Some people think that the main thing is to say what you think, but it doesn't matter how. However, this is extremely wrong! There are many examples where the wrong tone (such a trifle!) of a conversation led to big misunderstandings and dramas…
"Prosodia" - translated from Greek…
Modern scholars interpret the meaning of this Greek word differently.
- In philology, which studies the metric side of speech, these are its indicators such as stressed, unstressed and syllables of different length (long, short).
- Linguistics calls prosody the system of their pronunciation.
- Others use this word for the doctrine of stress.
Sounding speech can be characterized by several indicators - the strength and melody of pronunciation, speed - tempo, timbre.
For example, the sound of a military command differs sharply from the affectionate cooing of a mother over a baby.
So, the prosodic side of speech is its sound side, a complex combination of suchcomponents such as rhythm, strength, timbre, melody, tempo, logical stress, diction, voice flight. These elements provide the transmission and understanding of emotions, allow you to distinguish the semantic nuances of speech.
Terms of speech expressiveness
In people with poorly developed prosody, the establishment of social contacts is disrupted, the choice of the field of work is limited.
It, like a mosaic, is made up of various components, the main of which is intonation. In turn, this is also the sum of expressive language means, the correct combination of which makes the prosodic side of speech an important way of communication:
- melodica - a change in the height and strength of the pronunciation of vowel sounds, which, at the request of the speaker, allows you to express feelings with their smallest shades (tenderness, pride, disappointment, joy, etc.);
- rhythm is the result of toning the voice in height and alternating stressed and unstressed syllables, as well as differing in longitude;
- tempo - determined by the number of spoken sounds, syllables, words, for example, per second;
- logical, phrasal stress - an increase in tension or voice height, with emphasis on words, phrases, pauses to give the statement a special meaning;
- timbre of speech - its individual sound coloring;
- pauses - complete the utterance of individual sentences, thoughts; psychological pauses - a way to influence the emotions of the interlocutor, the audience;
- voice power - change the volume of pronunciation of individual words, phrases. Depends onthe degree of tension of the vocal cords and the pressure of exhaled air;
- diction is the result of energetic work of the speech apparatus: good diction is a clear, clear pronunciation.
With the skillful use of these intonational means, the speaker's thoughts are expressed more accurately, more diversely, as well as all the shades of his feelings and experiences.
Development patterns
An interesting scientific fact: in comparison with the verbal, the sound side of speech begins to develop in babies at a very early age and without difficulty. The first cry at birth already expresses the mental state of the new person. Moreover, in infants it is acoustically different, overtonally individual.
In 2-3 months new intonations, voice modulations appear.
Cooling and spontaneous cooing at 3-4 months are designed to attract the attention of others, the child gradually learns the intonations of adults.
At 4-6 months babbling is formed, that is, cooing breaks up into localized syllables characteristic of native speech, which indicates the beginning of the formation of syllable formation. The child first repeats the same syllables many times, and then combines different ones, changing the volume and pitch of the voice. By the end of this period, intonations, rhythm, sounds are intensively mastered, which by 8 months become similar to the phonemes of the language, their combinations appear - forerunners of the first words. They appear at about 12 months. In communicating with adults, thanks to imitation, the child begins to consciously use such prosodic elements as melody, voice power, and varies intonation.
Speeding up the pace and improving the rhythmic side of speech occur as the pronunciation of sounds and syllables and their combinations is practiced. In the speech of a two-year-old baby, there are simple phrases, stresses, but it is characterized by discontinuity and repetitions. He does not yet master speech breathing and cannot regulate the pace of pronunciation.
The melody and the phrase become more complicated at the age of 5, expressiveness improves, the ability to distinguish sounds improves, which is necessary for recognizing similar words. Often mistaken in stress.
By the end of the 6th year, the child speaks quickly, but indistinctly, quietly. He has insufficient mobility of his lips, tongue, lower jaw, his breathing goes astray during speech, which affects the sound pronunciation.
Gradually, with the accumulation of speech skills, the speech of a preschooler becomes more correct, more meaningful, intonation more expressive.
Formation conditions
The most important conditions for the correct development of the prosodic side of speech are, firstly, the normal functioning of the central nervous system, secondly, normal hearing, and thirdly, the correct pattern of pronunciation of adults.
The absence or reduction of physical hearing often causes serious speech disorders in a child, including its expressiveness, since he does not have an auditory model to imitate speech actions.
Defects in phonemic hearing, thanks to which the child has the ability to distinguish sounds and syllables,expressed in their incorrect perception and pronunciation, misunderstanding of similar words. Therefore, when he enters school, he has difficulty learning to read and write.
The formation of the prosodic side of speech proceeds the more successfully, the more correct its samples the baby receives from adults from the first days of life. All her shortcomings - noisy, indistinct, poor intonation, too fast or too slow - will surely be copied and later become the shortcomings of his own manner of speaking.
Types of violations
Violations of the prosodic side of speech are typical for people of different ages:
- Disadvantages of its tempo-rhythmic design - excessively high or insufficient speed, fuzziness, violation of the sound and syllabic structure of words, spasms.
- Voice formation disorders - distortion of timbre, pitch, insufficient strength.
- Pronunciation - mixing sounds, their absence or distortion, replacement.
- Violations of intonational expressiveness - speech is inexpressive, monotonous, the child does not distinguish intonation.
Very often, with a good understanding of the speech addressed to him, the child cannot speak out on his own or repeat the phrase with the given features after the adult.
Disturbances in the sound design of speech as a result of diseases
Injury to the brain and infections before birth or in the postnatal period can adversely affect speech in general and prosodic speech in particular. For example:
- dysarthria is characterized by insufficient innervation of the organs of speech;
- alalia - with good intellectual inclinations and normal hearing, speech is defective or completely absent;
- stuttering;
- dysphonia - deficiencies in diction, height, voice power with defects in the vocal apparatus;
- bradilalia - monotony, inexpressiveness of speech, its insufficient pace with fuzzy articulation;
- tahilalia - excessively fast pace, irregular rhythm of speech, distortion, lack of syllables, sounds;
- dyslalia - violations of the pronunciation of one or more sounds, deviations in psychophysical development are not observed;
- rhinolalia - nasality and distortion of sound pronunciation.
The prosodic side of speech is the object of close attention and care of adults. External manifestations of her shortcomings may be the result of hidden serious and far-reaching disorders in the development of the child's nervous system.
Identification of defects and their causes
At the slightest suspicion that a child has an unfavorable course of speech formation, one should not hope that he "outgrows, becomes wiser and learns to speak." Violations of the prosodic side of speech is a mandatory reason to contact the following specialists for advice:
- Check hearing acuity with an otolaryngologist.
- A neurologist will help make sure that there is no or presence of damage to the speech centers of the brain and its other departments.
- The level of mental development will be checked by a child psychiatrist, psychologist or defectologist.
- Teacher-speech therapist will diagnose to identify speechdefects, taking into account the age of the child, including the state of the prosodic side of speech.
In a conversation with a mother, experts will find out if there were any deviations in bearing a child, traumatic situations during and after childbirth, hereditary causes of identified disorders, whether a he althy lifestyle is supported in the family (alcohol, chemicals, tobacco smoking, balanced diet, psychological climate). Summarizing the results of the survey, experts will offer the most rational course of general and speech development and upbringing of the child.
Attention: the child has dysarthria
There are a lot of reasons that result in violations of the innervation of the speech organs. They can affect different parts of the brain, have different severity. A mild degree - erased dysarthria - can be detected during a speech therapy check, and in severe (anarthria) paralysis of the speech muscles completely deprives the patient of the opportunity to speak.
All or almost all components of the prosodic side of speech are violated in dysarthria. Its external signs, which parents and educators should pay attention to: the child swallows and chews with difficulty, performs small movements inaccurately and articulates sounds poorly.
Children with a significant degree of this disease are sent to specialized schools. Taking into account their age, forms of dysarthria, they are prescribed medication, classes with a psychologist, a speech therapist.
Techniques for correcting deficiencies in the expressiveness of speech
Working withFor children-logopaths, specialists use both ready-made manuals and their own developments of classes, games, and exercises. Considering that the features of the prosodic side of speech are such that they require constant monitoring and exercises, kids are offered homework to develop and consolidate the knowledge and speech skills acquired in kindergarten classes. At individual and group consultations for parents, specialists tell how to carry out special exercises at home. For example: singing vowels to music that changes in volume and tone; unfolding and naming pictures, toys with a given sound; reading memorized poems, tongue twisters loudly and quietly, joyfully and angrily, slowly and quickly.
Children are very fond of theatrical games, so involving them in the performance of feasible roles is one of the common methods for developing the prosodic side of speech.
This is necessarily accompanied by an example of the intonation of the hero’s speech and its reproduction, analysis of the mistakes made, repeated performance, correlation of the speed and rhythm of speech with movements, tonality, feelings. effect.
Summing up…
If an examination of the prosodic side of speech revealed its violations in a child, then a specialist, a speech therapist, will give specific advice to parents on correcting them. The main goal is to organize such work, the result of which will be the formation of a conscious attitude of the child himselfto the act of speaking, the ability to analyze, compare, imitate the correct patterns. He must overcome the feeling of shame, learn to communicate with others without fear.
In most cases, the development of the prosodic side of speech is a completely solvable task, although not a momentary one. In severe forms of its violation, special attention should be paid to the socialization of the child, to teach him to use non-verbal means of communication.
