Semantics can be defined as ‘the study of the meaning of words’, and explores the relationships between words and meaning. When we talk about semantics in speech & language therapy, we are thinking about language rather than speech. Specifically, we are interested in a person’s ability to attach meaning to concepts, whether this is in spoken, written or symbolic/picture form. For example, if we wanted to teach a child the name for the object ‘table’, we could point to a table and say ‘table’ aloud, or write it down. The child would then be able to relate the spoken or written word to the concept (the table). A semantic relationship therefore exists between the language and the concept.
In a therapy situation, it is much more difficult to illustrate these semantic relationships for concepts that aren’t as easily definable or tangible as the word ‘table’. Take for example, the concept of ‘where’. This is a very commonly-used word used in everyday language. However, while it is possible to point to a table and name it, it is not possible to point to a ‘where’ and name it, as a ‘where’ does not exist. Many children with language delay or disorder have difficulty understanding these more abstract grammatical concepts – such as ‘where’, ‘what’, ‘why’ or ‘who’.
Colourful Semantics (developed by Alison Bryan) is a form of language therapy that helps to teach grammar without explicit instruction, via semantics. Each abstract concept is colour coded:
- ‘Who’ (the subject) is orange
- ‘Doing what’ (the verb) is yellow
- ‘To what’ (the object) is green
- ‘Where’ (location) is red
So for example, in the sentence “the boy is kicking the ball in the park”, ‘the boy’ would be orange, ‘kicking’ would be yellow, ‘the ball’ would be green and ‘the park’ would be red. The speech and language therapist helps the child to understand each concept in relation to the others, and to distinguish between them. The application of specific colours helps the child to apply grammatical rules through their developing knowledge of semantic relationships and is achieved via subconscious learning – without explicit teaching.
This approach works particularly well with children on the autism spectrum – you can read more here: https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/news/item/2/24/colourful-semantics—autism/
Sarah Bennington February 2011
Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. ITS is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Therapists.
