Spoken and Written

Language
Presented by: Ryann M. Ampuan
 TOPICS
• What is a Spoken
Language?
• What is a Written Language?
• What are the similarities and
differences of Spoken
Language and Written
Language?
 Spoken Language
- A produced by articulate sounds
or manual gestures, as opposed
to a written language.
- A broad category that includes
languages like English, Filipino,
Spanish, and many more. It also
includes sign languages like
American sign language, British
sign language, and a lot more.
Multicomponent
view of Spoken
Language
 Features
1. Adjacency Pairs
- these are commonly paired statements or phrases often used in
two-way conversation.
ex: “How are you?” “Fine, how are you?”
2. Backchannels
- these are given by a listener to show attention or understanding
using minimal responses.
ex: “uh-huh” or “I see..”
3. Deixis
- is the use of general words and phrases to refer to a specific
time, place, or person in context
ex: a person “he”, a place “here”, a time “now”
 Features
4. Discourse Markers
- these are words or phrases used to help a listener organize and give meaning to
what is being said.
ex: “first…”, “on the other hand”, and “ furthermore”
5. Elision
- these involve the combining of words to form meaningful non-words.
ex: “they’d” or “wanna”
6. Hedge
- these are words or phrases used for softening the force of what’s being said.
ex: “perhaps”, “possibly”, “sort of”
7. Non-Fluency
- these are simply false starts and are also known as self-correction.
ex: “I need to decide on- I’ll just talk to you later.”
 Written Language
- a written language is the representation of a
language by means of writing. This involves
the use of visual symbols, known as
graphemes, to represent linguistic units such
as phonemes, syllables, morphemes, or
words.
- is a system of visual symbols representing
spoken words, enabling communication
across time and space. It immortalizes ideas,
stories, and knowledge, transcending the
limitations of oral traditions.
 Written Language
• Written language, however, does not emerge until its invention in Sumer,
southern Mesopotamia, c. 3500 -3000 BCE. This early writing was called
cuneiform and consisted of making specific marks in wet clay with a red
implement.
• The development of a written language allowed communities and people
to record stories such as Homer’s “Iliad” and the Sumerian “Epic of
Gilgamesh.”
• Modern technology has increased the gap between the two. As well as
mixing in modern slang and terms into the written lexicon, modern
technology has seen a fad where people abbreviate and contradict
phrases.
• Archaic and dead languages only survive because of written records. Some
of these are written in alphabets we do not understand; this includes
Mayan.
Example
Similarities and
Differences of
Spoken and
Written
Language
Similarities of
Spoken and • They are used to convey
Written meaning.
Language • Both can convey a message.
• Both methods can be used
when communicating with small
or large audiences.
• They are used to express a
thought, feelings, and emotions.
 Differences of
• Written language is considered more Spoken and
formal and should follow the rules of Written
the English language. Spoken language Language
is generally less formal, and the rules
are less important.
• Spoken language involves speaking and
listening skills, while written language
requires writing and reading skills.
 Conclusion
Both speaking and writing are crucial in communication,
yet they are not viewed equally. Speaking is often considered
more natural and widely used, while written language is seen as
more complex and difficult due to its extensive rules. However,
this belief has led to an unequal distribution of research
attention towards spoken language, despite the fact that written
communication is essential in many aspects of life, including
education, business, and technology. It is important to recognize
the significance of written language and give it the attention and
respect it deserves.
 Reference
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Written_language
• https://www.languagehumanities.org/what-is-a-written-language.htm
• https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/
• https://
www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/oralcommunication/guides/spok
en-language-vs-written-language

• https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax0287
THANK
YOU!