Five Kinds Of Speech

 

There are five kinds of speech. One is the kind politicians use in the assembly; this is called political speech. Another kind is that which the orators use in their written composition, whether for praise, censure, accusations, or defense. This is called rhetorical speech. The third kind is that which private citizen use for conversing with one another; this is called private speech. Another kind is that used by those who engage in an exchange of short questions and answers. This is called dialectical speech. The fifth kind is that which craftsmen use for discussing their own subjects; this is called technical speech.

[Plato, Lives of Immintent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius]