Spoken and Written Language as Medium of Communication: A Self-reflection

Ali Alsaawi

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.8n.2p.194

Abstract

Speaking and writing are the most important communicative tools among human beings. While speaking is considered to be older and more widely employed, spoken and written language have not been treated equally. Spoken language is seen as the natural productive tool among people that is more common and normal, whereas written language is seen as being intricate and complicated due to its extensive rules. Therefore, spoken language has attracted the attention of researchers to a greater extent compared to written language due to the belief that spoken language has primacy over written language. This paper is an attempt to shed some light on these two communicative elements and the differences between them. A self-reflection, based on Dewey’s (1997) ground-breaking work, is presented in terms of when/where spoken or written language is more appropriate as a medium of communication. It can be argued, therefore, that both speaking and writing are important means of communication without prioritising one over the other; yet, conventions are the real indicators as to which medium of communication is more appropriate.

Highlights

Spoken language is seen as the natural productive tool among people that is more common and normal, whereas written language is seen as being intricate and complicated due to its extensive rules
A self-reflection, based on Dewey’s (1997) ground-breaking work, is presented in terms of when/where spoken or written language is more appropriate as a medium of communication
Spoken utterances and written scripts are the most important methods that people use to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions, it is argued that spoken language has gained more attention than written forms due to its naturalistic behaviour

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Spoken utterances and written scripts are the most important methods that people use to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions, it is argued that spoken language has gained more attention than written forms due to its naturalistic behaviour. The relationship between spoken and written language has caught the attention of linguists, anthropologists, educators and psychologists (See Roberts & Street, 2017; Wiese, 2016; Cook, 2004; Halliday, 1992). This applies to linguists and teachers who are more concerned with the lexical and grammatical differences between spoken and written language. This paper attempts to shed some light on the relationship between the spoken and written forms It aims to discuss the reasons behind the assumption of the primacy of the spoken over the written form. A self-reflection concerning when to use speech or writing is highlighted

LITERATURE REVIEW

A SELF-REFLECTION

Findings

CONCLUSION