Differences Between Writing and Speech

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Differences between writing and speech

Written and spoken language differ in many ways. However

some forms of writing are closer to speech than others, and

vice versa. Below are some of the ways in which these twoforms of language differ:

Writing is usually permanent and written texts cannotusually be changed once they have been printed/written

out.

Speech is usually transient, unless recorded, and speakers

can correct themselves and change their utterances asthey go along.

A written text can communicate across time and space foras long as the particular language and writing system is still

understood.

Speech is usually used for immediate interactions.

Written language tends to be more complex and intricatethan speech with longer sentences and many subordinate

clauses. The punctuation and layout of written texts also

have no spoken equivalent. However some forms of

written language, such as instant messages and email, are

closer to spoken language.

Spoken language tends to be full of repetitions,

incomplete sentences, corrections and interruptions, with

the exception of formal speeches and other scripted forms

of speech, such as news reports and scripts for plays and

films.


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Writers receive no immediate feedback from their readers,except in computer-based communication. Therefore they

cannot rely on context to clarify things so there is more

need to explain things clearly and unambiguously than inspeech, except in written correspondence between people

who know one another well.

Speech is usually a dynamic interaction between two or

more people. Context and shared knowledge play a major

role, so it is possible to leave much unsaid or indirectly

implied.

Writers can make use of punctuation, headings, layout,colours and other graphical effects in their written texts.

Such things are not available in speech

Speech can use timing, tone, volume, and timbre to add

emotional context.

Written material can be read repeatedly and closelyanalysed, and notes can be made on the writing surface.

Only recorded speech can be used in this way.

Some grammatical constructions are only used in writing,as are some kinds of vocabulary, such as some complex

chemical and legal terms.

Some types of vocabulary are used only or mainly in

speech. These include slang expressions, and tagslike y'know, like, etc.


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Formal spoken language is often preplanned, but most spoken

language is spontaneous and rapid and usually involves thinking

on the spot. It has simpler constructions and fillers such as um

and er. It has repetitions and rephrasing. It has intonationpatterns and pauses that convey meaning and also attitudes.

All these oral characteristics help the listener to understand the

speech. It is usually much more difficult for listeners to

interpret language that is read aloud from a written text, where

the language is more dense and lacks the pauses and fillers that

give us time to absorb the spoken message. Lectures or talks

that are read from a script are usually more difficult to follow

than those that are delivered with the speaker looking at the

audience and improvising from outline notes.

Some constructions probably occur only in writing.

Henry supposed Sylvia to be unwell.

Likewise, some words and constructions are likely to occur onlyin spoken English: words like thingamajig and whatchamecallit,

and phrases like bla bla bla.

"Our teacher just said - told us there was nouns and verbs and

adverbs and bla bla bla - you know ..."

Conversations also contain small words which do not appear in

writing. In analysing conversations, we are often surprised to

realise how many times words like well or just or oh appear.

The following transcript is of the talk of teenagers playing the

board game "Scruples".


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C: Do you put them face down - hang on

H: Oh - ha

C: Then we get one ballot card each and you put them asideuntil the vote is called

V: Oh - sorry

C: Did we decide you were the dealer - yes - we did

V: Oh - that was right

C: Oh it's just that the player to the left of the dealer starts playby becoming the first - asking the player to pose a dilemma

H: Oh - what do I do - oh I take one of these

V: Oh

C: Oh - hang on hang on

Words like oh and well have been assigned a number of names.

They can be called discourse markers or conversation markers.

They do not fit into the word classes in The Grammar Toolbox.

She is not well. (well = adjective)

She is well qualified. (well = adverb)

In conversation, "well" appears frequently but not as an

adjective or an adverb.

Well what do you think? Well I'm not really sure.


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These conversational markers are very hard to translate into

another language, and they are difficult to define consistently

or analyse structurally. Yet they occur constantly in speech.

When second language learners begin to use these markers inspeaking English, the fluency of their conversation improves.

Comparing Speaking and Writing

Speaking and writing are different, and each should be seen in

its own terms.

In the past, writing was often regarded as the primary medium,

and casual speech was seen as a sloppy or incorrect version of

the written form. Speech was evaluated as if it were writing.

The basic unit of written language is the sentence.

The basic unit of spoken language is the tone group.

The following two text samples are from the same person and

tell about the same incident.

These two examples clearly illustrate the following differences

between speech and writing:

Speech uses tone groups, and a tone group can convey only

one idea. Writing uses sentences, and a sentence can contain

several ideas.

A fundamental difference between casual speech and writing is

that speech is spontaneous whereas writing is planned.

Repetition is usually found in speech. Writing avoids repetition.


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A spoken version usually gives an account of events in the order

in which they occurred because this is easier to do.

59 to 64: then I unlocked the door | went across to the house |

and phoned the police | and they were there | really quickly |

In the written form, the order of events can be changed.

Sentence (f): The police arrived very soon after I had called

them.

The spoken and written versions differ in syntax.

The tone groups in the spoken version are sometimes complete

clauses but almost always very simple ones.

2: SVA; 5: SVC; 15: SVO

Often, the tone groups are a mixture of clauses and clause

fragments that add more information to the clause.

5: my bedroom was actually separate

6: separate from the rest of the house

In the written form, the information is not presented one idea

at a time but in a much more condensed way, incorporating

several ideas.

3: I rented a house.

Sentence (a): When I lived in Western Samoa I shared a rented

house with a flatmate.


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The information in sentence (b) is conveyed by 21 tone groups

in the spoken account (7-28).

In the spoken text, there is the possibility of direct speech that

would be unusual in a written text.

there I am | lying there | thinking | what on earth will I do. (42-

45)

This enables the speaker to gain a powerful effect by using the

full possibilities of intonation.

The ability to use complex clauses and embedded phrases andclauses is acquired much later in life. We can use these

structures because we have time to plan when we write. When

we speak, we do not have time to plan: we structure our

discourse as we go along, repeating words and phrases and

using the simpler constructions that we learn early in life. In the

transcript above, we can see this clearly with the subjects of

the clauses. In almost all cases, these are simple: by far themajority are I or it. More complex are my bedroom (4) and my

problem (29). The most complicated is: the thought of doing

this while there was somebody on the roof. It is interesting that

after this, the speaker needs to pause; she laughs and gets in

something of a muddle: w-was not very er possible (40, 41).

The two texts illustrate sharp differences between speaking andwriting. This narrative may not have been entirely spontaneous

because the story had been told before, and this rehearsal

could explain some of the complexities in the spoken version.

Even so, it is much more fragmented and oriented towards a


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listener than the written version. The written version is

planned, integrated, and primarily oriented towards conveying

a message.

Spoken and written language can be seen as the ends of a

continuum. Above, we have described features of spontaneous

speech and planned writing. Often, however, the distinctions

between spoken and written language are not so clear cut. A

university lecture, a prepared speech, a sermon might be

examples of spoken English, in so far as they are delivered

verbally. But because they usually began in a written form, they

are likely to be closer to written language than to casual spoken

language. Personal letters, diaries, and e-mail correspondences

are in the written form but are very likely to contain features of

spoken language.

In this section, we have deliberately concentrated on the

language of conversation rather than the language of oratory,

prepared speeches, debates, or other formal forms. We madethis decision for two reasons. One was that some teachers

appear to think of the classroom study of oral language almost

exclusively in terms of prepared and planned speaking but do

not consider spontaneous speech. The second was that

teachers probably know very little about the structure of

conversation. It is important that conversation be understood,

not only because it is the most common use of spoken languagein our lives but also so that teachers recognise the important

distinctions between speaking and writing. Neither form of

language is better than the other: the two forms are different

and should each be seen in their own terms.


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in oral language. The interrelationships of speech and writing

can be seen in writers' acquisition of written language at the

"emergent" and "early" stages. Initially, children's oral language

greatly outstrips their ability in written language. As childrenmaster the mechanics of writing and develop a method of

approximating spelling, they are able to put down on paper

what they can already say. At the "early" stage of writing,

children's writing catches up with their spoken language, and

their writing has many of the personal, context-bound qualities

of their speech. Students' writing and speech diverge as they

become fluent writers. Their writing takes on its own distinctivestructures and patterns of organisation. Often, too, fluent

writers' speech incorpor-ates some features of their writing.

The popular belief that written lang-uage is speech plus the

conventions of print underestimates the demon-strable

differences between oral and written language. Although oral

work is undeniably of great value in students' learning in

general, it does not specifically help them acquire the

grammatical patterns they need in their writing. The models of

written language patterns come from children's read-ing, and

having read to them, good models of written language.

Natural language is often referred to as being important in texts

for young learner readers. "Natural language" does not mean

writing that reflects the oral language patterns of children:rather, it refers to the use of authentic "book" or written

language that uses natural rhythms and conveys real meaning,

in contrast to the artificial and meaningless structures that

were used in many early reading texts in the past. Compare:


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Mrs Delicious got a truck full of flour for the biggest cake in the

world. (natural language)

Joy Cowley: The Biggest Cake in the World

(Wellington: Department of Education, 1983)

Go up to my ox. Is she on an ox?

An early reading text

The oral language patterns that are natural to young children

are extremely difficult to read, and teachers should notoversimplify the links between written and spoken language. It

is essential that students' early reading provides good models

of written language. Although the topics and vocabulary reflect

children's experiences and interests, the structure of these

texts is those of written language and may be unfamiliar to

some students. If teachers have an explicit awareness of these

differences, they are better able to help students move fromthe familiarity of spoken language to the unknown forms and

functions of written language. The two forms then enrich each

other in a two-way process.

It is not only the nature of the spoken and written texts

themselves that differs but also the understanding of the

relationship between speakers and listeners on the one hand

and readers and writers on the other. In discussing the co-

operative principle of conversation, we outlined the

understandings that listeners and speakers have of

conversation. Young children's early writings show that they

understand the nature of conversation and that their


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expectations of readers are similar to those they have of

listeners.

We can help children bridge the gap between spoken and

written language by keeping in mind the new understandings

about texts and audiences that children are developing.

If we look again at Grice's Maxims from the point of view of

writers, we can see the shifts in understanding that students

need to make.

Maxim of quality

Speakers are expected to tell the truth. They should not say

things they know to be false or for which they lack adequate

evidence. However, the first written texts we introduce young

children to are most likely to be fiction, and we expect children

to write fiction. To be imaginative and creative in writing is

often highly valued, whereas in conversation it is frowned

upon.

Maxim of quantity

Speakers are expected to be brief, giving sufficient but not too

much information. In writing, however, young children need to

elaborate to make their meaning clear. One of the first things a

teacher encourages a beginning writer to do is to add

information to their text. This is done in much the same way as

in conversation, through questioning the writer and asking for

more detail.

Maxim of relation


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Speakers' responses are expected to be appropriate and

relevant. Much of students' spoken language is in response to

something someone else has said.

It is not difficult to see why students, especially beginner

writers, have difficulty generating text on their own. Thinking of

new topics to talk about, and new and exciting ways of

expressing ideas, are not things speakers in conversation need

to consider.

Maxim of manner

Speakers' responses are expected to be clear and avoid

ambiguities. Information in speech is usually given in a linear or

chronological order. Young children do not use complex

grammatical constructions in their talk, and therefore these are

not present in their writing. It takes time to learn that, in

writing, information can be organised in many different ways.

It would be extremely frustrating to hold a conversation withsomeone who used the strategies often used in writing to build

suspense. In spoken language, we encourage speakers to "get

to the point", whereas in written narrative, we encourage

young children to take time setting the scene.

Challenges for the Learner

Students need to be helped to "think through" what they want

to write.


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When speaking, children produce oral language in interactive

settings. However, when writing, they are learning to produce a

text without prompts and responses from the reader.

Students need to be helped to understand that writing is more

explicit than speech.

The absence of the reader poses a problem for children, who

often have difficulty imagining their audience. Their writing

often has the implicitness of speech with much left unsaid,

because learner writers assume that their readers bring a

shared understanding to the text.

Students need to be helped to become familiar with the

structures of written language.

When learning to write, children are faced with learning a new

syntactic, semantic, and textual unit - the sentence. Sentences

are a feature of writing rather than of speech. In speech,

clauses tend to follow each other in a linear way withoutnecessarily having a known end-point. The sentence, on the

other hand, needs to be capable of standing alone. It requires

planning, and a decision has to be made as to which is to be the

main clause and what will be its supporting structures.

Understanding and using the concept of a sentence requires

more than the ability to use capital letters and full stops.

Learning to write involves learning new ways of thinking. As

Gunther Kress has written in Learning to Write, it involves

"learning new forms of syntactical and textural structure, new

genre, and new ways of relating to unknown addressees".


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Differences Between Writing and Speech