speaker

See also: Speaker

English

Etymology

From Middle English speker, spekere, an alteration (with change of suffix) of Old English speca, spreca (“speaker”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekô (“speaker”), equivalent to speak +‎ -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Spreeker (“speaker”), West Frisian sprekker (“speaker”), Dutch spreker (“speaker”), German Low German Spreker (“speaker”), German Sprecher (“speaker”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈspikɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈspiːkə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːkə(ɹ)

Noun

speaker (plural speakers)

1. One who speaks.
   • 1989, R. Norman Whybray, Ecclesiastes, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 15:

     This title is derived from the first verse of the book (1.1), which is a heading or colophon informing the reader who this Qoheleth was: he was the author of the book, or at least the speaker of the words which are contained in it ...

   • 2011 October 28, Adam Thirlwell, “The Joyful Side of Translation”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     As [David] Bellos points out, those born as English speakers are now a minority of English speakers: most speak it as a second language. English is the world’s biggest interlanguage.

   There were three different speakers, but I couldn't make out their accents.

3. Loudspeaker.

   She lost her hearing after standing too close to the speaker at the festival.

4. Speakerphone.
6. (politics) The chair or presiding officer of certain legislative bodies, such as the U.K. House of Commons or the U.S. House of Representatives.
7. One who makes a speech to an audience.

   The company hired a motivational speaker to boost morale.

8. (US) A book containing passages of text for use in speeches.
10. (especially in linguistics) The producer of a given utterance, whether speech or text.
    • 2002, Merlin Donald, A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 242:

      The speaker spelled out the words to be communicated, letter by letter, while the reader's hand read the speaker's message. In its original form the hand alphabet assumed that both speaker and reader could already speak and spell the words ...

    2. (poetry) The literary character uttering the lyrics of a poem or song, as opposed to the author writing the words of that character.

       Popular culture often incorrectly attributes quotes from the speakers of poems or songs to the authors thereof, as when "I took the one less traveled by" is attributed to Robert Frost rather than to the speaker in Frost's "The Road Not Taken".

11. (music) A key on a woodwind instrument of the clarinet family (cf octave key on other instruments) which induces the instrument to overblow.
12. (archaic) A wooden pole or spike used by hedgers to carry loads on their shoulders. Possibly Dorset dialect; alternatively spyeker
    • 1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, page 18:

      With a speäker, or stake, he tossed the outlying scraps of fuel on the into the conflagration.

Synonyms

• talker

Derived terms

• ear speaker
• guest speaker
• heritage speaker
• lay speaker
• native speaker
• native-speaker
• non-native-speaker
• non-native speaker
• PA speaker
• PC speaker
• plenary speaker
• public speaker
• remote speaker
• smart speaker
• speaker base
• speaker enclosure
• speaker point
• tongues speaker
• tongues-speaker

 

Translations

one who speaks

• Arabic: خَطِيب m (ḵaṭīb), مُتَكَلِّم m (mutakallim), مُحَدِّث m (muḥaddiṯ)
• Aragonese: charrador m
• Armenian: խոսող (hy) (xosoġ)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܲܠܵܠܵܐ m (mālala), ܗܲܡܙܸܡܵܢܵܐ m (hāmzimana)
• Basque: hiztun (eu) mintzazaile
• Belarusian: гаво́рачы m (havóračy), спі́кер m (spíkjer)
• Bulgarian: говори́тел (bg) m (govorítel), говори́телка f (govorítelka)
• Catalan: parlant (ca) m or f
• Cherokee: ᎦᏬᏂᏍᎩ (gawonisgi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 說話者 / 说话者 (shuōhuàzhě), 發話者 / 发话者 (fāhuàzhě)

• Czech: mluvčí (cs) m
• Danish: taler (da)
• Dutch: spreker (nl) m, spreekster (nl) f
• Esperanto: parolanto (eo)
• Estonian: rääkija, kõneleja (et)
• Extremaduran: palranti m or f
• Finnish: puhuja (fi)
• French: parleur (fr) m, parleuse (fr) f, (speaker of a language) locuteur (fr) m, locutrice (fr) f
• Friulian: fevelant
• Galician: falante m or f
• Georgian: მოლაპარაკე (molaṗaraḳe)
• German: Sprecher (de) m, Sprecherin (de) f
• Greek: ομιλητής (el) m (omilitís)
• Hungarian: beszélő (hu)
• Ido: parolanto (io)
• Indonesian: penutur (id)
• Interlingua: parlator
• Italian: parlante (it) m or f
• Japanese: 話者 (ja) (わしゃ, washa), 話し手 (ja) (はなして, hanashite), スピーカー (ja) (supīkā)
• Khmer: វាគ្មិន (km) (viəkmɨn)
• Korean: 화자(話者) (ko) (hwaja), 스피커 (ko) (seupikeo)
• Latin: orator (la)
• Macedonian: говорник m (govornik), говорничка f (govornička), говорител m (govoritel), говорителка f (govoritelka)
• Malayalam: സംസാരിക്കുന്നയാൾ (saṁsārikkunnayāḷ)
• Maltese: kelliem m, kelliema f
• Maori: kaikōrero
• Marathi: बोलणारा m (bolṇārā), बोलणारी f (bolṇārī), बोलणारे n (bolṇāre)
• Miami: aacimona
• Norman: pâleux m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: taler (no) m

• Old English: spreca m
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: گویَنْدِه (guyande)

• Plautdietsch: Rädna m
• Polish: mówca (pl) m, mówczyni (pl) f, mówiący m, mówiąca f
• Portuguese: falante (pt) m or f
• Quechua: willaq
• Romanian: vorbitor (ro) m, vorbitoare (ro) f
• Russian: носи́тель (ru) m (nosítelʹ) (of a language), говоря́щий (ru) m (govorjáščij), спи́кер (ru) m (spíker)
• Slovak: hovorca m, rečník m
• Slovene: govorec m anim, govorka f
• Spanish: hablante (es) m or f, parlante (es) m or f
• Sranan Tongo: takiman
• Swedish: talare (sv) c
• Tajik: гӯянда (güyanda)
• Tocharian B: weṣṣeñca
• Turkish: konuşmacı (tr)
• Ukrainian: мо́вець m (móvecʹ), мовля́нин m (movljányn), спі́кер m (spíker)
• Urdu: مُتَکَلِم m (mutakalim), مُتَکَلِّم m (mutakallim), گویَنْدَہ m (goyanda)

loudspeaker — see also loudspeaker

• Albanian: lartëfolës f, altoparlant (sq) m, zëdhënës (sq) m
• Arabic: سَمَاعَة f (samāʕa)
• Armenian: բարձրախոս (hy) (barjraxos)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܪܵܡܩܵܠܵܐ m (ramqala)
• Azerbaijani: səsucaldan
• Basque: bozgorailu (eu)
• Belarusian: гучнагавары́цель m (hučnahavarýcjelʹ)
• Bulgarian: високоговори́тел (bg) m (visokogovorítel)
• Catalan: altaveu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 揚聲器 / 扬声器 (zh) (yángshēngqì), 喇叭 (zh) (lǎba), 音箱 (zh) (yīnxiāng)

• Czech: reproduktor (cs) m
• Danish: højttaler (da) c
• Dutch: box (nl) m, luidspreker (nl) m
• Esperanto: laŭtparolilo
• Estonian: kõlar (et), valjuhääldi (et)
• Finnish: kaiutin (fi)
• French: baffle (fr), haut-parleur (fr) m
• Galician: altofalante (gl) m
• Georgian: ხმამაღლამოლაპარაკე (xmamaɣlamolaṗaraḳe)
• German: Lautsprecher (de) m
• Greek: μεγάφωνο (el) n (megáfono), ηχείο (el) n (icheío)
• Hebrew: רַמְקוֹל (he) m (ramkol)
• Hungarian: hangszóró (hu), hangfal (hu), kihangosító, kihangosítás
• Icelandic: hátalari (is) m
• Indonesian: pengeras suara (id), pelantang, sepiker (id) (colloquial)
• Interlingua: altoparlator
• Italian: altoparlante (it) m
• Japanese: スピーカー (ja) (supīkā), 拡音器 (かくおんき, kakuonki)
• Kazakh: дыбыс зорайтқыш (dybys zoraitqyş)
• Khmer: អូប៉ាល័រ (ʼoupaalɔə), បំពង់ឧគ្ឃោសនស័ព្ទ (bɑmpŭəng ʼukkhoosaʼnaʼ sap)
• Korean: 스피커 (ko) (seupikeo), 확성기(擴聲器) (ko) (hwakseonggi), 고성기(高聲器) (goseonggi), 경음기(警音機) (gyeong'eumgi) (North Korea)
• Latvian: skaļrunis m, reproduktors m
• Lithuanian: garsiakalbis m
• Macedonian: звучник m (zvučnik)
• Malay: pembesar suara
• Malayalam: സ്പീക്കർ (spīkkaṟ)
• Maltese: spiker
• Maori: tukuoro
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: чанга яричг (čanga jaričg)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: høyttaler m, høytaler (no) m, høgtaler m

  Nynorsk: høgtalar m

• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: بُلَنْدْگو (bolandgu), صوتال (sutâl)

• Polish: głośnik (pl) m
• Portuguese: alto-falante (pt) m, altifalante m, caixa de som
• Romanian: difuzor (ro) n
• Russian: громкоговори́тель (ru) m (gromkogovorítelʹ), дина́мик (ru) m (dinámik), коло́нка (ru) f (kolónka), спи́кер (ru) m (spíker)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: зву̑чнӣк m

  Roman: zvȗčnīk (sh) m

• Slovak: reproduktor m
• Slovene: zvočnik (sl) m inan
• Spanish: altavoz (es) m, altoparlante (es) m, parlante (es) m, bocina (es) f, bafle (es) m, magnavoz m (Mexico)
• Swahili: spika (sw)
• Swedish: högtalare (sv) c
• Thai: ลำโพง (th) (lam-poong)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: hoparlör (tr)
• Ukrainian: гучномо́вець m (hučnomóvecʹ)
• Uzbek: radiokarnay (uz), karnay (uz)
• Vietnamese: loa (vi)
• Volapük: tonöm
• Welsh: seinydd (cy) m
• White Hmong: please add this translation if you can
• Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

politics: the chair or presiding officer

• Armenian: խոսնակ (hy) (xosnak)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܲܠܵܠܵܐ m (mālala)
• Basque: ganberako presidente, ganberako buru
• Belarusian: спі́кер m (spíkjer)
• Bulgarian: председа́тел (bg) m (predsedátel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 議長 / 议长 (zh) (yìzhǎng)

• Estonian: spiiker
• Finnish: puhemies (fi)
• French: président (fr) m, présidente (fr) f
• Galician: presidente (gl) m
• Georgian: სპიკერი (sṗiḳeri)
• German: Vorsitzender (de) m, Vorsitzende (de) f, Nationalratspräsident (de) m (Austria), Nationalratspräsidentin (de) f (Austria), Bundestagspräsident (de) m (Germany), Bundestagspräsidentin f (Germany), Parlamentspräsident (de) m, Parlamentspräsidentin (de) f, Präsident des Unterhauses m, Präsidentin des Unterhauses f, Präsident des Oberhauses m, Präsidentin des Oberhauses f
• Greek: πρόεδρος (el) m or f (próedros)
• Hebrew: יוֹשֵׁב רֹאשׁ m (yoshév rosh), יו״ר (yor) (acronym)
• Hungarian: házelnök (hu)
• Italian: presidente (it) m or f, presidentessa (it) f
• Japanese: 議長 (ja) (ぎちょう, gichō)
• Khmer: វាគ្មិន (km) (viəkmɨn)
• Korean: 의장(議長) (ko) (uijang)
• Macedonian: претседател (mk) m (pretsedatel), спикер m (spiker)
• Malayalam: സ്പീക്കർ (spīkkaṟ)
• Maltese: speaker
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: speaker (no) m, parlamentstalsmann m, parlamentspresident m

• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: سُخَنْگو

• Polish: marszałek (pl) m, przewodniczący (pl) m, spiker (pl) m
• Portuguese: presidente (pt) m
• Romanian: președinte (ro) m, speaker (ro) m
• Russian: спи́кер (ru) m (spíker)
• Slovene: predsednik (sl) m anim, predsednica f
• Swedish: talman (sv) c, president (sv) c, föredragande (sv) c, ordförande (sv) c
• Ukrainian: спі́кер m (spíker)
• Vietnamese: nghị trưởng (vi), chủ tịch nghị viện

one who makes a speech to an audience

• Armenian: բանախոս (hy) (banaxos)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܲܠܵܠܵܐ m (mālala)
• Basque: hizlari (eu), mintzalari (eu)
• Belarusian: прамо́ўца m (pramóŭca), ара́тар m (arátar)
• Bulgarian: говори́тел (bg) m (govorítel), говори́телка f (govorítelka)
• Catalan: orador (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 講員 / 讲员 (gong² jyun⁴)

  Mandarin: 報告人 / 报告人 (zh) (bàogào rén), 發言者 / 发言者 (fāyánzhě), 演講人 / 演讲人 (yǎnjiǎng rén), 講員 / 讲员 (jiǎngyuán), 演說者 / 演说者 (zh) (yǎnshuōzhě)

• Czech: řečník m
• Esperanto: parolanto (eo), parolinto, parolonto
• Finnish: puhuja (fi)
• French: orateur (fr) m, oratrice (fr) f, intervenant (fr) m, intervenante (fr) f
• Galician: orador m, oradora f
• German: Referent (de) m, Referentin (de) f
• Greek: ομιλητής (el) m (omilitís), ρήτορας (el) m (rítoras)
• Hungarian: szónok (hu)
• Indonesian: pembicara (id)
• Interlingua: orator
• Italian: relatore (it) m, relatrice (it) f
• Japanese: 話者 (ja) (わしゃ, washa), 演説家 (えんぜつか, enzetsuka)
• Khmer: វាគ្មិន (km) (viəkmɨn)
• Korean: 연설자(演說者) (yeonseolja), 연사(演士) (yeonsa), 화자(話者) (ko) (hwaja)
• Macedonian: го́ворник m (góvornik)
• Malayalam: പ്രാസംഗികൻ (prāsaṅgikaṉ), പ്രഭാഷകൻ m (prabhāṣakaṉ)
• Maori: kaiwhaikōrero, kaiwhaikupu
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: سُخَنْران (soxanrân)

• Polish: mówca (pl) m
• Portuguese: orador (pt) m, oradora f
• Romanian: vorbitor (ro) m, vorbitoare (ro) f, orator (ro) m, oratoare (ro) f
• Russian: докла́дчик (ru) m (dokládčik), ора́тор (ru) m (orátor)
• Slovak: rečník m
• Slovene: govornik m anim, govornica f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: referent m, referentka f

• Spanish: orador (es) m, oradora f, ponente m or f
• Swedish: talare (sv) c, föreläsare (sv) c
• Telugu: వక్త (te) (vakta)
• Thai: โฆษก (th) (koo-sòk)
• Turkish: sunucu (tr), spiker (tr)
• Ukrainian: промо́вець m (promóvecʹ), ора́тор (uk) m (orátor)
• Vietnamese: nhà hùng biện, người diển thuyết

book

• Finnish: puheopas

linguistics: producer of a given utterance

• Finnish: puhuja (fi)
• French: locuteur (fr) m, locutrice (fr) f
• Indonesian: bahasawan (id), penutur (id), pemakai bahasa, pengguna bahasa
• Macedonian: говорник m (govornik)
• Malay: penutur
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: گویِشور (guyešur)

• Spanish: locutor (es) m

Further reading

• Link to web page on Speaker of the House of Commons (3)

Anagrams

• Preseka, parkees, peakers, re-speak, respake, respeak

Brunei Malay

Etymology

Borrowed from English speaker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spikə/
• Hyphenation: spea‧ker

Noun

speaker

1. (colloquial) loudspeaker

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English speaker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /spi.kœʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

speaker m (plural speakers, feminine speakerine)

1. announcer
2. speaker (in parliament)

Further reading

• “speaker”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English speaker.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspi.ker/
• Rhymes: -iker

Noun

speaker m (invariable)

1. announcer, commentator (radio, TV)
2. speaker (parliamentary)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from English speaker.

Noun

speaker m (definite singular speakeren, indefinite plural speakere, definite plural speakerne)

1. announcer (at sports events etc.)
2. speaker (in parliament, chiefly concering UK or US)

Further reading

• “speaker” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “speaker” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English speaker.

Noun

speaker m (plural speakeri)

1. speaker

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	speaker	speakerul		speakeri	speakerii
genitive-dative	speaker	speakerului		speakeri	speakerilor
vocative	speakerule			speakerilor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspikeɾ/ [ˈspi.keɾ], /esˈpikeɾ/ [esˈpi.keɾ]
• Rhymes: -ikeɾ

Noun

speaker m or f by sense (plural speakers or speaker)

1. speaker (in parliament)

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from English speaker.

Noun

speaker c

1. an announcer (at a (sporting) event)
2. a narrator (person who delivers a voice over, in a documentary or the like – compare berättarröst)

Declension

Declension of speaker

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	speaker	speakers
	definite	speakern	speakerns
plural	indefinite	speakrar	speakrars
	definite	speakrarna	speakrarnas

Derived terms

• speakerröst
• speakertext

See also

• berättarröst
• konferencier
• kommentator

References

• speaker in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• speaker in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• speaker in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)