Speech and language therapists work with people with speech, language and communication disorders. They can be employed in education, health or social care, and they deal with a diverse population, from newborns to the oldest populations. A speech and language therapist in the Slovenian speaking environment is faced with a diverse dialect composition of the population. Thus, they may encounter the problem of their own language and awareness of their dialect during their professional career. There hasn’t been any research on language use in the field of speech therapy in the Slovenian language as of yet, no professional language guidelines for speech therapists exist in this field, and speech therapy students encounter a limited number of linguistic subjects during their professional education. Nevertheless, according to research carried out in other professions, a proficient use of Slovenian literary language is expected to be used by the therapist in order to give the impression of professionalism in therapy.
In the theoretical part of this master's thesis, we presented the main concepts in the field of speech therapy. To understand the current state of speech therapy in Slovenia we presented the history of speech therapy in the world, the history of speech therapy in Slovenia, and the history of the activities of the Association of Speech and Language Pathologists in Slovenia. We analysed the field of education of speech therapists in Slovenia, and to understand the deficit in the professional language guidelines, we presented the existing guidelines for speech therapists. Current research on the influence of the therapist's language on the user of his services was also presented. In the second part of the theoretical work, we presented the problem of the Slovenian literary language in the public domain, which also includes speech therapy work. We presented the social dialectology of the Slovenian language, the development of the Slovenian literary language and dialects and their importance in the modern Slovenian public. We have described the current issue of language use and treatment in speech therapy. In this Master's thesis, the linguistic characteristics of individual dialect groups were not described in detail, as we focused on the attitude and use of language by speech therapists in therapy, but we were not interested in the specific characteristics of dialect groups and which of them speech therapists use.
As part of this master's thesis, a survey was conducted on the topic of the opinion of speech therapists in the Slovenian speaking area regarding the dialectic expression in speech therapy. The aim of this thesis was to obtain and compare data on the attitude of speech therapists in the Slovenian language area towards their own speech in the implementation of their therapy and their attitude towards dialect and literary language in general. Given the national importance of the literary language, especially in official and public positions, the literary speech should also be dominant in speech therapy practice.
The results of the questionnaire (N = 37) showed us that speech therapists in the Slovenian language area have a fairly uniform opinion. They are aware that the therapist's language affects the subject’s speech and that in speech therapy they represent the language model for their subjects. They agree that the use of literary language is the most appropriate for speech therapy, and they are also united in their positive self-assessment of language skills in the field of Slovenian literary language. Speech therapists are aware of the use of their language in speech therapy, but they adapt their language in therapy according to the subject and the specific situation. They are united in the opinion that there is an insufficient number of professional language guidelines for speech therapists in the Slovenian speaking environment, and that there is not enough attention payed to professional language and linguistics in the speech and language therapy education curriculum. Based on the analysis, we can conclude that speech therapists adapt their speech to the therapeutic situation and use a predominantly natural dialect speech in the introductory part of the treatment for the purpose of a feeling of accessibility and comprehensibility, while they try to use the literary language version in the therapeutic part of the speech therapy for the effect of professionalism and in order to set a good linguistic example of a Slovenian language speaker.
This master's thesis investigates and systematically deals with the neglected area of language use in speech therapy in the Slovenian area. It sheds light on how professionals perceive their linguistic role in therapy and emphasizes the importance of literary language as a professional standard, while at the same time recognizing the role of dialects in adapting therapy to the individual user. The need for a greater presence of linguistic content in the education of speech therapists and for the creation of professional language guidelines that would improve the quality of work in this area is emphasized. The work represents the basis for future research on the impact of language use on speech therapy practice and users, which will enable the development of guidelines for improving professional work and education. Although the research does not directly address the public use of the language, it contributes to the understanding of professional attitudes towards literary language and dialects, which could have an impact on wider awareness and the improvement of language culture. This research represents an important step towards creating a more comprehensive understanding of language use in Slovenian speech therapy and has the potential to have a long-term impact on improving the quality of services for users.
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