Features of Spoken Language in Contrast to Written Language/Interaction Skills - Report Example

What Are Distinguishing Features Of Spoken Language As Compared To Written Text? How Can a Teacher Help Learners’ To Develop Their Interaction Skills? (2,200 Words Excl. Refs) Introduction to Language Use Features Most of the features of a language can only be derived and understood if language itself is conceived as a system of meaningful signs (Halliday, 1989). The signs in forms icons, indices and symbols are used to decode meaning by a sender (speaker or writer) and again to decode meaning by the receiver (listener or reader) (Halliday, 1989). Attaining that process of language use requires that the user exploit some of the features within that language consciously (Halliday, 1989). This brief essay seeks to establish those features exclusive in the spoken language and which do not occur in contexts of the written language. Before looking at the features themselves however, the essay gives a brief comparison of spoken language and written language from a linguistic point of view so as to contextualize the features identified thereafter. At the end of the essay, a brief discussion of how teachers can help their students (language learners) to develop their interaction skills is offered. Comparing Spoken and Written Language The reference ‘spoken language’ denotes the intelligible language product produced by a set of human articulatory organs such as the lungs, mouth and the vocal cords to express meanings (Halliday, 1989). Linguists believe that the written language is actually developed from the spoken language, since, even before orthographical systems were developed for most world languages, their users were still able to speak intelligibly. As Stubbs say, (1980 : 73) “Spoken language come first in the history of the human race. The first records we have are of a cuneiform script Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appear also to date from about 3000 BC. We know nothing about the origins of language, but there was speech long before writing, presumably as far back as the origins of the human race, say, a million years ago”. Spoken language is the first form of language use a child learns. Written language is only learned when the child reaches the age of literacy and without literacy, the written language cannot be learnt or used. Stabbs (1980 75) concurs with this by saying, “Even in language communities with a tradition of literacy almost all children learn to talk and only later, if at , do they learn to read and write”. Features of Spoken Language in Contrast to Written Language In developing his famous speaking research methodology, Bygate (See Bygate, 1998; and Bygate, 1986, pp. 76 – 80), used the known features of speech language to suggest ways in which teachers can facilitate oral classroom activities especially in L2 language learning settings. His methodology uses the features of speech such as short sentences, numerous mistakes, repetitiveness and need for clarification, reciprocity requirement etc, to design pedagogic tasks for interaction teaching L2 oral proficiency development, teacher talk dimensions and class-based interaction exercises. These are the features explored by this essay hereunder, using Bygate’s theorem as the basis of analysis. a) Temporal and Reinforced Spoken language has a temporally duration. The fact that it is done once and left at that without any opportunity for the listener to refer again to what has been said makes it very different from the written language which is permanently recorded for later reference. This aspect of being very temporary means the speaker has to ensure the listeners have heard what has been said always. In the event that the speaker realizes that what he or she has just said was not well received, or just to be sure it was heard, spoken language is always reinforced and repetitive (Brown and Yule 1983). Instead of saying something once and going to the next, a speaker usually repeats the important part of his or her discourse severally. i.e. “I was saying, I was saying that we should go home.” Or “The game was just so, so, so, great”. The repetitions are used to reinforce the message (Brown, and Yule, 1983). Such repetitions are usually incorrect and unacceptable in the written language (Rice and Burns 1986). b) Speed of Production and Errors Spoken language can be produced faster than written language. It is almost impossible to write down natural speech even with shorthand without omitting large portions of the speech. The speed of production varies across individuals but as Halliday (1989, p. 31) says, speech is almost always faster than writing. Consequently, the speed of production makes spoken language the most erroneous language compared to sign and written language. Such errors are in phonology and grammar in most times (Brown and Yule 1983). On the other hand, written language production rate is lower since writers usually are very deliberate and reflective in the process avoiding and even correcting mistakes before presenting the final written text to its readers (Cornbleet, 2001). c) Accompanied by Gestures Spoken language has the benefit of being accompanied by visual body gestures in making meaning. Gestures include facial expressions, hand movements, body movements, head movements etc (Brown and Yule 1983). In the written language, users cannot make gestures and their messages are interpreted from the text itself (Cornbleet 2001). Gestures are used only in speaking to elaborate further what is spoken or as an accompaniment. Speech cannot be separated from hand and body movements or even from facial gestures. d) Incomplete Utterances The fact that speech is accompanied by gestures means that speakers can leave out some information from what is actually spoken so that the same is communicated via gestures. When indicating an approaching person for instance, a speaker can omit the subject and simply say, “He is coming.” A similar sentence will be meaningless if written without a definite subject. Linguists have written much about the dependence of speech on gestures to make meanings complete. That is why when speech is removed from the context and robbed of its gestures, it becomes totally incomprehensible. A sentence like, I don’t think you are serious” can be spoken as a joke, a reprehension, a compliment or even as an introduction to further speech. The meaning denoted from the sentence will mostly depend on the gestures used to accompany it. But if it is written down, its meaning is one of reprehension and nothing more. e) Prosodic Features Prosody refers to the features of spoken language exclusively, features derived from the voice produced in articulation of particular texts. They begin with the loudness, pitch, intonation and stress applications on the discourse. For loudness, it largely varies with the distance the addressee is when producing the speech. Intonation is used by some languages for lexical purposes (to differentiate words with different meanings but the same form). Intonation sometimes is used for syntactic purposes such as indication of whether an utterance is a sentence, a statement or an exclamative. The difference of the word ‘transport’ as a verb and as a noun in English is communicated in speech by the application of stress in either the first or second syllable. Written texts have no prosodic features at all and they can only be given such prosodic features as elaborated above when they are read aloud and thus transformed into speech. But when lying on paper, written texts are void of prosody (Harrison 1983). f) Rhythm Part of prosodic features but different in that it usually used for synthetic and none-functional purposes, rhythm is also part of spoken language features (Cornbleet 2001). It is used not to make meanings distinct as such, but to make speech intelligible, to express the mood of speech and to make speech interesting (Cornbleet 2001). Rhythm is dependent on stress and intonation as well as the pitch range. When these three prosodic features are combined and determined precisely, they give a spoken text its rhythm in how high or low the speech is; the speed of syllable articulation, the pitch of particular syllables etc. Written text cannot have a rhythm unless it is read out loud, again converting it from the written form to a speech (Cornbleet 2001). g) Pausing and Phrasing In written discourse, pauses and phases are marked by use of comas, full stops and other punctuation marks (Stubbs 1980). But in speech, pauses are brief moments of silence before speech is continued. In some instances, pauses and phrasing can be used to emphasize something, to make speech more intelligible or to deliver particular meanings across about the utterance coming after or before the pause. The consensus by most linguists is that only speech can employ pauses and phrases and that written language is incomplete and although it indicates the pauses and phrases, it does not deliver them since they are only deliverable in speech (Harrison 1983). g) Complexity Spoken language is by far less complex when compared to written language especially in grammar. The syntax of spoken language is mostly formed with simple structures of Subject-Verb-Object (Cornbleet 2001). Rarely does speech use subordinate clauses. Written language is full of primary and secondary subordination using such words as that, to, who etc. Written language delights in having numerous complement clauses, prepositional phrases, nominative clauses etc all combined into singular highly complicated structures (Stubbs 1980). To add to the complexity, written language uses highly complex phrases with numerous attributive adjectives and determining qualifiers (McCarthy 1994). On the other hand, spoken language is marked by simple structures in most time unqualified, undefined and uncomplicated. h) Limited Diction and Voice Spoken language employs shorter, common and less complex words. In writing, authors try top get the best of their lexical mastery, trying hard to use as many words in their lexicon as can make their meanings distinct and comprehensive (McCarthy 1994). A speaker has very little time to summon such words from memory. Complex words are left out of spoken discourse and replaced by simple everyday use words. Linguists have called this feature the sparsity of spoken language versus the density of the written language (Harrison, 1983). Speech usually carries more grammatical words (functional) than lexical words. The opposite transpires in the context of written language (Stubbs 1980). Bygate identifies some other speech features such as predominant active verbs, use of parataxis such as 'and', numerous sentences ellipses, expectation of feedback, reliance on fixed phrases and employing fillers like 'you know' to facilitate a speaker time to recall (Bygate, 1986, pp. 76 – 80). Teaching Learners How To Develop Their Interaction Skills Interactions are usually established and maintained by conversation (spoken language). Speech is the primary medium through which individuals bond, interact and retain relationships (Klippel 1984). The above features of spoken language can help teachers introduce their students into the basics of speech such that they learn how to interact well with other people (Klippel 1984). Bygate Martin is perhaps the simplest and most applicable theorist todate when it comes to teaching foreign language speaking. In his early research Bygate (1986, pp. 76 – 80) elaborated on the distinction between skill and knowledge in speaking, where knowledge is knowing how to speak and skill is the ability to speak. A Bygate (1987) stressed on the need for practice since acquiring speaking skill is an overly complicated process requiring a combination of motor perceptive skills such as 'perception, recall and articulation of sounds and structures in their correct order (Bygate, 1987, pp. 5). In later studies, Bygate (1998) also reiterates on students need for interactional skills so that they can develop ‘decision making ability in L2 communication, like what to speak, how to speak it, how to phrase intentions, how to address different audiences in different settings etc.’ (Also see Bygate, 1987,pp. 6). There are three things necessary in teaching learners how to develop their interaction skills. The first, the speakers should practice how to identify the context in which they are when speaking (Klippel 1984). Speaking out of context is one of the greatest limitations in interactions (Klippel 1984). Teachers can help the learners to identify as many contexts as possible, and to use appropriate language to each context. Contexts are what spell out the use of manners in speech, application of courtesy and etiquette in speech etc (Klippel 1984). Teachers then proceed to teach learners how to employ gestures as an accompaniment to speech (Hadfield 2004). There is no one who can separate gestures from speech and the best thing a speaker can do is to learn how to use the gestures to improve speech (Lipman 2002). Body posture, use of hands and facial expressions, movements during speech etc are all part of speech dynamics and are useful tools to interaction. The third element of interaction that teachers can help learners with in developing their interaction skills is the proper employment of prosodic features. Knowing to raise or lower the voice, i.e. to be rhythmical, is part of being a good speaker (Lipman 2002). There are also two concepts important to interactions that the students should learn. The first is called accommodation, referring to the practice of speakers accommodating each other in speech where each phrases his message and voice in such a way that the other will understand and appreciate (Halliday 1989). When speaking to a child, an adult usually accommodates the child and brings down the level of language to fit the child’s proficiency level (Hadfield 2004). The second concept is that of role turns where the best interaction accrues when all interacting parties take turns to speak and to listen to others without dominating the interaction unfairly (Klippel 1984). Speech in interactions is a sharing process, an exchange in which all parties must have a role in turns (Hadfield 2004). References Brown, G. & Yule, G. 1983, Teaching the Spoken Language: an approach based on the analysis of conversational English. UK, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bygate, M. 1998, Theoretical perspectives in speaking. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bygate, M. 1986, Speaking, Oxford, Oxford university Press, pp. 76 – 80. Cornbleet, S. 2001, The language of speech and writing. New York: Routledge. Hadfield, C. 2004, Writing games: a collection of writing games and creative activities for low intermediate to advanced students of English. Nairobi: Longman publishers. Halliday, M 1989, Language, Context, and Text: Aspects of language in a ... Semantics: A Course Book. UK, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harrison B. 1983, Learning through writing: stages of growth in English Nelson. UK, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kasper, G. & Kellerman, E. 1997, Communication strategies: psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives. Nairobi: Longman publishers Klippel,F. 1984 Keep Talking: communicative fluency activities for language teaching. CUP Lipman, D. 2002, Storytelling Games, Phoenix: Oryx Press. McCarthy, M. 1994, Language as Discourse: Perspectives for Language Teaching. Nairobi: Longman publishers. Rice, M. & J. Burns 1986, Thinking/writing: an introduction to the writing process for students of English as a second language. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall. Stubbs, M. 1980, Language and Literacy: the sociolinguistics of reading and writing. New York, NY: Routledge & Keegan Paul. Read More