Appeal of Spoken Language

The appeal of the spoken word is much greater than that of the written word. The spoken word allows for a connection to a variety of audiences, lessens confusion of sentence meaning, and therefore allows complete understanding. The use of spoken language is also easier to learn and one must be knowledgeable in the spoken language before the written is acquired. Thus communication using the spoken word is the basis for written language. One does not need to have reading or writing skills in order to communicate with speech.

In written word there can be some confusion as to who is “speaking” as well as to how something is meant. With any written sentence, one can convey different meanings by use of voice. Wikipedia says that “written English has no standard method for directly emulating the effects of tone of voice, volume, and other such subtleties,” in turn a piece of expression is lost in written word (2007). In The Difference Between the Spoken Vs The Written Word, writing is downgraded below verbal speech by stating “Verbatim transcripts of ordinary conversation reveals ... The stops, starts, ellipses, bizarre syntax, vague references, unmotivated digressions, and sudden changes of direction are nothing like the sanitized ‘linear’ version which usually emerges in print”(1994). The atmosphere of a speech is lost when it is converted to written form.

Spoken words can also allow the speaker to improve public speaking and memory skills, In the book Life of Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India, the authors quote the spoken word of Thamus, the god king of Egypt, “the invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who forget to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage use of their own memory within them"(2003). One must conquer the spoken language first, then use written in order to preserve the spoken.





References

De Fouw, H., & Svoboda, R., (2003) Light on Life: An Introduction to the Astrology of India. Retrieved November 19, 2007 from http://books.google.com/books?id=jBzSLNNbTWwC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=spoken+word+vs+written&source=web&ots=zjiWAjgQsp&sig=q9WR5mjboAFUPK0OJN0eXVpTQ0w#PPA1,M1

Standard Written English. (2007, September 25). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Standard_Written_English&oldid=160148343

The Difference Between The Spoken Vs The Written Word. (1994, February) PEDIATRICS. 93 (2) pp. 204. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/2/204