Language

Language is broader than speech and includes meaning, structure, and practical use of words and sentences. A person can retain thought, meaning, and grammar while losing the motor ability to speak. Speech is one modality of language, while sign language and reading are also language modalities. Language includes pragmatics, semantics, and syntax as separable but interacting components. Words directly influence emotions, with causality running from language to feeling rather than the reverse. Maintaining a decision linguistically and cognitively causes emotional resistance to eventually align with the chosen position.