Language is an extremely important device of human communication used in the expression of feelings and emotions, ideas and desires. It gives order and meaning to society. That's why, a language-less society of human beings would be a meaningless society devoid of meaningful existence-a society of disorder, anarchy, hopelessness and helplessness. With the possession and use of language man becomes a social being, capable of reasoning and socializing, among other things. Because of its importance, therefore, the study of language becomes worthwhile.
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a "world language", the lingua franca of the modern era. While English is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world. Some linguists believe that it is no longer the exclusive cultural property of "native English speakers", but is rather a language that is absorbing aspects of cultures all over the world.
There are two mediums of communication in English like any other language: (1) Spoken and (2) Written. These are in fact very different communication systems which are used to convey different forms of a single language. While the spoken mode is expressed in sounds the written medium is coded in symbols/words and each of the two different codings bring with it significant features. However, many people imagine spoken and written English are closely related notions. However, close examination reveals that there are as many differences as there are connections. This research paper aims to compare and contrast a spoken and a written text (verbal and written versions of commentary on a cricket match) in order to draw a distinction between the two mediums and reach an acceptable conclusion.
Speaking is the voicing out of some audible sounds. When we speak, we are usually expressing or addressing ourselves to other people and our speech has to be sensible and easily understood by the hearers. Each speaker has to be able to adapt his speech to the situation because when we speak, we do so either in response to or to communicate with another person.
Writing is very important to the human race and the art of writing is not just putting pen to paper. It consists of having something to say that is worth saying and knowing how best to convey it in writing. To be able to write well, one must have acquired the skills of listening and speaking in the target language. Being able to listen and understand and speak English bears on what one is writing. One must also have acquired a wide range of English vocabulary to be able to convey meaningful ideas through writing.
That's why; learning to speak comes before learning to write. We learn to speak almost automatically and naturally but have to be taught how to write. In other words, speaking is the "real" language and writing is only a representation of speaking. Since English is widespread across the globe, the ability to read and to write in the language is like placing oneself in the global web of language.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Variations in a language and its structure relate to different modes of communication such as speech and writing. The two processes, speaking and writing, are not identical, for learning to write is not just a "natural" extension of one's speaking ability in a language. Many linguists and discourse analysts have been trying to separate speech from writing by highlighting the possible differences between the two. This section aims to present a review of the relevant literature.
Weathersby (2008) states that one of the most essential differences between written and spoken English, is the degree of formality. A written note might state, "Would you like to go out to lunch?" While the person, who would write that note, might alternatively say, "You wanna go out for lunch?" Thus, written expression is mostly more formal than the spoken one.
Hatch (1992) describes the variation in the spoken and written mediums in terms of three dichotomies.
Planned versus unplanned dichotomy
Contextualized versus decontextualized dichotomy
Basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) versus Cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) dichotomy
To explain planned versus unplanned dichotomy, Hatch (1992) states that a revised and polished expression is planned and a spontaneous language performance, whether it's spoken or written, is unplanned. With the time and opportunity to organize our performance, we can transform a spontaneous or unplanned discourse into a planned one.
Hatch (1992) agrees that oral language is highly contextualized, for both the speaker and listener are situated in a "shared context". Whereas, written is said to be an academic language in which the writer and the reader do not share the context. While producing the text, writer doesn't have any idea who is going to be the reader and for what reason he is going to read the text. This gap between the status of speaker-listener and reader-writer generates the contextualized versus decontextualized dichotomy.
BICS versus CALP dichotomy parallels the notion of informal versus formal language. Basic interpersonal communication skills include listening and speaking in which the speakers use simple words and paralinguistic features to facilitate the listeners' instant comprehension. However, cognitive academic language proficiency involves reading and writing skills which grow upon formal vocabulary and a properly structured expression.
Nunan (1993) presents three aspects of differentiation while drawing a distinction between the written and spoken language.
Manner of Production
Contextual features
Linguistic features
Manner of Production:
Nunan (1993) states that the manner of production of speech is fast and speedy which makes the speakers' talk less forethought and spontaneous. Whereas, writing is a slower activity in which the writers have time to organize their ideas and produce a "more complex, coherent and integrated whole".
Moreover, Nunan (1993) believes that written and spoken texts are different in terms of durability and permanence. Spoken text is that of a transient nature, unless it is recorded, while written discourse is relatively permanent and durable. When a thing is written down, the resulting document serves as a proof that those words were expressed and this is how it can exist for years or even centuries. However, spoken words live for the moment.
Contextual features:
There is a gap between speech and writing in terms of contextual features also. Nunan (1993) says that spoken communication shows an "on-line monitoring" where the interlocutors share the same context. They are physically present at the same place and normally have a considerable amount of background knowledge about each other and about the topic of conversation. However, written texts are decontextualized as they cannot depend on the reader's contributions or any other contextual clues. The situation has to be inferred from the text and the words need to convey all shades of meaning in order to ensure the reader's comprehension. That's why, writing is considered to be processed "off-line".
"A speaker speaks to a listener who is right there, nodding or frowning, interrupting or questioning. For the writer, the reader's response is either delayed or non-existent. The writer has only that one chance to convey information and be interesting and accurate enough to hold the reader's attention." (Chafe 1982)
Linguistic features:
To highlight the differences in terms of linguistic features Nunan (1993) states that written language contains a properly structured syntax with meaningful sentences and embedded clauses. On the contrary, speech is loaded with incomplete expressions and fragmented sentences. Secondly, he says that the writers use logical conjunctions to connect their thoughts (such as: then, when, however, moreover etc). Whereas, speakers replace these conjunctions with gap-fillers such as 'er', 'emm', 'hmm' etc. Similarly, the use of punctuations in writing is substituted by hesitation and pauses in speech.
While dealing with linguistic differences, Nunan (1993) also writes that written language is grammatically more complex than speech. Written text contains more information packed in it with the use of well-organized grammar. However, speech occurs in several clauses where less information is being conveyed in a longer chain of sentences.
Nunan (1993) introduces the term "lexical density" with reference to linguistic features of spoken and written discourse. He says that spoken and written languages also differ in the ratio of content words to grammatical or function words. Content words include nouns, adjectives and verbs while grammatical words include such things as prepositions, pronouns and articles. The number of content words per clause is referred to as "lexical density". Thus, written language is lexically denser than oral language.
In spite of all these differences there lie certain contradictions as well. It is generally observed that a "one-way" speech (monologue) has more in common with writing than a "two-way" talk (dialogue). Thus, it reveals that the degree of reciprocity and formality within the different forms of the same medium of language make some of the absolute differences blurred and unreliable.
ANALYSIS OF THE TEXTS
This section aims at presenting a comparative analysis of two samples of speech: one spoken and one written. Both the texts are structured around the same topic. The spoken text has been recorded from a live cricket commentary of the match held on May 11, 2009 between Deccan Chargers and Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League (IPL). The duration of the extracted commentary is one minute. Similarly, the written text is a commentary-based online article about the same cricket match entitled "IPL: Deccan Chargers Thrash Rajasthan Royals".
The following discussion states some of the major differences between spoken and written language with reference to the chosen texts.
1- Formality:
One of the most prominent differences between speech and writing is the degree of formality. This is due to the difference in use of language between the two. In writing we often consider more carefully the words we use. We have time to plan and revise what we have to say to fit in with the meanings we want to convey and the person or people we are addressing. In speech we often do not consider our words so carefully. However, we are still making choices about how to express ourselves so quickly that we rarely have time to reflect on it.
In the chosen texts, the element of formality differs due to the use of formal noun phrases and informal phrasal verbs. The written article is rich in formal language as the writer has used long noun phrases while commenting on the players' performance. Such as "reigning champions", "punchy innings", "farcical run out", "a superb early spell" and "the death to complete figures". One the contrary, the oral commentary sounds highly informal because of the casual phrasal verbs. Such as "likes it out", "here he goes" and "took off the moment" etc. Moreover, written language avoids repetition and pauses which make the spoken texts informal. For example, in spoken commentary the speaker is constantly repeating the expressions of "Down the track" and "once again".
2- Durability:
Writing is more durable than speech, for it provides a record of events and information. Speech is gone immediately after we have stopped speaking/listening, it is stored in short-term memory for a very short time (a few seconds), which is why we can tolerate false starts, pauses and gaps, for we forget them quickly. Only a very small portion of an instance of spoken interaction is stored into long-term memory. Thus, this is the written medium that provides a permanent source of documentation.
Among the two samples of commentary, written article is more reliable for it can be reviewed and accessed on the internet anytime even after quite a long period. It is a permanent and durable record of the IPL match held on May 11, 2009. Each line states factual information regarding the players' standing in the match which is relatively much more authentic in a written form. However, the oral commentary lives for a transitory period in the short-term memory of the audience/ listeners. It is full of over-lapping statements, pauses, confusions and abrupt emotions which make it a little less authentic than the written note.
3- Planned Vs. Unplanned Dichotomy-Spontaneity:
According to Hatch's (1992) concept of planned vs. unplanned dichotomy, a polished and well structured expression is planned, whereas a spontaneous language performance is unplanned. Most of the times speech is less planned than writing and so is the case with the chosen commentaries. The written version is well organized and densely packed with information, for the writer had time to properly structure his thoughts and express the feeling in better words. He had an opportunity to undergo the process of revising and editing in order to produce a planned organization of speech. The article consists of eleven lines and each line works as a paragraph in itself because it conveys more information in less words.
However, the oral commentary presents an unplanned and spontaneous language performance. The commentator has used abundant clauses and repeated expressions to comment on the movements and gestures of the players. Speech carries less information in more sentences. Even the sentences are not well structured for being unplanned. The spontaneity of the commentary rises with the intonation and stress pattern in expression.
4- Expression-Spoken Vs. Written:
Spoken and written language also differs in terms of expression. Speakers use their voices (pitch, stress and rhythm) and bodies (gestures and facial expressions) to help convey their ideas. Whereas, writers have to rely upon the words on the page to get their meaning across. Speakers' pauses and intonation are replaced by punctuations in writing. In short, speakers pronounce and writers spell.
In order to convey the meaning, feelings, emotions and excitement all through words, the writer has made a use of action words and parenthetical commas in the selected article. Such as "Smith, keeping home favourite Herschelle Gibbs out of the side as the Chargers recalled Chaminda Vaas, justified his selection by hitting four sixes", "The Royals, a shadow of themselves in 2008, never threatened the target", "Siddharth Trivedi (1) was then bowled by RP Singh and Munaf Patel was run out in the final over, summing up their night" and "Vaas, playing his first game of the tournament, showed he has lost none of his control". On the other hand, in oral commentary the speaker expresses the feel of the match through a sensational expression supported with paralinguistic features, pitch of voice, stress and intonation which cannot be transcribed on the paper yet makes the speech a bit more impressive than writing.
5- Off-line Vs. On-line Mediums-Contextualization:
Spoken language is an on-line process because it is produced and received almost instantaneously and the recipients can follow its production from the beginning to the end. While with written language more time is needed to produce a message as it needs to be polished but the receiver doesn't know how long it took for the message to be written, for it's an off-line medium. In other words, speech is usually more contextualized than writing.
The commentary-based online article is a written mode of expression. That's why, the writer has no idea where the reader is or what is motivating him to look at this unit. He doesn't know if the reader is alone, inside, outside, whether it is morning, afternoon or evening. To make his meanings clear, he types words into a computer that fit together in series of phrases and clauses with boundaries marked by full stops and initial capital letters and tries to make what he writes as clear as possible because the reader doesn't have a chance to ask him for clarification.
However, in the oral commentary, the commentator constantly keeps on gauging the response of the audience. He automatically monitors their excitement through roars, clapping and slogans. The audience's reaction continuously influences the commentator's behavior. He must produce his utterances quickly and readily, and the listeners also catch them as rapidly as possible, under the pressure of the emotive and social atmosphere of the stadium.
6- Form and Structure:
As far as the difference in form and structure of the two texts is concerned, written article is rich in syntax with complete sentences and joined clauses. For example, "Vaas, playing his first game of the tournament, showed he has lost none of his control, delivering a superb early spell and returning at the death to complete figures of two for 18 from four overs, leaving Jadeja unbeaten on 19." Whereas, the spoken commentary is less structured as it contains a set of fragmented clauses and incomplete sentences like "Once again lot of energy lot of commitment.", "Down the track hit…he hit hard…tremendous shot…and there's another one."
Secondly, the written piece exhibits a use of metalingual markers and logical connectors to mark the relationships between clauses and sentences. For instance, "Moreover, Andrew Symonds chipped in with 30 in 19 balls after Tirumalasett Suman hit 29 in 19 deliveries at the very top of the order." and "Thus, the result means the Chargers replace the Royals in third place as the Royals drop to fourth." On the contrary, in speech such markers are replaced by gap-fillers such as er, hmm, emm. For example, "So young and so confident…er…great body language" and "It was a brilliant feel anyway…emm..and…er…down the track once again that took off the moment."
Moreover, written language is grammatically and lexically more complex than spoken, for its being packed with information. The writers use a complex vocabulary and grammatical techniques of précising the information in order to convey more meaning in fewer words. For example, the quoted statement of the article is both lexically and grammatically rich in itself: "Rohit Sharma then picked up two wickets in two balls to dismiss Morne Morkel (8) and Shane Warne (0), who had torn a hamstring in the field, the off-spinner finishing with three for 12 having also clean bowled Abhishek Raut for one." However, in oral commentary several clauses are chained together in an additive fashion which ranks it low in complexity. Such as "Once again hitting it hard Shane Warne taking a risk here…he's a risk-taker that's why he's such an exciting skipper Shane Warne."
Lexical density (the ratio between the words that carry message and words that carry no semantic meaning) is usually much higher in writing than in speech. That's why, among the chosen texts, written article is lexically denser than the oral commentary. The ratio of content words such as "hammered", "champions", "clean bowled" (nouns, verbs and adjectives) is higher in written version than in the spoken one. While the spoken commentary exceeds in the number of function/ grammatical words (pronouns, prepositions and articles).
So, the preceding analysis of the oral commentary and written article states a series of differences between the spoken and written language. However, some of the differences are less definite than the others. A diagrammatical representation of the findings, the ratio of each difference between the two texts, is presented in the next section.
FINDINGS/ RESULTS
CONCLUSION
Nevertheless, despite these general observations about the difference in written and spoken language, there are certain weaknesses in the traditional division of language into two main categories of speech and writing. There are spoken genres, in which language is used very much as in certain written styles (lectures, interviews, presentations), and, conversely, writing can sometimes be deliberately used for mirroring certain speech styles. Therefore, modern variations in the use of language have turned the distinctions blurred and vague.
Thus, it has to be admitted that although there are distinct features in both types of discourse, the differences are not absolute. Chafe (1982) states that there's no simple, single difference between speech and writing. In fact, both the mediums overlap and do not fall into neat categories. "The most useful way to conceive of the differences is to see them as scales along which individual texts can be plotted" (Chafe 1982). So according to the standard view, the differences between the written and spoken texts form a continuum and not the opposites of a rigid dichotomy.
"It is not possible to speak of dichotomy of written and spoken language since there is much overlapping between the two and there are clusters of variables at work, rather than just a cline of features." (Biber, 1988).
Indian Premier League - IPL
IPL: Deccan Chargers Thrash Rajasthan Royals
11 May 2009
IPL: Deccan Chargers Thrash Rajasthan Royals
Rohit Sharma (left) was in the wickets again for the Chargers.
©REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko (SOUTH AFRICA SPORT CRICKET) Picture Supplied by Action Images
Deccan Chargers 166-7 (Smith 47, Pathan 3-34) beat
Rajasthan Royals 113 (Asnodkar 44, Sharma 3-12) by 53 runs
Scorecard
Indian Premier League, Kimberley
The Deccan Chargers moved to within two points of the top of the Indian Premier League with a comprehensive 53-run win over reigning champions Rajasthan Royals.
Dwayne Smith hammered 47 as the Deccan Chargers racked up 166 for seven in Kimberley before the Royals were bowled out for 113, Rohit Sharma taking three wickets.
Smith, keeping home favourite Herschelle Gibbs out of the side as the Chargers recalled Chaminda Vaas, justified his selection by hitting four sixes in his 32-ball innings before he was the last man to fall with one ball remaining in the innings.
Moreover, Andrew Symonds chipped in with 30 in 19 balls after Tirumalasett Suman hit 29 in 19 deliveries at the very top of the order.
Vaas also hit a maximum as he contributed 20 in 15 balls coming in at number six as Yusuf Pathan picked up three for 34 and Ravi Jadeja two for 26.
The Royals, a shadow of themselves in 2008, never threatened the target, Vaas removing Graeme Smith (1) and Lee Carseldine (8) to put the Chargers in control.
Naman Ojha was run out for 16 before Yusuf Pathan chipped a catch to Dwayne Smith off Naman's namesake Pragyan and all hope was lost when Swapnil Asnodkar's punchy innings of 44 in 39 balls was ended in another farcical run out.
Rohit Sharma then picked up two wickets in two balls to dismiss Morne Morkel (8) and Shane Warne (0), who had torn a hamstring in the field, the off-spinner finishing with three for 12 having also clean bowled Abhishek Raut for one.
Siddharth Trivedi (1) was then bowled by RP Singh and Munaf Patel was run out in the final over, summing up their night.
Vaas, playing his first game of the tournament, showed he has lost none of his control, delivering a superb early spell and returning at the death to complete figures of two for 18 from four overs, leaving Jadeja unbeaten on 19.
Thus, the result means the Chargers replace the Royals in third place as the Royals drop to fourth.
© Cricket World 2009
http://www.cricketworld.com/indian_premier_league/article/?aid=20533
Sample of Spoken text
Cricket Commentary (1 minute length):
Down the track hit…he hit hard…tremendous shot…and there's another one. (Pause) he likes it out. Once again hitting it hard Shane Warne taking a risk here…he's a risk-taker that's why he's such an exciting skipper Shane Warne. Down the track once again and here he goes…108 for 4 (pause). Jadeja is on again. So young and so confident…er…great body language. Patel is not terribly quick but he's good at saving time. Once again lot of energy lot of commitment. It was a brilliant feel anyway…emm..and…er…down the track once again that took off the moment. This partnership is extremely dangerous for Rajasthan Royals and Shane Warne. Jadeja's completed his over…118 for 4.
Source: (Indian Premier League - IPL: Deccan Chargers Vs. Rajasthan Royals held on May 11' 2009)
Reference: http://www.finchpark.com/afe/h.htm#H
Nunan, D. (1993). Language Teaching Methodology. New York: Prentice Hall.
Biber, D. (1988) "Variation across Speech and Writing" Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Chafe 1982 _____. "Integration and Involvement in Speaking,
Writing, and Oral Literature." In Tannen 1982:35-53. Norwood: Ablex.
Hatch, E. (1992). "Discourse and Language Education". Cambridge: CUP
Weathersby, A. (2008) "The Difference between Spoken and Written English" (Online Article) Available at: www.putlearningfirst.com/language
Accessed on May 2nd' 2009
Warren (2002) "Spoken and Written Language" (Online Article) Available at: www.homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Speech&Writing.htm
Accessed on May 2nd' 2009