C is a generic programming language, with features deliberately left out because they can't be provided on all platforms (e.g. graphics). To me, a scripting language is an embedded language that controls the operation of that which it is embedded into. Hence, shell script is a language embedded into the shell. JavaScript is a language built into web browsers and web servers to provide programmatic access to their features.

Perl is somewhat unusual, as it can be embedded into other applicatons, is designed to replace the existing scripting language that the shells provide, and also is a stand-alone language with wider capabilities.