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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage

Speak vs. talk

My daughter just asked me the difference between "speak" and "talk." I'm pretty sure I use them correctly, but I can't articulate the difference. Help?
  

Top answer

" I'm pretty sure I use them correctly, but I can't articulate the difference. [/nq] In American English there is little difference. "Speak" sometimes can be used to sound a bit more formal than "talk", but otherwise they are interchangeable as verbs.

— Usenet

  • " I'm pretty sure I use them correctly, but I can't articulate the difference.
  • [/nq] In American English there is little difference.
  • "Speak" sometimes can be used to sound a bit more formal than "talk", but otherwise they are interchangeable as verbs.
  • Mike Nitabach
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7 Answers
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[nq:1]My daughter just asked me the difference between "speak" and "talk." I'm pretty sure I use them correctly, but I can't articulate the difference. Help?[/nq]
In American English there is little difference. "Speak" sometimes can be used to sound a bit more formal than "talk", but otherwise they are interchangeable as verbs.

Mike Nitabach
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Well, they are similar. But you could ask your daughter which of the following sound right or wrong:
Tonight we have a visiting speaker.
Tonight we have a visiting talker.
Who spoke?
Who talked?
I had a long speak with Jenny.
I had a long talk with Jenny.
He spoke only one word.
He talked only one word.
The distinction, where it exists, seems to be that "talking
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[nq:2]My daughter just asked me the difference between "speak" and "talk." I'm pretty sure I use them correctly, but I can't articulate the difference. Help?[/nq]
[nq:1]In American English there is little difference. "Speak" sometimes can be used to sound a bit more formal than "talk", but otherwise they are interchangeable as verbs.[/nq]
There are subtle differences of usage. For example:
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[nq:1]The distinction, where it exists, seems to be that "talking" implies dialogue, while speaking can be more one sided or one way.[/nq]
Speak for yourself.
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[nq:1]In American English there is little difference. "Speak" sometimes can be used to sound a bit more formal than "talk", but otherwise they are interchangeable as verbs.[/nq]
More or less.
"Speaking of devil" is an established cliche. It doesn't sound right "talking about the devil" even if , I believe, it's semantically correct.
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[nq:1]"Speaking of devil" is an established cliche. It doesn't sound right "talking about the devil" even if , I believe, it's semantically correct.[/nq]
It's always "Speak of the devil", actually, I think.
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[nq:2]"Speaking of devil" is an established cliche. It doesn't sound right "talking about the devil" even if , I believe, it's semantically correct.[/nq]
[nq:1]It's always "Speak of the devil", actually, I think.[/nq]
In BrE you'll hear both, but I fancy 'talk' is quite a lot commoner.

Mike.
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