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speech

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
speech  (spch)
n.
1.
a. The faculty or act of speaking.
b. The faculty or act of expressing or describing thoughts, feelings, or perceptions by the articulation of words.
2. Something spoken; an utterance.
3. Vocal communication; conversation.
4.
a. A talk or public address: "The best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance" (Ruth Gordon).
b. A printed copy of such an address.
5. One's habitual manner or style of speaking.
6. The language or dialect of a nation or region: American speech.
7. The sounding of a musical instrument.
8. The study of oral communication, speech sounds, and vocal physiology.
9. Archaic Rumor.

[Middle English speche, from Old English sprc, spc.]

speech [spiːtʃ]
n
1. (Linguistics)
a.  the act or faculty of speaking, esp as possessed by persons to have speech with somebody
b.  (as modifier) speech therapy
2. that which is spoken; utterance
3. a talk or address delivered to an audience
4. a person's characteristic manner of speaking
5. (Linguistics) a national or regional language or dialect
6. (Linguistics) Linguistics another word for parole [5]
[Old English spēc; related to specan to speak]

Speech
1. an incorrectness in diction.
2. cacology. — acyrological, adj.
Medicine. an inability to speak, especially as the result of a brain lesion.
Pathology. an impairment or loss of the faculty of understanding or using spoken or written language. — aphasiac, n. — aphasic, n., adj.
loss of the power of speech; dumbness. — aphonic, — apho-nous, adj.
loss or absence of the power of speech.
the ability to speak in two distinct voices. — biloquist, n.
1. a defectively produced speech.
2. socially unacceptable enunciation.
3. nonconformist pronunciation.
the condition of lacking both hearing and speech. Also called surdomutism. — deafmute, n.
Pathology. an inability to express ideas or reasoning in speech because of a mental disorder.
an impaired state of the power of speech or of the ability to comprehend language, caused by injury to the brain.
any neurotic disorder of speech; stammering.
speech problems resulting from damage to or malformation of the speech organs.
the uncontrollable and immediate repetition of sounds and words heard from others. — echolalic, adj.
1. the art of public speaking.
2. the manner or quality of a person’s speech. — elocutionist, n.
confused or unintelligible speech; gibberish.
an instrument for recording the movements of the tongue during speech.
an ecstatic, usually unintelligible speech uttered in the worship services of any of several sects stressing emotionality and religious fervor. Also called speaking in tongues. — glossolalist, n.
an abnormal fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak.
a throaty manner of speaking.
a condition in which control of the speech organs is lost, resulting in meaningless and deranged speech.
a tendency to articulate sounds with the lips rounded.
an abnormal love of speech or talking.
the branch of medical science that studies disorders of speech. — lalopathy, n. — lalopathic, adj.
an abnormal fear of speaking.
Pathology. the science that studies speech defects and their treatment. Also logopedics, logopaedics. — logopedie, logopaedic, adj.
a pathological speech problem, as stammering.
Psychiatry. a conscious or unconscious refusal to make verbal responses to questions, present in some mental disorders.
any speech that contains new words unintelligible to a hearer. See also psychology.
Obsolete, loss of speech or the act of keeping silence.
a speech defect or disorder in which sounds are distorted.
a disorder of the faculty of reasoning, characterized by discon-nected and meaningless speech.
aphasia characterized by the inability to find the correct words to express meaning.
garbled or incoherent speech, the result of aphasia.
speaking from the chest, a phenomenon observed with a stethoscope and caused by the voice reverberating in the lung cavities as a result of disease. — pectoriloquial, pectoriloquous, adj.
the condition of stuttering or stammering.
a mechanical, repetitive, and usually meaningless speech.
deafmutism. — surdomute, n.
1. the act or process of whispering.
2. a whispering sound or soft rustling. Also susurrus. — susurrant, susurrous, adj.
an abnormality of speech characterized by extreme volubility.
repetition of the same sound. — tautophonic, tautophonical, adj.
a stammering and stuttering speech.
ventriloquism.
the art or practice of speaking so that the voice seems not to come from the speaker but from another source, as from a mechanical doll. Also called ventriloquy, ventrilocution, gastriloquism. — ventriloquist, n. — ven-triloquistic, adj.
meaningless repetition of words and phrases.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun 1. speechspeech - the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience; "he listened to an address on minor Roman poets"
body - the central message of a communication; "the body of the message was short"
introduction - the first section of a communication
close, closing, ending, conclusion, end - the last section of a communication; "in conclusion I want to say..."
speech act - the use of language to perform some act
allocution - (rhetoric) a formal or authoritative address that advises or exhorts
colloquium - an address to an academic meeting or seminar
dithyramb - a wildly enthusiastic speech or piece of writing
impromptu - an extemporaneous speech or remark; "a witty impromptu must not sound premeditated"
inaugural, inaugural address - an address delivered at an inaugural ceremony (especially by a United States president)
lecture, public lecture, talk - a speech that is open to the public; "he attended a lecture on telecommunications"
litany - any long and tedious address or recital; "the patient recited a litany of complaints"; "a litany of failures"
oratory - addressing an audience formally (usually a long and rhetorical address and often pompous); "he loved the sound of his own oratory"
oral presentation, public speaking, speechmaking, speaking - delivering an address to a public audience; "people came to see the candidates and hear the speechmaking"
preaching, sermon, discourse - an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)
2. speechspeech - (language) communication by word of mouth; "his speech was garbled"; "he uttered harsh language"; "he recorded the spoken language of the streets"
language, linguistic communication - a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols; "he taught foreign languages"; "the language introduced is standard throughout the text"; "the speed with which a program can be executed depends on the language in which it is written"
auditory communication - communication that relies on hearing
words - the words that are spoken; "I listened to his words very closely"
orthoepy, pronunciation - the way a word or a language is customarily spoken; "the pronunciation of Chinese is difficult for foreigners"; "that is the correct pronunciation"
conversation - the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc.
give-and-take, discussion, word - an exchange of views on some topic; "we had a good discussion"; "we had a word or two about it"
locution, saying, expression - a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations; "pardon the expression"
non-standard speech - speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community
idiolect - the language or speech of one individual at a particular period in life
monologue - a long utterance by one person (especially one that prevents others from participating in the conversation)
magic spell, magical spell, charm, spell - a verbal formula believed to have magical force; "he whispered a spell as he moved his hands"; "inscribed around its base is a charm in Balinese"
dictation - speech intended for reproduction in writing
monologue, soliloquy - speech you make to yourself
3. speech - something spoken; "he could hear them uttering merry speeches"
utterance, vocalization - the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
4. speech - the exchange of spoken words; "they were perfectly comfortable together without speech"
speaking, speech production - the utterance of intelligible speech
5. speech - your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally; "his manner of speaking was quite abrupt"; "her speech was barren of southernisms"; "I detected a slight accent in his speech"
expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper"
address - the manner of speaking to another individual; "he failed in his manner of address to the captain"
catch - a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)
paralanguage, paralinguistic communication - the use of manner of speaking to communicate particular meanings
tongue - a manner of speaking; "he spoke with a thick tongue"; "she has a glib tongue"
shibboleth - a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people
tone, tone of voice - the quality of a person's voice; "he began in a conversational tone"; "he spoke in a nervous tone of voice"
elocution - an expert manner of speaking involving control of voice and gesture
prosody, inflection - the patterns of stress and intonation in a language
inflection, modulation - a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified
6. speech - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to"
rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to take the rebuke with a smile on his face"
preaching, sermon - a moralistic rebuke; "your preaching is wasted on him"
curtain lecture - a private lecture to a husband by his wife
7. speechspeech - words making up the dialogue of a play; "the actor forgot his speech"
dialog, dialogue - the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction
aside - a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage
cue - an actor's line that immediately precedes and serves as a reminder for some action or speech
monologue - a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor
soliloquy - a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections
throwaway - words spoken in a casual way with conscious under-emphasis
line - text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen; "the letter consisted of three short lines"; "there are six lines in every stanza"
8. speech - the mental faculty or power of vocal communication; "language sets homo sapiens apart from all other animals"
faculty, mental faculty, module - one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
lexis - all of the words in a language; all word forms having meaning or grammatical function
lexicon, mental lexicon, vocabulary - a language user's knowledge of words
verbalise, verbalize - convert into a verb; "many English nouns have become verbalized"

speech
noun
1. communication, talk, conversation, articulation, discussion, dialogue, intercourse, verbal communication, verbal expression the development of speech in children
2. diction, pronunciation, articulation, delivery, fluency, inflection, intonation, elocution, enunciation His speech became increasingly thick and nasal.
3. language, tongue, utterance, jargon, dialect, idiom, parlance, articulation, diction, lingo (informal), enunciation the way common letter clusters are pronounced in speech
4. talk, address, lecture, discourse, harangue, homily, oration, spiel (informal), disquisition He delivered his speech in French.
Quotations
"A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart" [Peggy Noonan What I Saw at the Revolution]
"A speech is like a love-affair. Any fool can start it, but to end it requires considerable skill" [Lord Mancroft]
"Speech is the small-change of silence" [George Meredith The Ordeal of Richard Feverel]
"Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars" [Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary]
Translations
speech [spiːtʃ]
A. N
1. (= faculty) → habla f; (= words) → palabras fpl; (= language) → lenguaje m; (= manner of speaking) → lenguaje m, forma f de hablar
to lose the power of speechperder el habla
to recover one's speechrecobrar el habla, recobrar la palabra
his speech was slurredarrastraba las palabras, farfullaba al hablar
he expresses himself better in speech than in writingse expresa mejor hablando or de palabra que por escrito
children's speechel lenguaje de los niños
freedom of speechlibertad f de expresión
to be slow of speechhablar lentamente, ser torpe de palabra
2. (= address) → discurso m
to make a speechpronunciar un discurso
speech, speech!¡que hable! ¡que hable!
3. (Brit) (Gram) direct/indirect speechestilo m directo/indirecto
see also part A8
B. CPD speech act Nacto m de habla
speech analysis Nanálisis m de la voz
speech command Ncomando m vocal
speech community Ncomunidad f lingüística
speech day N (Brit) → reparto m de premios
speech defect, speech impediment Ndefecto m del habla
speech organ Nórgano m del habla
speech recognition N (Comput) → reconocimiento m de voz
speech synthesizer Nsintetizador m de la voz humana
speech therapist Nlogopeda mf
speech therapy Nterapia f de la palabra
speech training Nlecciones fpl de elocución
speech writer Nescritor(a) m/f de discursos, redactor(a) m/f de discursos

speech [ˈspiːtʃ] n
(= formal talk) → discours m
to make a speech, to give a speech → faire un discours
(= faculty) → parole f
to lose one's powers of speech → perdre l'usage de la parole
(= manner of speaking) → façon f de parler
Her speech was slurred
BUT Elle avait du mal à articuler.
(= spoken language) → langage m
(in play)tirade f
speech bubble nbulle de BD)f >
speech day n (British) (at school)jour m de la distribution des prix
speech defect speech disorder ntroubles mpl du langage
speech impediment ndéfaut m d'élocution

speech
n
no pl (= faculty of speech)Sprache f; (= act of speaking)Sprechen nt; (= manner of speaking)Sprechweise f; to be slow of speechlangsam sprechen; his speech was very indistincter sprach sehr undeutlich; he expresses himself better in speech than in writinger drückt sich mündlich besser aus als schriftlich; to burst into speechin einen Redeschwall ausbrechen; to lose/recover the power of speechdie Sprache verlieren/zurückgewinnen; speech is silver, silence is golden (prov) → Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold (Prov); freedom of speechRedefreiheit f
(= language)Sprache f; in dockers’ speechin der Sprache der Hafenarbeiter
(= oration, Theat) → Rede f (→ on, about über +acc); (in court) → Plädoyer nt; to give or make a speecheine Rede halten; the actor had three speechesder Schauspieler hat dreimal gesprochen; the chairman invited speeches from the floorder Vorsitzende forderte das Publikum zu Meinungsäußerungen auf; the speech from the thronedie Thronrede
(Brit Gram) direct/indirect or reported speechdirekte/indirekte Rede ? figure, part
(US: Sch, Univ: = study of speech) → Sprechkunde f

speech:
speech act
nSprechakt m
speech bubble
n (in comic, cartoon) → Sprechblase f
speech community
speech day
n (Brit) → Schulfeier f
speech defect
nSprachfehler m

speech:
speechmaking
n (= making speeches)Redenhalten nt; (pej: = speechifying) → Schwätzerei f, → Gelabere nt (inf)
speech organ
nSprechwerkzeug nt
speech pattern
nSprechmuster nt
speech recognition
nSpracherkennung f; speech softwareSpracherkennungssoftware f
speech sound
nSprachlaut m
speech synthesizer
nSprachsynthesizer m
speech therapist
nSprachtherapeut(in) m(f), → Logopäde m, → Logopädin f
speech therapy
nSprachtherapie f, → Logopädie f; (= treatment)logopädische Behandlung
speech writer
nGhostwriter(in) m(f) (inf), → Redenschreiber(in) m(f)

speech [spiːtʃ] n
a. (faculty) → parola; (manner of speaking) → parlata, modo di parlare
to lose the power of speech → perdere l'uso della parola
freedom of speech → libertà di parola
b. (language) → linguaggio
children's speech → il linguaggio dei bambini
c. (formal talk) → discorso, intervento
to make a speech → fare un discorso
d. (Brit) (Gram) direct/indirect speechdiscorso diretto/indiretto

speech
n speech [spiːtʃ]
1 (the act of) saying words, or the ability to say words Speech is one method of communication between people. spraak حَديث، كَلام говор řeč tale die Sprache ομιλία habla kõnelemine, kõnevõime گفتار puhuminen parole דִיבּוּר बोली govorenje, sposobnost govorenja beszéd wicara mál il parlare, linguaggio 話す力 말하기 kalba, šneka runāšana bertutur het spreken tale(evne) mowa fala vorbire речь reč govor govor tal การพูด konuşma 言語 мова, мовлення گویائی، بولنے کی صلاحیت khả năng, hành động nói
2 the words said His speech is full of colloquialisms. spraak كَلِمات، ألفاظ слово řeč sprog die Sprache ομιλία, λόγος palabras kõne, keel سخن puhe langage נְאוּם बोली govorenje beszéd perkataan málfar modo di parlare 話し kalba runa; valoda pertuturan taal mål, språk język discurso limbaj речь reč govor govor tal คำพูด konuşma, söz 說話 мова بولے گیے الفاظ lời nói
3 manner or way of speaking His speech is very slow. spraak طَريقَة الكَلام реч způsob řeči måde at tale på das Sprechen ομιλία lenguaje, forma de hablar kõneviis گويش puhetapa façon de parler סִגנוֹן דִיבּוּר बोलने का तरीका način govora beszéd(mód) cara bicara mæli modo di parlare 話し方 말하는 매너 šneka runa pertuturann spraak mål, måte å snakke mowa fala mod de a vorbi манера говорить spôsob reči način govorjenja govor tal ลักษณะการพูด konuşma biçimi, ağız 說話方式 вимова; манера говорити بولنے کا انداز cách nói , lối nói
4 a formal talk given to a meeting etc parliamentary speeches. toespraak خِطاب изказване projev tale; -tale die Rede επίσημος λόγος, αγόρευση discurso kõne سخنراني puhe discours נְאוּם किसी बैठक में दिया गया औपचारिक भाषण govor beszéd pidato ræða discorso 演説 연설 kalba runa ucapan toespraak tale mowa discurso speech, discurs речь; выступление prejav govor govor tal, anförande คำปราศรัย; สุนทรพจน์ konuşma, nutuk 演講 виступ; промова تقریر، خطاب bài diễn thuyết
adj speechless
unable to speak, often because of surprise, shock etc He looked at her in speechless amazement. sprakeloos فاقِد النُّطْق، مَعْقود اللسان онемял němý målløs sprachlos άφωνος mudo, enmudecido sõnatu mykistynyt muet מוּכֶּה אֶלֶם अवाक bez riječi, zanijemio néma tidak bisa bicara orðlaus muto, senza parola 口もきけない 말을 잃어버린 bežadis mēms; bez valodas bungkam; tidak dapat berkata-kata sprakeloos målløs, taus, stum oniemiały sem fala mut, fără glas онемевший; безмолвный nemý, onemený, zatíchnutý brez besed zanemeo mållös ซึ่งไม่สามารถพูดได้ dili tutulmuş 說不出話的 німий; безмовний دم بخود، گونگا mất tiếng, không nói được
adv speechlessly
sprakeloos بدون قُدْرَةٍ على الكَلام، بِلِسان مَعْقود безмълвно beze slova målløst sprachlos άφωνα sin una palabra sõnatult mykistyneenä sans un mot לְלא יְכוֹלֶת לְדַבֵּר गूंगेपन से, मौनता से, भौचक्कापन से nijemo szótlanul dengan membisu orðlaust senza parola 口もきけずに 형언할 수 없게, 말할 수 없을 정도로 netekęs žado bez valodas; bez vārdiem dengan bungkam sprakeloos målløst, taust w osłupieniu silenciosamente fără vorbe; mut безмолвно bez slova nemo zanemelo mållös อย่างไม่สามารถพูดได้ dili tutulmuş bir şekilde 說不出話來 безмовно, оніміло خاموشی سے mất tiếng, không nói được
n speechlessness
sprakeloosheid عَدَم القُدْرَةِ على الكَلام، إنْعِقاد اللسان безмълвие němota målløshed die Sprachlosigkeit βουβαμάρα mutismo sõnatus sanattomuus mutisme אֶלֶם गूंगापन, मौनता zanijemjelost némaság, szótlanság kebisuan þögli, þögn mutismo 口もきけないこと 형언할 수 없음 žado praradimas mēmums; valodas zudums kebungkaman sprakeloosheid målløshet, taushet osłupienie mutismo muţenie безмолвие nemota nemost zanemelost mållöshet ไม่สามารถพูดได้ dili tutulmuşluk 說不出話 втрата мовлення بے زبانی sự mất tiếng, sự không nói được

speechخُطبة řeč tale Sprechen ομιλία habla puhekyky discours govor discorso 言葉 speech tale przemówienie discurso речь tal คำบรรยาย konuşma khả năng nói 发言


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His father, also, his two brothers, his uncle, and his grandfather had taught the laws of speech in the universities of Edinburgh, Dublin, and London.
IT WAS an high speech of Seneca (after the manner of the Stoics), that the good things, which belong to prosperity, are to be wished; but the good things, that belong to adversity, are to be admired.
Poyser's slow speech was finished, and when it was time for him to speak he was quite light-hearted.
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