discourse vs speaking

discourse

noun
  • Expression in words, either speech or writing. 

  • A formal lengthy exposition of some subject, either spoken or written. 

  • An institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic (after Michel Foucault). 

  • Any rational expression, reason. 

verb
  • To exercise reason; to employ the mind in judging and inferring; to reason. 

  • To engage in discussion or conversation; to converse. 

  • To write or speak formally and at length. 

speaking

noun
  • The act of communicating vocally. 

  • One's ability to communicate vocally in a given language. 

  • An oral recitation of e.g. a story. 

adj
  • Used in speaking. 

  • Having competence in a language. 

  • Having the ability of speech. 

  • Expressive; eloquent. 

  • Involving speaking. 

intj
  • Indication that the person requested is the same as the one who is currently speaking. 

How often have the words discourse and speaking occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )