We can view speech from many vantage points. Speech contributes to various aspects of ego development and functions including

self-observation, differentiation of self and external object, sense of reality and reality testing, secondary-process thinking, synthetic function, and of course control over action or impulse, and separation-individuation. The vicissitudes of each psychosexual stage contribute to the normality or deviations of speech, including the negativism of the anal-sadistic stage, the consolidation of masculinity or femininity in the phallic stage, the limited use of speech as communication with the parent during latency and adolescence, while consolidating peer relationships and new ego ideals outside the home.