Speak To/ Speak With?

Question

Speak To/ Speak With?

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Which one is correct:

I want to speak with you

I want to speak to you

It's always nice to speak to you

It's always nice to speak with you

Thanks in advance

Jul 13 2009 19:40:44

Comments

For the sake of politeness, I would generally use "with". Unless you are talking to a group of people in a lecture situation, "to" sounds rather ominous and threatening.

Jul 13 2009 20:46:26

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They are all fine. Speak to/speak with are the same.

Jul 13 2009 20:48:07

FandorinThey are all fine. Speak to/speak with are the same.

They are not the same, as Philip has pointed out.

Jul 14 2009 04:05:59

Post a link then, please. We all tend to mistake

Jul 14 2009 06:45:07

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Oops. I didn't notice it.

Jul 14 2009 07:08:44

Speak with when the person you are in a conversation with someone, when he/she actually talks back.

Speak to when you speak to a person or group of people who just listen and do not respond in any way, like in a speech or auditorium or symposium.

I speak with him and he said that everything is going to be fine.
I speak to the graduating classes of 2009 in a symposium today.

Nov 06 2009 14:51:02

There is a big difference between the two phrases. To "speak to"
implies a somewhat sense of authority. It also implies that only one
person will be doing the speaking. On the other hand, to "speak with"
is much less assertive and implies dialogue rather than orders.

Nov 25 2009 20:06:18

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Hi,

Generally, I agree with what has been said, but I would also like to add a comment.

speak with - I tend to view this as a feature of N. American English.

speak to - This is more common in Canadian English, and (as far as I know, unless things have changed in my long absence) in British English. Whether or not the other person also spoke is usually obvious from the context or simply unimportant.

Best wishes, Clive

Nov 26 2009 00:02:28

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For the sake of politeness, I would generally use "with". Unless you are talking to a group of people in a lecture situation, "to" sounds rather ominous and threatening.
FandorinThey are all fine. Speak to/speak with are the same.

They are not the same, as Philip has pointed out.
Speak with when the person you are in a conversation with someone, when he/she actually talks back.

Speak to when you speak to a person or group of people who just listen and do not respond in any way, like in a speech or auditorium or symposium.

I speak with him and he said that everything is going to be fine.
I speak to the graduating classes of 2009 in a symposium today.
There is a big difference between the two phrases. To "speak to"
implies a somewhat sense of authority. It also implies that only one
person will be doing the speaking. On the other hand, to "speak with"
is much less assertive and implies dialogue rather than orders.
Hi,

Generally, I agree with what has been said, but I would also like to add a comment.

speak with - I tend to view this as a feature of N. American English.

speak to - This is more common in Canadian English, and (as far as I know, unless things have changed in my long absence) in British English. Whether or not the other person also spoke is usually obvious from the context or simply unimportant.

Best wishes, Clive

Englishmaven · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-29T21:55

They're used interchangeably, though my father always said that it was nicer to say "speak with you" because "speak to you" sounds like I'm going to talk and you are going to listen, whereas "speak with you" sounds like an equal exchange in the conversation. I've never heard anyone else with that opinion, but I've always said "speak with you" because of my father's influence.

Speak To/ Speak With?

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