HUE UNIVERSITY INFORMATICS AND OPEN INSTITUTE ASSIGNMENT ON LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TOPIC: The differences in form between speech and writing Lecturer: Nguyễn Văn Tuấn Student: Bùi Tuấn Anh - 7052900504 Class: Nghe An Nghệ An 07/08/2023 I INTRODUCTION Written discourse includes some medium to keep record of the message It can be edited to achieve grammar-free sentences In written discourse Audience is not known and text cannot be adjusted to individual reader No immediate response from the readers for clarification is needed: organization is crucial in it Paragraphs, layouts are important to enhance understanding in written form while speech discourse involves air Speed of speech can be adjusted in speech discourse Moreover, Speech discourse might be spontaneous which results in mistakes, repetition, sometimes less coherent sentences where even grunts, stutters or pauses might be meaningful The speaker usually knows the listener, or listeners, or he is at least aware of the fact that he is being listened to, which enables him to adjust the register II CONTENT The general differences between speech and written discourse are given below: Grammatical intricacy Lexical density Nominalization Explicitness Contextualization Spontaneity Repetition, hesitations, and redundancy Grammatical intricacy Written discourse is more structurally complex and more elaborate than speech discourse In other words, sentences in speech discourse are short and simple, whereas they are longer and more complex in written discourse Lexical density It refers to the ratio of content words (i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) to grammatical or function words (e.g., pronouns, prepositions, articles) within a clause View: Speech discourse is less lexically dense than written discourse Content words tend to be spread out over several clauses, whereas they seem to be tightly packed into individual clauses Nominalization It refers to presenting actions and events as nouns rather than as verbs Nghệ An 07/08/2023 View: a Written discourse has a high level of nominalization: i.e., more nouns than verbs b Written discourse tends to have longer noun groups than speech discourse Explicitness Writing is more explicit than speech But this is not absolute Explicitness in wring is relative A writer can state something explicitly or infer it depending on many variables Contextualization It refers to the extent knowledge of context is needed to interpret a text View: Writing is more de-contextualized than speech: Speech is more attached to context than writing because speech depends on a shared situation and background for interpretation Spontaneity View: a Speech discourse lacks organization and it is spontaneous, whereas written discourse is organized and less spontaneous b Speech discourse contains more uncompleted and reformulated sentences c Topics can be changed d Speakers may interrupt and overlap e Speech discourse is faster f Speech discourse is less planned Repetition, Hesitation, and Redundancy View: a Speech discourse contains more repetition, hesitations, and redundancy because it is produced in real time (i.e., on the spot) b Speech discourse has many pauses and fillers, such as ‘hhh’, ‘er’ ‘hmmm’ and ‘you know.’ The following list of dissimilarities between written and speech discourse applies primarily to English Nghệ An 07/08/2023 SPEECH DISCOURSE relatively limited vocabular innovative use of words new words and new senses of old words (especially slang) much hedging (speaking in general terms) abundance of referential inexplicitness (using "that" or "those" rather than more specifically identifying things) wide use of colloquialisms abundance of contractions WRITTEN DISCOURSE vocabulary maximally varied use of older words occasionally, words no longer used in speech language avoidance of hedging (writing is definitive) no inexplicit references (specific references to things) little, if any, use of colloquialisms no contractions, except in quoted conversation (NB: I disagree with this; authors often use contractions nowadays in both fiction and nonfiction ~ Tonya) sequences of coordinated clauses use of inter clausal relations and devices meant to expand intonation units (in written discourse, this refers to sentences) e.g., *nominalizations (noun phrases) prepositional phrases attributive adjectives participles short intonation units (typically, not longer intonation units (mean length longer than 8syllables); no utterance = 24words); planned sentences preplanning much ego involvement little ego involvement 10 little coherence (speakers often go 10 maximal coherence off-topic in mid-conversation) (sentences/paragraphs must logically relate to each other) Written texts offer a level of permanence and can be revisited and referenced over time They serve as a reliable source of information and a means of preserving knowledge This permanence not only contributes to the cumulative nature of human understanding but also provides a tangible link between the past and the present Throughout history, the written word has played a pivotal role in shaping education, culture, and civilization itself Ancient scrolls, manuscripts, and codices have carried the wisdom and insights of past generations to contemporary times Nghệ An 07/08/2023 Written communication has been instrumental in the transmission of religious texts, philosophical treatises, scientific discoveries, and artistic creations In academic contexts, the permanence of writing allows scholars to engage in a sustained dialogue across generations References to works from centuries ago can be easily integrated into contemporary research, enriching discussions with historical perspectives Moreover, the permanence of written records lends itself to citation and attribution, fostering a culture of intellectual integrity and acknowledging the contributions of those who came before III Conclusion In discourse analysis a distinction is often made between speech and written discourse Although there are typical differences between the two, there is also a considerable overlap and a frequent mixture, which has been accelerated by new technology Analysis of both modes encounters the problem of representing relevant context, but this problem is especially acute in the analysis and transcription of speech discourse At present, opinion on the differences between written and speech discourse is often speculative When the distinction between speech and written discourse refers simply toa difference of mode, in that speech discourse utilizes sound and written discourse is visual, it is both self-evident and unremarkable When, more interestingly, an attempt is made to distinguish linguistic or discourse features peculiar to one mode or the other, the distinction becomes more complex Nghệ An 07/08/2023 REFERENCES Hayakawa, S I., & Hayakawa, A R (1990) Language in Thought and Action Harvest Books Chomsky, N (2006) Language and Mind Cambridge University Press Cameron, D (1995) Verbal Hygiene Routledge Goshgarian, G (2014) Exploring Language Routledge Johns, A M (1997) Speaking and Writing: Strategies of Entering Discourse Communities Prentice Hall Johnstone, B (2008) Discourse Analysis Wiley-Blackwell Bauer, L., & Trudgill, P (Eds.) 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