cued speech: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Low (Specialist)Technical / Educational / Healthcare
Quick answer
What does “cued speech” mean?
A visual communication system that uses hand shapes near the mouth to complement speechreading, making spoken language visible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A visual communication system that uses hand shapes near the mouth to complement speechreading, making spoken language visible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
A phonemically-based system where specific hand positions (cues) represent groups of consonant sounds and hand shapes represent vowel sounds, used alongside natural mouth movements to disambiguate lip-read sounds. It is not a language itself but a modality for making spoken languages accessible.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. The system itself is adapted for different languages (e.g., British English vs. American English Cued Speech), but the term is identical.
Connotations
Neutral and technical in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally low frequency in both, confined to specialist fields like audiology, speech therapy, and deaf education.
Grammar
How to Use “cued speech” in a Sentence
[teach/learn/use] cued speech [to/for someone]cued speech is [used/taught] as [a method/tool]communicate [via/using] cued speechVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “cued speech” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The specialist will cue the speech for the child during the lesson.
- She is learning to cue speech accurately.
American English
- The therapist cued the speech to clarify the phonemes.
- They practice cueing speech every day.
adverb
British English
- She communicated cued-speech, making the lesson fully accessible.
- (Rare usage; typically periphrastic: 'using cued speech')
American English
- He presented the information cued-speech, ensuring clarity.
- (Rare usage; typically periphrastic: 'via cued speech')
adjective
British English
- The cued-speech approach has gained support in some schools.
- He attended a cued-speech training workshop.
American English
- Cued-speech advocacy groups promote its benefits.
- She is a certified cued-speech instructor.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare. Might appear in contracts for specialist educational services.
Academic
Common in research papers on deaf education, linguistics of visual phonetics, and speech pathology.
Everyday
Very rare. Used primarily by families, educators, and individuals connected to the deaf community.
Technical
The primary register. Used by audiologists, speech and language therapists, special educational needs coordinators, and deaf educators.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “cued speech”
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “cued speech”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “cued speech”
- Using it as a verb (e.g., 'He cued-speeched to me'). It is only a noun.
- Confusing it with British Sign Language (BSL) or American Sign Language (ASL).
- Spelling it as 'queued speech' (incorrect).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Sign languages (e.g., BSL, ASL) have their own grammar and syntax. Cued speech is a modality for representing the phonemes of a spoken language visually; it has no grammar of its own.
It was developed by Dr. R. Orin Cornett in 1966 at Gallaudet University in the United States.
Yes. The system has been adapted to over 60 languages and dialects, as the hand cues represent the consonant and vowel sets specific to each language.
Signing conveys meaning through signs with their own linguistic structure. Cued speech conveys sound—it shows exactly how a word is pronounced, helping the user connect to the spoken language directly.
A visual communication system that uses hand shapes near the mouth to complement speechreading, making spoken language visible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Cued speech is usually technical / educational / healthcare in register.
Cued speech: in British English it is pronounced /ˌkjuːd ˈspiːtʃ/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌkjud ˈspitʃ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None. It is a technical term.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine someone giving you a CUE (hand signal) to understand their SPEECH. Cued Speech gives visual cues for spoken words.
Conceptual Metaphor
SPEECH IS A PUZZLE; HAND CUES ARE THE MISSING PIECES.
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary purpose of cued speech?