Talk & Speak

Learned Vol. 4, Issue 46

This week: talking vs. speaking, how are they different? We get into it. Then a couple of footnotes and we are out. Here we go.

Synonyms are odd things. We, as English speakers, have an innate liking for them. In our conversations, we, often subconsciously, try to find a different word rather than repeat one that's just been said. As an example, think of three or four people standing around discussing the weather. One person says, "I'm cold." The next person says, "Yeah, it's a bit chilly." The third person says, "Chilly? I'm freezing!"

I know it’s an obvious joke. I’m tired, okay?

Each synonym is an attempt to both conform to the social conventions around the topic - in other words, we use the synonyms¹ to show that we're part of the same conversation but we want to both add nuance and show our individuality. And the great thing about English is that, because of how it was formed and because of how it functions, we have more synonyms than we need. Like, lots more.

But, there are no true synonyms. Every pair of words adds nuance and depth to the language and lets us express ourselves ever more precisely. Here's an example from Japanese, just for fun. After all, it, too, has a lot of synonyms that add nuance to interactions.

So, let's look at two words for today in Japanese: kyou² and honjitsu. Here's the fun part - these two words are both written with the kanji for now, but the preceding kanji is different. The first word, kyou, is written (from left to right) as now-day, while honjitsu is written as present-day (that should be present as in “at the moment” not “gift”.) And, as I said, both words translate rather easily as today. But, here's the thing - kyou was one of the first words I learned in Japanese. I'm pretty sure it's one of the first words most of us who study the language learn. Honjitsu, on the other hand, comes along a little bit later in the studies. It's more formal in its use and is often reserved for news broadcasts and coffee-of-the-day signs.

But, the point is, these two words have distinct flavors for native Japanese speakers that are still kind of lost on me. I mean, at this point, I know what the words mean and I choose the right one when I need to use it. Most of the time. And so, to flip back to English, this can be a massive problem for second language learners.

Think about trying to explain the subtleties of these pairs to a student of English:

• cute vs. pretty

• huge vs. enormous

• nice vs. pleasant

It can take some work. And those are just the tip of the iceberg. In my job, I get asked³ a lot about the differences between talk and speak. Because we use them quite differently and it's pretty hard to explain why other than to say talk is more casual and speak is more formal. In fact, we often just have to give a list of use cases and leave it at that - we speak languages, we talk to a friend, and so on.

However, one general pattern we can give to students, in this case, is that speak is usually used when one person is talking, as in “speak to an audience,” but talk is often used when there are two or more people in some kind of conversation with each other.

In thinking about how to illustrate this, recently, I've started using a list of phrasal verbs using the two words. For the uninitiated, phrasal verbs are when we take a verb and add a preposition to it, thereby creating a verb distinct from its parts. Think about verbs like "tear up" vs. "tear down." They have very different meanings and yet the root verb is the same.

Phrasal verbs are categorized by three things: they're idiomatic in nature, so when we tear something up, we're not literally raising it skyward as we rip it into pieces. Also, from a grammar standpoint, they can be split around the object, so we can tear up a letter or tear a letter up. But, lastly, and most crucially here, they can be replaced with a more formal verb. Tear up can be replaced by shred or destroy. And so, our phrasal verbs and the more formal verbs that can function as their synonyms:

• speak for - advocate, represent

• speak out - assert, declare

• speak up - insist, announce

• talk back - sass, dispute

• talk down to - condescend, oblige

• talk into - convince, sway

• talk out of - persuade, dissuade

• talk round - persuade, influence

• talk through - guide, explain

The pattern holds up well throughout the list. Phrasal verbs based on speak all equate to words that mean presenting oneself or one's ideas to the world, while those based on talk equate to conversations of greater or lesser import.

Now, obviously, that is a lot of high-level vocabulary to lay on someone who just wants to know when and how to use talk or speak. And I'm not sure that throwing them a list of words without a solid explanation does any good. However, I think showing students a discernible pattern helps the learning process. The more patterns we can see in a language⁴ the easier it becomes to use. The question now is whether this particular idea - using phrasal verbs to illustrate nuances between synonyms - will work across enough different sets of words to make it something more than an oddity...

If you've read this far this week, thank you for indulging me in this thinking-out-loud exercise. I had meant to write about the word speech, thus continuing the series of words that mean a collection of words, but, well, sometimes the journey is more interesting than the destination and I hope you found this detour to be one such journey.

Stay curious,

J

1. It's important to note that I'm only talking about the use of synonyms here. When it comes to catchphrases or other in-jokes, using the exact same words becomes a signal that you belong to the group.

2. Kyou = 今日, Honjitsu = 本日

3. To be clear, I love these kinds of questions. They can often liven up lessons for both me and the students.

4. Or anything, really.