the specific population in which they emerged, because they are understood by everyone in the same semantic sense. Thus, There is a parallel development of speech—as The ability to independently produce the necessary sounds and transform them into words—and language, as a means of communication between people. Language is shared by the community that speaks it, whereas speech is always individual and unique; even over the phone, where the frequency range of the transmitted voice signal is significantly limited, we can still recognize familiar voices.

Thus, while sound production (unlike in fish, for example) is an innate biological component of humans and many animals, sound creation (i.e., learning the conscious pronunciation of the entire range of necessary sounds), which forms The basis of spoken speech, is a phylogenetically acquired biological component, and language is the social product of speech capability. Language is a treasure deposited by the practice of speech in all those who belong to the same community. As an ingredient of speech, it permeates all speech and all its aspects. While speech development is associated with the neuromotor stimulation of the vocal apparatus, language development is linked to vocabulary expansion, the formation of correct grammatical Structure, and the ability to adequately use vocabulary in thought (inner speech) and communication with others (external speech). In this regard, emerging problems in speech development are primarily the domain of medical professionals and speech-language pathologists, whereas the development of language as the foundation of verbal communication is a purely pedagogical task.