INSTITUTE OF OPEN EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - HUE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LANGUAGE AND CULTURE TOPIC: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPEECH AND WRITING Instructor Student Class Student’s ID : NGUYỄN VĂN TUẤN, M.A : CAO THỊ HOÀNG YẾN : NGHỆ AN : 7052900521 Nghe An, August, 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION II CONTENT Features of spoken English: 1.1.It is informal 1.2 Spoken English has more simplicity .4 1.3 English, when spoken, has rhythm 1.4 Use of slang and colloquialism .5 1.5 Narrative form Features of Written English: .5 2.1 It Has More Permanence 2.2 Written English Has More Explicitness 2.3 It Is More Dense 2.4 Written English Is More Detached 2.5 It Is More Organised 2.6 The slowness of production, speed of reception 2.7 It Uses Standard language Differences between speech and writing 3.1 Pronunciation: .6 3.2 Knowledge of Grammar: .7 3.3 Proficiency in speaking: .7 3.4 Accentuate on specific words while speaking: .8 3.5 American Accent or British Accent: .8 III: CONCLUSION REFERENCES I INTRODUCTION Writing and talking are two skills under human communication Writing is a skill under written communication while talking is under speech or oral communication Both skills aid in expressing different types of messages from one person to another Both skills also utilize language as a channel The method of expressing oneself in writing is by using the alphabet and forming words on a piece of paper or any type of material On the other hand, talking makes use of the human mouth and voice to form words This results in making sounds that are received by the other party’s ears Talking is easier, quicker, and more convenient It also has a longer history Humans have been talking in some form ever since the prehistoric age It was the first form of human communication With this skill, feedback can be readily made because there is an immediate audience Most of the time, talking is repetitive, informal, and in simple sentences Talking is a universal skill It is spontaneous In using the voice, expressions are made in dialects and accents Apart from the voice, body language is also evident in talking A way to discontinue talking is having pauses and voice intonation Meanwhile, writing is more difficult and complex in comparison Writing is a product of reading and speaking skills Writing requires knowledge of the alphabet and involves coherence, detail, and clarity in expression It also requires a form of organization, standard, and polish With writing, there is always a struggle for what to say and how to say it properly The struggle affects the delayed feedback or response time Spoken English and Written English are the two forms of the English Language that differ from each other in many ways When it comes to ‘Spoken English’ there are different forms in which the language is spoken; the pronunciation of the British is different from that of the Americans As English is the mother tongue of the ‘British’ an opinion prevails that ‘British English’ is the actual form of ‘English’ language be it spoken or be it written, though in real life we are acquainted with two distinctly different form of both ‘Spoken’ and ‘Written’ English Almost all or to be precise, a major number of countries in the world are associated with America for different reasons As a matter of fact, the ‘American English’ has become a trend and ‘British English’ has taken a back seat So our discussion will be based on taking ‘American English’ as a benchmark for both the ‘American Way of Spoken and Written English.’ There are quite a few noticeable differences are there We will discuss the major and most distinct ones II CONTENT Features of spoken English: 1.1.It is informal Writing, whether, in newspapers, books or magazines can be far more structured and complex than conversational English This is because writing in a formal way has to include punctuation and proper sentence and paragraph structure Writing in an instant messaging format can be more like spoken English Speaking is more general and requires a knowledge of intonation, stress, timing, and pitch 1.2 Spoken English has more simplicity English was spoken between or more people and covers general English perhaps in a more general and simpler form than written English Written English needs to be formal when used for education and business 1.3 English, when spoken, has rhythm In real English, there is more rhythm, the difference in speed of speaking together with pauses and gestures in body language and is based on mental thought and interaction with others In written English, there is more of a defined content 1.4 Use of slang and colloquialism There is certain vocabulary that is only used in spoken English for example slangs like “facetime” and “bae” are rarely used in written English Shortened forms like saying 2018 either as twenty eighteen or two thousand and eighteen 1.5 Narrative form Spoken English is face to face and is more in narrative form, event-based, actionbased and story-based Written English can be expository based, idea-based, explaining ideas and describing future and past Features of Written English: Good and clear pronunciation is required for speaking whereas a good knowledge of grammar is required for written English Here are some basic characteristics of written English: 2.1 It Has More Permanence Written discourse is fixed and stable so the reading can be done at whatever time, speed and level of thoroughness the individual reader wishes Spoken text, in contrast, is fleeting and moves on in real-time The listener – though he or she may occasionally interrupt to request clarification – just in general follow what is said at the speed set by the speaker 2.2 Written English Has More Explicitness The written text is explicit; it has to make clear the context and all references In a speech, the real-time situation and knowledge shared between speaker and listener mean that some information can be assumed and need not be made explicit 2.3 It Is More Dense The content is presented much more densely in writing In the speech, the information is “diluted” and conveyed through many more words: there are a lot of repetitions, glosses, “fillers”, producing a text that is noticeably longer and with more redundant passages 2.4 Written English Is More Detached The writing of a text is detached in time and space from its reading; the writer normally works alone, and may not be acquainted with his or her readers Speaking usually takes place in immediate interaction with known listeners, with the availability of immediate feedback 2.5 It Is More Organised A written text is usually organised and carefully formulated since its composer has time and opportunity to edit it before making it available for reading A speaker is improvising as he or she speaks: ongoing alterations, in the shape of glosses, selfcorrections and so on produce an apparently disorganized ‘stream-of-consciousness’ kind of discourse Thus a written text conforms more to conventional rules of grammar, and its vocabulary is more precise and formal 2.6 The slowness of production, speed of reception Writing is much slower than speaking On the other hand, we can usually read a piece of text and understand it much faster than we can take in the same text if we listen while someone reads it aloud to us 2.7 It Uses Standard language Writing normally uses a generally acceptable standard variety of the language, whereas speech may sometimes be in a regional or other limited-context dialects In some languages (Chinese, for example), the various spoken dialects may even be mutually incomprehensible, while the written language is universally understood Differences between speech and writing 3.1 Pronunciation: This comes first because it is often observed with surprise that a person with a profound knowledge of the ‘English Language’ does not even know how to pronounce the word he is using in his writing Many a person pronounce the word ‘often’ as ‘of ten’ may it sound stylish, the actual pronunciation is of(t)en While speaking in English people have often heard to utter ‘Pro noun ciation’ but the real one is ‘Pro nun ciation’ These are mistakes committed due to less exposure to persons with ‘Good English Communication Skill’ Faulty pronunciation gets noticed only when a person talks to a ‘Native English Speaker’ or a person with good command over ‘English Communication Skill’ So the difference is visible However good a person may be in written English, he may not be a good communicator with right pronunciation, and that matters a lot 3.2 Knowledge of Grammar: Here the case is a bit too critical If you are not good in ‘Applied English Grammar,’ you neither can be a good writer nor be a good speaker Well, then what’s the difference? If you are not good enough in English Grammar, you have a shallow knowledge but you are habituated in speaking English, you can manage to talk to ordinary persons, (notice it I have written manage to talk) your friends or relative in casual or informal English Don’t get shocked with the statement; I am talking about ‘Informal Way’ of speaking Why I have said ‘you can manage’ to talk? Because in the day to day conversations people often (not of ten) speak in a casual way, using incomplete sentences, avoiding usage of punctuations, indirect narrations and even avoid using a note of interrogation e.g “so you’re really going to home” instead of asking “So, are you really going to home?” People also speak in a casual way ignoring proper usage of Tenses Here comes the difference, when one needs to write, say an application letter or an essay in college or a business letter his ‘Knowledge on English Grammar’ is put to test Hardly one gets a chance to write something in casual English 3.3 Proficiency in speaking: As we have discussed that ‘You can manage to talk’ without proper depth of English language and English Grammar, contrary to that you cannot ‘manage to talk’ when it comes to serious conversation with designated person or ‘delivering a speech’ or ‘participating in a debate’, here depth of your English knowledge needs to be sharper than even a writer You get no chance to think and compose, no chance of speaking then rectifying (damaging for your image), no usage of incomplete sentences You have to have the sharp skill of ‘English Communication’ so as to be an eloquent speaker with a profound depth of both English language and English grammar Your vocabulary has to be strong, your knowledge of ‘English Idioms and Phrases’ has to be well enough for application where it suits This is also a difference between spoken and written English, for being an ‘Eloquent Speaker’ your depth of knowledge has to sharper and stronger 3.4 Accentuate on specific words while speaking: Accentuating matters a lot while speaking or delivering a speech as it provides clarity on your speech, by putting stress on words you make your point clear to the listener or the audience Needless to be mentioned accentuating is not needed at all while you are writing in English Its’ the reader’s job to see through the words and get the meaning accurately, your duty is to write properly and if needed you can underline or make a word or words written in bold, indicating that you are emphasizing on that or them While speaking your audience will not be able to get a clear message unless you accentuate or put stress on required words So it makes another big difference 3.5 American Accent or British Accent: When you are writing in English some spellings and styles differ from American to British English, no matter which style you are following you have to chose either one of the two writing styles and stick to it with a minor swaying, its’ easy to adapt But while you are delivering a speech before a respectable audience i.e in a seminar or conference you have to follow rigidly one style of accent If you are an American/habituated in speaking in American English, or if you are a British/habituated in speaking in British English stick to it, no swaying from one to another Being habituated in British English if you try to please the audience by speaking in American accent you will become a laughingstock and vice versa The difference here between ‘Spoken’ and ‘Written’ English is visibly distinct You can change your writing style according to the need of the situation, but you have no chance to adjust your speaking style accordingly, you have to be the real ‘You’ whoever be the audience Might be dozens of other examples can be presented, but the distinct differences are discussed here keeping with a view to making people aware that, don’t take it to be granted that if you are a good writer you are a good speaker as well and the other way around Writing good English and Speaking great English are two different arts to be acquired by means of practice Most importantly, emphasis and tone of voice both are important in conversational English, while impeccable knowledge of English grammar is a must for both the forms While expressing different expressions like fear, sorrow, disappointment your emphasize on words and tone of your voice are more important than your facial expressions For being a good communicator or a good writer your skill has to be adequate and you need to know the art spoken English with all its’ difference from written form III: CONCLUSION Spoken English and Written English are the two forms of the English Language that differ from each other in many ways For being a good communicator or a good writer your skill has to be adequate and you need to know the art spoken English with all its’ difference from the written form REFERENCES Indulekha Prabha: Spoken English vs Written English December 5, 2019 Print me , Differences between ‘Spoken English’ and ‘Written English.October 24, 2021, Coulmas, Florian The writings systems of the world Oxford: Blackwell.1989 Daniels, Peter T., and William Bright (eds.) The world's writing systems New York: Oxford University Press.1996 Sampson, Geoffrey Writing systems Stanford: Stanford University Press.1985 Hasa, Difference Between Spoken and Written Language, July 2016 Roy C O'Donnell; Syntactic Differences between Speech and Writing American Speech.1974 Biber, D (1986) Spoken and written textual dimensions in English: Resolving the contradictory findings Los Angeles: University of Southern California Townend, J & Walker, J (2006) Structure of language: Spoken and written English London: Whurr Publishers