Literacy news
Call for SLT name change
1 Feb 2010
In a letter written in the recent issue of the RCSLT Bulletin, Christina Shewell (FRCSLT) has questioned how suitable SLT is as a job title, she writes:
"I would welcome the change to the term 'communicologist' ('Anyone for Communicology', RCSLT Bulletin, December 2009, p4).
"Although an initially strange word, its sound parallels that of 'psychologist' - a group with whom we have parity, rather than the other therapy professions.
...
"We do, however, need to be aware that the term is to be found online, defined as, 'the study of communication, including such fields as semiotics, audiology, and speech pathology'. There is indeed an International Communicology Institute (www.communicology.org), which describes communicology as, 'the science of human communication', and says, 'one of the human science disciplines, it uses the research methods of semiotics and phenomenology to explicate human consciousness and behavioural embodiment as discourse within global culture'.
"One of this institute's four subdisciplines is 'clinical communicology', defined as having a, 'therapeutic focus on (a) communication disorders within the context of speech pathology and audiology or (b) behavoiural mistakes caused by pragmatic and semantic misinterpretations'.
"I would welcome a membership debate on this topic and urge the RCSLT to then put the issue of a change of name to the vote".
(RCSLT Bulletin, February 2010)
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