Terms & Definitions in Communication

Terms & Definitions in Communication

Jargon: Term used to describe the stage of language development when children string together
sentence-like expressions that are not very understandable as true words. Children can use either
speech or sign jargon depending on their communication system.

Language: Shared code, used by a group of people, that determines what words mean and the
rules for how words are combined and used to convey ideas to others. Language can be spoken,
signed, or written. “Receptive language” refers to our ability to understand the information conveyed
by others. “Expressive language” refers to our ability to share information with others.

Manual Babbling: Term used to describe the early handshapes used by infants or toddlers who
see sign language in their everyday environment. As with speech babbling, early manual babbling
may not represent any true signs or words. Later manual babbling may be used as part of a young child’s beginning communication system.

Manually Coded English: A sign language system that uses a visual (signed) form of the English
language. There are a number of systems for manually coding English. Most of these systems use
American Sign Language (ASL) signs as a base and also use English word order. Each system for manually coding English has its own variations and rules.

Simultaneous Communication (Sim-Com): A communication system in which spoken English
and its manually coded (signed) version are used at the same time. The term “total communication”
may at times be used to describe simultaneous communication.

Speech: Generally used to mean the expression of language through the spoken word. The term
“speech sounds” refers to the individual consonant and vowel sounds that make up a language such
as English.

Speech-Language Pathologist: A licensed professional who holds a degree in speech-language
pathology and who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of speech, language, and voice disorders.
This may include children whose speech or language problems are the result of a hearing loss.

Total Communication: In this communication system, the word “total” refers to the use of any
form of communication that will enable the child to learn language. Manually coded English is one
part of the system, which also includes speech, listening through amplification, print, and speech reading.
The term “total communication” may at times be used to describe simultaneous communication
(sim-com).