Scream

First scream

The screaming is a function of the voice , which is characterized by high volume and mostly by strong emotion. Screaming is probably the first communicative utterance of the newborn and represents an important stage in the development of an infant. It fulfills communicative purposes and is often an expression of displeasure and discomfort, fatigue, hunger or pain. There are different types of screaming, which differ in strength and intonation . Screaming is often accompanied by crying and typical facial expressions . Some children have certain times a day when they cannot be calmed down by affection and food. As children get older, they shout less often and they have other means of communication.

Shouting during military training

In older children and adults, screaming can be an expression of great pain, great shock, or sudden fear. Screaming can also take the form of linguistic utterances, for example by loud, emphatic utterances of words or sounds. The shouting then serves, for example, to achieve dominance, to intimidate the dialogue partner or to defend himself. An intense call to action can also be expressed by shouting. Shouting at each other often increases the intensity. The actual content plays less and less of a role.

A cry of joy after sporting success

Shouting is also used in colloquial language as a synonym for shouting. Increasing the volume is used to transmit information over somewhat greater distances. From a technical point of view, however, screaming differs from shouting in that the organ that generates the voice gets overdriven, i.e. the pitch can still be controlled when shouting, but not when shouting.

See also

• Excessive crying in infancy
• Scream clinic
• Sleep training

literature

• Verena Friederike Hasel: “Just because a baby makes a row does not mean the suffering is so terrible. Why do we expect children to always be happy? ” In: Die Zeit . January 7, 2016, accessed February 11, 2016 . 

Web links

Wiktionary: shout  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Kindergesundheit-info.de - Screaming, dealing with screaming : independent information offer of the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA)
• The development of early childhood screaming - from screaming to interaction