Difference between talk and speak

[Benny]

What is the difference between talk and speak?
How to use it?

Please Cite with examples.

Benny

[Alan]

Hi Benny,

Both obviously relate to the business of communication. Broadly speak has to do with the use of oral language and talk has to do with oral language in relation to one or other person - even to oneslf.

You can speak a foreign language, speak to a group of people, speak the truth.

You can talk to another person/other people in the sense of having a conversation, you can talk about a subject in the sense of having a view about something.

The two nouns give a sharper defintion - speech (speak) and talk.
A talk gives the idea of an informal discourse a speech describes a formal occasion as in a debate.

Imagine a situation when someone is giving a speech to an audience and in that audience two children are having a conversation, not listening to the speech and irritating the rest of the audience. This is how you would describe that:

While the minister was speaking at the meeting, two children were told to be quiet because they were talking to one another and making it difficult for people to concentrate.

Alan
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