Linguistic Connections Between Co-Occurring Speech and Writing in a Classroom Literacy Event

Abstract

This article considers the linguistic interface of spoken and written language in a context of their co-occurrence, a classroom literacy event. In doing so it extends the discourse analytic concern with the speech-writing relationship to a context of situated literacy, typically the focus of ethnographic research. Through close analysis of oral data with corresponding text segments, the study identifies 3 primary speech-writing connections: spoken reference to a written text or segment, spoken repetition or paraphrase of written language, and text as a determiner of the topics of talk. Together they result in a complex network of linguistic relations between speech and writing that seem to contribute to instances of interactional trouble. The article also proposes that literacy event participation may be problematic because of multiple language demands that can require rapid processing and production of both spoken and written language as well as the tracking of links between the two modes. It further suggests that a discourse analytic approach can inform the ethnographic question of how literacy functions in context and, conversely, that analyses of literacy events can illuminate the discourse analysis concern with how spoken and written language are related.