pieanne  +  68863 Thu, 20 Jan 05 02:59 PM I'd like to know whether there are any "formal" rule for using talk rather than speak, and vise-versa. Thanks! pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	Mister Micawber  +  68918 Thu, 20 Jan 05 10:33 PM Hi Pieanne, No, no formal rule. The words occur in different situations: for instance, I speak at a fundraising dinner and then talk to my friends afterwards. Usually, either one is OK. Speaking is perhaps a slightly more formal use of the voice in communication. Making a speech is a more formal activity than giving a talk. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,842 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

	seyfihoca  +  68919 Thu, 20 Jan 05 10:35 PM do we say "talk to me" or "speak to me" then? or is speak one-sided, while talk is "two- or multi-sided"? seyfihoca Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 Turkey/Eskisehir Full Member 109 Dil Sınavlarına Hazırlık Merkezi

	Mister Micawber  +  68933 Thu, 20 Jan 05 11:55 PM Within the context you have given, both are equally possible: 'Talk/speak to me, darling!' -- both are fine. 'They were speaking/talking to each other when I entered the room' -- both are fine. 'Everyone was speaking/talking at once, so I could not make myself heard' -- both are fine. Did you attempt to make some sample sentences for yourself before posting, Seyfihoca? Mister Micawber Sample

	pieanne  +  68995 Fri, 21 Jan 05 08:51 AM Yet, you say: "speak up", "speak"different languages, "talk one's way out of sth", "it's just talk!" I take it is a matter of idioms, then? pieanne Idioms

	seyfihoca  +  69027 Fri, 21 Jan 05 12:20 PM from Cambridge; -Would you mind speaking more slowly, please? -"Can I speak to/with Ian please?" "Speaking!" -If he tells Julie what I said, I'll never speak to him again. -She spoke of her sadness over her father's death. -She speaks very highly of the new director. -I can certainly come but I can't speak for my wife. -Who is going to speak for the accused? -He's old enough to speak for himself. -I went with Ava - speaking of Ava, have you seen her new haircut? -We've been invited to Rachel and Jamie's wedding - speaking of which, did you know that they're moving to Ealing? -Speaking as a mother of four, I can tell you that children are exhausting. -Sue speaks with an American accent. -Why are you speaking in a whisper ? -For five whole minutes, neither of them spoke a word. Do you mean we can use "talk" in all these sentences? seyfihoca Accents, Weddings, American Accents

	Mister Micawber  +  69032 Fri, 21 Jan 05 12:41 PM Yes, many are just a matter of idiomatic usage and stock phraseology. I said nothing previously about your sentences, Seyf, but the ones in which 'talk' sounds awkward seem like set phrases to me: 'speaking as/of', 'speak for', 'speak highly of'. If you wish, you can make a list of these and call it a rule-- and another rule for 'talk one's way out of'', 'talk turkey', 'talk someone into', etc. Mister Micawber

	pieanne  +  69080 Fri, 21 Jan 05 04:00 PM apart from idiomatic use, is it right to think that "speak" means "uttering words", and "talk" "have a conversation"? (on the whole) pieanne Conversations