Friday, October 7, 2011
Question of the Week (10/7/11)
Compare and contrast spoken and written language. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each? What can the purveyors of written language learn from the masters of spoken language that can enrich their writing? Use the language Gloria Naylor uses in the "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It" essay as an example. All the usual rules apply, but your posts are not due until Tuesday at 3 p.m. Enjoy your long weekend!
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Spoken and written language is different because they are told through different means. Spoken language is told through the mouth, while written language is written in essays, books, or in the media. "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It" displays another way that spoken and written language are different. When spoken language is exposed, its meaning can vary depending on who said it and their intensions. For instance in Gloria Naylor’s essay, she explains the word nigger and the different contexts it can be in. The two types of languages are similar because they both convey ideas and opinions through the means of publishing or just talking. The advantages of spoken language is that you get to be there or hear directly about what the person is trying to talk about and what they emotion is towards this subject. The disadvantages about written language is that there may be some confusion on how the author feels about this particular subject and things that you would otherwise understand in spoken language that you can’t in written language. Purveyors or written language can learn certain writing styles, and how to put emotion into their writing from the masters of spoken language in order to improve their writing abilities.
Language and communication are both extraordinary things. It’s extraordinary that we, as humans are able to talk to each other and let each-other know whatever it is that needs to be said. What’s even more amazing is that everything we say in our everyday lives no matter what the language it’s in, we can write it down. Every spoken word has its own respective printed word. However this system is not always perfect. Hearing the words in person can give off a different meaning than when you write it. As a writer, you can be whomever you want. As a writer you could lie about anything just as you would if you spoke it but in a way they are different.
Take a letter or an email for example. Say you’re writing to someone you’ve never met before. You could tell them you look like someone completely different from you in real life. For them they must assume this is true. In person however, that person is looking at you when you’re talking to them. There are things that don’t have to be said. This is just an example about a lie that someone could make in writing.
There is also emotion connected to both spoken and written language. When writing, it’s hard to explain exactly how you feel in words. The way you might say something in real life can’t be replicated on paper. Such as you’re facial expression, the tone of your voice, these are the kinds of things that can’t be shown when you’re writing.
Overall, written language is interpreted as spoken language when it is read. However, the way people perceive the writing can change from person to person. This creates conflict over what emotions are supposed to be felt when something is read. Today in literature as we know it, we can only hope that what we understand from what we read is precisely what the author is trying to say. If an author can make the reader feel the same emotion he or she feels, then he or she is truly a master of the art.
Writing and speech are the two predominant methods of human communication, but they differ in numerous ways. Spoken language has been in use since the birth of civilization, whereas written language was invented as a mechanism to keep track of trade after these early civilizations were already thriving. In the time when humans were beginning to discover the world, many stories were woven, and told in one of two ways: speaking or writing. Written stories and records are unique because they are permanently archived, instead of being remembered only in the brain like spoken tales. In this case, facts are misconstrued, and it wasn’t until the tape recorder was invented that there was a way to keep unchanged voice recordings. Another difference in our two ways to communicate is that humans learn to speak in the first two years of their lives, and it isn’t until years later that writing is taught. This causes another dissimilarity: All humans worldwide can speak, but not all have the ability to write. The final and most important discrepancy is how written language is limited compared to spoken language, based on all of the different connotations that spoken words have. In a conversation, the meaning of any word can be instantly changed by any body language, facial expression, tone, or inflection of the voice. The meaning of a spoken word can depend on who says it and how it is said.
When writing, it is hard to convey these subtleties to a reader so that they are able to fully understand the author’s intent. Because of this, it is important to add appropriate details in writing to show exactly how the characters’ voices should be interpreted. Clues like a nervous twitch, wringing hands, and a shaking voice would give the reader one idea; an aggressive step forward, a quivering eyebrow, and a sustained glare would convey an entirely different tone. Writers can learn a lot from speakers, primarily that the many each written word can be spoken in different ways, and therefore can have a variety of different meanings.
This is displayed in Gloria Naylor’s essay A Word’s Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It. She shows that even the word “nigger,” a very strong and often insulting word, if used by the right people, can be completely harmless. This shows that no matter what words somebody is saying, the way that they say them says it all.
Max -
You did a really good job connecting the differences of the two types of language to the essay that we read. You have examples of the advantages of spoken language and the disadvantages of written language, but you could include some ideas about the opposite (disadvantages of spoken and advantages of written.) You could also include a couple more things that make the two things different, other than the way they are told. Otherwise, it was a good response, and commenting on how to improve your writing to sum it up was a good way to end.
The Written language and the spoken language have a lot in common. On the surface they may almost seem the same. When you write a letter to someone you are writing what you would be saying to them if you could talk to them. Writing has helped us to record an amazing amount of history, and to learn abut the amazing people that were part of it. But when you dive deeper into language, it seems that there are a lot of things that can not be expressed threw writing.
When you have a conversation with someone you would be surprised how much can be expressed threw body language. Sarcasm in particular relies heavily on the way you say things, and what you are doing when you say it. Speeches don’t look nearly as good on paper as they sound in practice because they have to be spoken in a certain way. In Gloria Naylor's essay she talks about how the word has more meaning depending on which it is that is saying it. This is exactly right. Writing can only get you so far. It has taught us about our for fathers and what they did, but we will never truly know them unless we had herd them talk. As much as we can write amazing retellings of a speech, nothing ever beats being there and hearing the emotion in there voice. The look of determination in there eyes. That is what makes humans special.
Ben-
You did a really great job on your entry. You had a very good ending that tied in nicely with the essay we read. I would have suggested however. That you included more details about the differnces.
Language is meant to be in various forms expressed in various manners. This type of flexibility allows people to achieve their goals in either writing or talking with the greatest of simplicity. Spoken words have a more in depth emotional quality if the person speaking talks in different volumes supplemented with either vigorous or subtle body movement. This emotional quality obtained from spoken words have the ability both to hurt someone’s feelings or make someone happy, usually with a better effect than just a plain, old written note. Throughout history, the language of speaking was present long before writing was created. This shows that spoken language, which is still evolving with our customs and conditions, had been evolving since before writing. This gives speaking an aspect of universality because almost every culture has a spoken language, but some cultures might not have writing. Written words, however, have the power to remove stress, for example, by writing in a journal about one’s feelings. Authors, who want to spread their feelings and ideas to the world, don’t have everyone’s phone numbers, so they distribute their ideas in writing commonly known as books. Some people just don’t like to listen to words others have to say; they, instead, enjoy reading, so writing for them has a greater impact than the words spoken out loud. Although writing usually doesn’t have as much emotional effect as speaking, if used by the right people, it can do more than just give the reader an idea of what the author is feeling. The book, itself, can have its own feelings engrained within it.
Naylor says the term “nigger” can be harmful in some ways, but just a plain word in others. This is certainly true to the extent that people in the community actually understand what the person saying the word means. It is also true that a word’s effect is different according to who says it and with what intention they say it for.
Ben-
Your comment was well-written and very interesting to read. Other than your email or letter example, I suggest putting in another example. The one you put down was fairly simple in that most of us know about it. Is there an example we might not expect it to be? Also, I was wondering where the connection to Naylor’s example was. Other than these points, everything else is superb.
Hansol-
Some very interesting thoughts throughout you're entry. I never thought about precisely what the purpose of writing might be. Only thing I might add is some more explanation of what Naylor's essay is about. You talked about it a little at the end but then the piece was over. Really the only thing I could suggest because they rest is well thought out and well "written."
Written and spoken language are both useful and effective communication methods that are used by people everyday. Written language can be edited as many times as the writer wants until the piece of writing is published, sent or posted where it is then set forever. When using spoken language you never get a chance to edit things that you didn’t mean to say. Everyone has said something that they wished they could have taken back. When discussing written language it is easy to disagree on what the author meant. It is a lot easier to know what the speaker is trying to say because of facial expressions, hand motions, and tones, that might change the meaning of some words. Written language has to be very detailed precise and clear because usually follow up questions can not be asked to writer. It is easier to clarify something or question a speaker. When speaking, sentence structure isn’t as important. In writing you have to be able to please a bigger audience if you want to be successful. Spoken language is much more powerful and universal than written language. You are able to show more emotion and expression when speaking to someone and you can persuade your audience more easily because you are right in front of them. In this world today almost everybody has the ability to communicate through speaking and also most mammals have a way of communication that is like a spoken language. No other living organism that we know of have a written language. Purveyors of written language can learn things from spoken language like how to more effectively display emotions in their writing, what kind of language appeals to what audience, and the importance of word choice. Naylor’s essay is an example because she shows us that the meaning of the word nigger changes so much depending on who says it and how they say it. Her essay also shows us how important the spoken language is. Saying nigger in a negative tone with a glare in the speaker’s eyes clearly shows us that it is suppose to be an insult. But when said appropriately nigger is a just another word in one’s vocabulary.
Jonathan-
I really liked your introduction and how you talked about on the surface spoken and written language might seem very similar. I also liked your example of sarcasm but thought that you could have added more about written language and the difference between the two types. I think this would really strengthen up your paragraph.
Spoken language and written language are extremely different from each other. When you speak your able to show emotion and really express yourself. When speaking you can make it clear what you’re referring to and what you actually mean when you’re saying something. For example in "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It" the word nigger is used in a more affectionate tone between members of the black community. But when the word is used in a more derogatory way it is considered offensive. The tone of voice and the context in which you use the word are key in telling how you mean it. Written language can be hard to understand what the author means, unless they are a very good writer. Because you don’t necessarily know the author, what he or she looks like and where they’re from it’s hard to make sense of what they mean when they use a certain word. You can say one thing when you write something but actually feel a different way and the reader will never know because they cannot see your face and see your true emotions.
Claire-
You wrote a very well written comment and I really enjoyed reading. I loved who you went into detail about the history of spoken and written language. You brought up some very good points and kept me interested. You could have fleshed out your feelings on Naylor's essay but other than that nice job!
The difference between spoken language and written language is the amount of meaning that is able to be understood. When using spoken language, you have emotions, tones, and appearance of the speaker. When using written language, those factors are up for individual interpretation. This is why written language can often be misleading and misunderstood. I think that written language and spoken language have different advantages. For example, written language allows you to have more control of what you are saying, but it can also be unhelpful in that regard. Writing gives you more time to analyze, but sometimes that extra time to think can have a negative effect on what you are meaning to say. In "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It", Naylor uses her experience to support the claim that a word can have various meanings depending on the circumstance. When choosing to use written or spoken language, your decision often depends on the audience you're addressing. In my opinion, spoken language is a more direct and influential way in which to communicate. I would much rather speak to someone in person than write letters to them every day. It takes a talented and intelligent person to be able to explain a certain situation or feeling through written words. When writing you have to take into consideration the fact that different people react in various ways, that is what makes writing difficult for some people.
Kendra- I agree with your point that spoken language is more powerful/universal, but I do think that sentence structure is as important when speaking. Quality of sentence structure usually displays levels of intelligence. When trying to be successful or impress someone, good sentence structure is a must.
Written and spoken languages both have advantages and disadvantages. With written language, it is sometimes hard to tell how something is being said. The advantage to spoken language is that you can hear the tone and volume of the person who is speaking. This can differ in written language depending on how the person reads it, so they might make the wrong assumption in how it was meant. Another disadvantage to written language is that it is harder to learn and not everyone in the world knows it. Everyone learns how to speak, even at an early age, but not everyone learns how to read and write. A disadvantage to spoken language is that it doesn’t leave any records. The reason for developing written language hundreds of years ago was so that records could be kept of trade and events. With spoken language, people can lie and say that something didn’t happen, and there would be no way to prove it.
Purveyors of written language can learn a lot from the masters of spoken language to enrich their writing. Master of spoken language can teach purveyors of written language how to show different emotions and tones of speaking so that it is clear to the reader what is being said and how it is being said. With that, many words have different connotations. In “A Word’s Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It,” Gloria Naylor explains this. In her family, when the word “nigger” is used, it is meant as a term of approval or endearment. When white people said it in the time that Naylor was growing up, as well as today, it is meant as worthlessness to humiliate the person to whom the word refers. In spoken language, the difference in connotations can often be heard in the tone of voice. In written language, however, it might be harder to pick up on that. You would have to know who is saying the word in order to be able to tell whether it has a positive or negative connotation. If we hadn’t known the circumstance in which “nigger” was said in this essay, we wouldn’t be able to tell if it had been a term of endearment, had Naylor explained her previous connotation with the word earlier in the essay. In order for readers to understand which connotation is being used, writers can learn from masters of spoken language how to purvey the meaning that they want.
Henry- I completely agree with you about how it can be difficult to distinguish the differences in tone in written language. I think you could add some more advantages and disadvantages/ difference between spoken and written language, but you did a good job supporting and explaining the difficulties in completely understanding the meaning behind a word.
Written and spoken language are very similar in the sense that they use expression to help people relate to what they are saying. Of course there is a huge difference between having someone speak to you face to face with different tones and expressions than reading words off of a piece of paper. That is what makes written language so difficult though. Written language is a mimicry of our spoken language and its goal is to help the reader relate to it was if someone was speaking it to them with all the expressiveness of a n enthusiastic story teller. Good writing pulls the reader in and makes them real a connection that they would only otherwise get from real life scenarios. The advantage of written language over spoken is that a writer can put themselves into their word but they can more carefully choose their words to reach their goal. As Gloria Naylor's essay says though, words are much more powerful depending on the context in with they are used. That is why spoken language can be so powerful. A good speech is much more moving when spoken rather than written. Masters of both written and spoken language need to understand that its always about getting inside their listeners head. They need to be expressive but to the point and really help the listener or reader to feel what the writer or speaker feels.
Written language is made for the educated and intelligent more than spoken language is. Yes, I understand that some people are absolute wizards with words and can string together eloquent phrases into easily flowing speeches, but it is much easier to get your meaning across through spoken word than because you are able to use gesture. In addition, it is much easier to dumb it down when speaking than when writing. If you are writing a very descriptive piece or a persuasive piece, sometimes complicated words are necessary to enhance your credibility. In contrast, when speaking, you can be persuasive through body language and tone rather than through solely language. When writing, you have to be very skilled to have an obvious tone to certain sentences or lines of dialogue. You can use a line after dialogue like "dripping with sarcasm", but that ruins the effect to me. When speaking, you don't have that problem and it is much easier for everybody to make themselves understood, unless they make the mistake of using large words to make themselves seem intelligent when in fact said words are being used incorrectly and only serve to reduce the credibility of the speaker. In "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Depend on Who Says it", Gloria Naylor points out that the word nigger can be both disrespectful when said by the wrong person, and a casual part of normal dialogue among certain members of the African-American population.
Jonathan-
I found your comment to be both interesting and insightful. I agree that we as humans rely a lot on body language when we are talking to other people.
Araya- I like how you talk about how many people aren't literate in the world and can't relate to written language but can relate to spoken language. I didn't consider that when I read the question and I find it interesting that you pointed it out. You also related your points well with the essay we read. I thought you really showed the difference and effectiveness of both types of language especially relating to people connotations.
Written and spoken language are very different. In written language, the author chooses words to convey a certain tone. It is almost impossible to know what the author is actually thinking unless they write it. In spoken language, emotion plays a key part. For instance in spoken language, if someone was nervous they would be sweating or fiddling with something where as in written the author would have to flat out say those things. It is harder to figure out tones in written language. It is also much easier for someone to write something rather than say it because others can't see their emotion. People tend to make written language more formal. They spend more time thinking about their words. You can’t anticipate a conversation so you don’t have time to think about what you say. People have different connotations with words. For instance in the essay “A Words Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It”, Naylor expresses her connotation with the word “nigger” and it is very different from the derogatory usage. Words can be very powerful when they are used in certain situations. In spoken language you can tell a word is powerful because of the tone the person saying it is using. In written you would have to tell by the context the word was in.
Spoken language and written language each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Spoken language is good for conversations face to face. It is time efficient and is good for feedback. When you speak, the emotion in the way you talk gives people a better idea of how you feel or what you're trying to say. However, since it is a quick way of communicating, it limits the time you have to think of what you're going to say. With written language you are able to put your ideas on paper and put time into your thoughts. This allows for a better understanding of what someone is talking about. Also, written language can be documented and referred back to. If someone writes you something important you are able to look back and look at it as many times as possible, making sure you understand it. With written language, it is quite difficult to express emotion which could lead to a misunderstanding of the writing. Also, if someone questions the writing, the author is unable to explain his reasoning opposed to spoken where you can answer the question and clear up misunderstandings. In the essay we read, Gloria makes it clear that different words mean different things to certain people.Authors must be able to use this knowledge to enhance their writing. Masters at speaking know how to use a word when talking to certain people, writers must use this skill in their writing when they know who is reading their pieces.
Noah- I really like how you said that authors have to use better vocabulary in order to get a point across opposed to speakers, where they can use body language to persuade. I really like the points you made. Great Work!
Noah-I agree with the points you expressed in your comment. You did a very good job at comparing the advantages and disadvantages to written and spoken language.
While both speech and writing are both forms of language, there are very subtle differences. First, people find it very easy to speak; indeed, babies learn to speak before the write. Language comes in many forms (slang, formal, etc.), and this allows the speaker to further express their emotions. For example, people who are joking with their friends sometimes use sarcasm, in spoken language; the tone of voice gives away the silliness of the comment. If the same comment was written, it is possible that it would not be received as warmly, because the extra emotions were left out. While it is true that speech allows you to portray a wider array of emotions, writing also has capabilities the speaking does not. For example, laws, wills, and other serious documents are written down because they are permanent, while out loud, it could be forgotten. Another benefit of writing is that you are able to portray a more heartfelt emotion to another. A get well soon letter or a love letter helps people give a gift, as well as saying what is on their mind. However, a letter takes more thought, concentration, and skill, than speaking, and so usually, the most credible people are those who write down thoughts and organize them on paper. Speeches don’t count as far a speech goes. This is because people have speechwriters who put the words first onto paper. Naylor almost unknowingly proves one of my points. With her spelling of girl (g-i-r-l), she attempts to show us exactly how drawn out the pronunciation is. Normally, the reader would have a hard time grasping the concept because, on paper, the word girl can be read anyway the author pleases.
Kendra- I agreed with a lot of what you said. I think it was very interesting how you pointed out how detailed a piece of writing needs to be to create ‘a movie within the reader’s head’. I believe that our descriptive essays also proved that point. It seems when we speak, we become much more able to relay an event.
Although written language and spoken language may seem the same on the surface, they differ quite a bit. There are things you can convey with spoken language that are just not possible to with writing. One of these things is tone and pitch. When you are talking to somebody, you can easily bring to attention the emotional value, the mood, and the intensity of what you are saying. With writing, you can't demonstrate the different volumes, pitches, and tones of your voice. To make a personal connection, this is just like music. With written music, you just don't know how you want to bring emotion and intensity into the piece. This only happens when you play it. When you play a piece of music, you can choose to bring whatever emotion the piece is about to attention because of the tones and volumes you use in certain places.
In Gloria Naylor's essay, "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It", she demonstrates that how you say a word can make you "hear" it or not. The word "nigger" was present in her life, and it took a kid saying it with a mean attitude and tone for her to hear it. Also, that's what it took for her to realize that it could be used in a hurtful context.
Noah,
I liked how you looked at this question differently than other people, taking it literally. Thinking out of (or in this case, inside) the box is usually a good idea. Nobody else had a comment that talked about the same thing as you. Good job!
Spoken and written language may both communicate the same thing but deliver the communication in two totally different ways. The big difference is you can communicate so much more effectively when you communicate vocally because when you communicate vocally the receiver of the message can not only understand the basic message but also get any inflections or emotions that were meant to be communicated. exclamation points and question marks only go so far.
As Gloria Naylor points out, these inflections and emotions mean everything when a you are being communicated something very explicit. During a conversation on an internet chat website such as facebook, you could be talking to someone and make a sarcastic joke about them and they might actually take you very seriously and get mad because you could not communicate your emotion. If you were to tell them in person then they might understand that you being sarcastic and the confusion would be avoided.
Spoken language and written language are two different types of communication. In spoken language, people generally use more slang and are more able to say exactly what comes to mind. In written language, it is easier to think out your thoughts completely before you write them. Also, often some of the humor or hidden meaning in someone’s spoken language is lost when it is written down. In general, it is easier to inject personality with spoken language. Learning to add your own voice to writing is something that is very difficult to do. Writers can learn a lot from masters of spoken language. Some examples are how to add humor and suspense to their writing. Also, authors can try to emulate master storytellers’ incredible gift for creating memorable characters. Using "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It" as an example, I found that some of the most memorable moments of the essay occurred when she used direct examples from her life. Because dialogue and direct memories are close to spoken language, they often possess the same advantages such as adding emotion to a piece.
Nathalie-
I thought you brought up some great points with the part about being able to express yourself more deeply and not using slang in the writing. I did not think about that aspect of the comparison
Ethan,
I really liked how you used music to help describe the differences between writing and speech. I thought that was a interesting way to look at it that really made sense. Overall, I thought you really used this simile to prove your point. Nice job.
Written and spoken language are basically the same but differ in some key points, the main one being the depth of the communication. With spoken language it is very easy to communicate emotions such as sarcasm and sadness without using words to describe the emotion. However, written language tends to be more descriptive overall. Because the emotion is communicated by inflections in tone in spoken language most people feel no need to deeply describe their verbally. Spoken language also can have a lot more personality behind it then written language. In spoken language accents, slang, and manners of speech come through as oppose to in written language a point must be made to include these things.
In "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It" Naylor obviously uses written language so she must explain how some words, like girl, are said. She also has to explain the feelings behind her family calling each other nigger vs. the boy calling her that where if she had been speaking she could have used voice inflections to demonstrate.
nathalie- I thought that you brought up some great points, especially about personality and humor being a bit lost in writing. I also liked the point about people using less slang and planning out the words more in writing. It was also great how you tied written and spoken language together in writing about how writers could use the skills of storytellers to improve their writing.
Although both written and spoken language is used to communicate, they have different purposes and therefore different advantages and disadvantages. When using spoken language the speaker can be more expressive. You can incorporate tone, volume and emotion into your facial expressions and voice to portray the idea but this element are unavailable in written language. This is shown in Gloria Naylor’s essay because depending on the situation and the other elements words meanings can change and be used for different purposes. Because of this written language has to be more detailed, descriptive and to the point in order for the reader to fully understand the situation. Even so, written language is more often misinterpreted than spoken language. Written language is more permanent and it is easier to keep track of. It is more reliable for keeping records and other important details. It can also be revised and reviewed multiple times. Spoken language can’t be reversed and you can’t take back something you said. Spoken language applies to a larger scale of people and is used more often as a way of communication because written language is more limited. It is easier for a person to communicate and be clear using spoken language. Many people can’t use written language but they can still participate in society. Authors can learn a lot from spoken language. Writers can get a better idea of how to incorporate feeling and emotions into their writing. They would also learn more modern terminology because spoken language adapts with the people more than written language does. Naylor’s essay is an example of the importance of spoken language. Nigger can have many different meanings depending on the tone with which it is spoken. It can be a harsh insult or a harmless word like most others in someone’s vocabulary. It is hard to figure out the emotion behind a word when it is written and this is why spoken word is superior in her mind.
lindsey- I agree with what you said about the advantages of writing. I hadn't thought about the effort that goes into writing. I also liked how you added that babies learn to speak before they can write because that does show that speaking is easier and is more expressive.
Although the same words can be said through both the spoken language and the written language, how great the impact they have might vary. Naylor proves this in her essay, “A Word’s Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It.” Naylor uses the word “nigger” to explain how it can have a different meaning when a third grader says it to her than when her family uses it around each other. The third grader used it as a very strong insult towards her, while her family uses it to describe someone “who had distinguished himself in some situation that brought their approval” (paragraph 6). What the third grader said to her obviously had a strong impact, although the reader might not fully understand that. In these examples, Naylor is trying her best to describe something through the written language although the words were originally spoken. When the words were spoken, they may have had a stronger impact on Naylor and had carried more emotions than the reader understands from just reading the story. This is just one of the many times when the spoken word has more of an impact than the written. In the written form, it’s extremely difficult for the author to describe a situation so well that the reader will actually know exactly what was happening. The author can put in as much detail as possible, but it never has as great of an affect as actually being there. A reader can not see things such as facial expression, and can not hear the tone of the voice someone is using. This prevents them from getting as deep of an understanding that the spoken word often gives.
Emily-
I think the difference in tone is a good point. I had never thought about the fact that people think about what they are writing more than what they are saying. This definitely impacts what people will say.
Written and spoken language are both used to communicate in everyday life. They both hold a lot of tone and expression, but spoken language tends to carry that out a bit more. When you are using written language, you can't show the emotion as much as you may apply to without trying with a lot of effort. But written language can be corrected unlike spoken language. They both carry out a good amount of emotion, but when you are telling something verbally, you get more of the essence of what the person is saying. In written language, you can only sometimes tell exactly what the emotion is. You can most of the time get the gist of it, but you can't really go deep down into the feeling. Gloria Naylor's essay uses a lot of good language describing things and how they are used in many ways. Just like when saying "nigger" as an example. You can be threatening it with someone, or it can just be a part of someones vocabulary and they don't mean it in a bad way when they say it.
Ethan,
I liked how you talked about tone and pitch in your response. You demonstrated the description very well! good job!
The Spoken language and the Written language are both similar, yet very different. The Spoken language has been around forever, used by those trying to communicate with one another. The written language was invented to record information so it could be remembered and distributed better and more accurately than the Spoken language. People exact thoughts could be recalled instead of being interpreted by their descendants. The Spoken language is much more broad and elaborate compared to the Written language. People around the world can speak yet not all of them know how to read and right. This might be because humans are taught to speak right from birth and are surrounded by speech in their daily lives. Only later in their lives do some of them learn to write and record their thoughts. Along with the fact that the Spoken language is more elaborate, the written language is based solely on the interpretation of the words, by a reader. This is different from the Spoken language where a persons tone, body language, facial expression, etc. are part of the meaning of their words. Thus the Spoken language is more intricate and complicated than the Written language.
In Gloria Naylor’s essay “A Word’s Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It” She shows how the offensive, crude word “nigger”, can be used appropriately in the right setting and situation instead of always being a nasty word. She demonstrates that the way a word is said can completely alter the meaning of the word.
When one writes words on a piece of paper or digital document, they are able to convey emotions differently than if they were speaking. For instance, one could write down "I'm extremely interested" on a piece of paper in that exact format, it is vague as to what the person actually means. They could be honestly interested, or they could be lying directly to the reader or using sarcasm. When one speaks, it is easier for a person to interpret exactly how the speaker feels. Writing often eliminates colloquialisms, and it certainly disregards accents most of the time. A speaker's physical voice is essentially the most important feature in their speech. It is the only thing that will always distinguish a speaker, and there is a much smaller number of ways that one may personalize their writing. In "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend On Who Says It", Naylor explains that derogatory comments can be harmless depending on the person who says it. I feel that if it is in writing, though, an offensive word is there to offend; not to be comforting.
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Sara, I enjoy that you share my view on the efficiency of directly speaking to someone rather than writing something. I, too, believe that a person's voice is MUCH more effective in communication than their written words.
Written and spoken language are both similar because they both are primary ways for humans to communicate. Except for sign language without written or spoken language history would be lost, no one could retell events that have happened, and learning would be a lot harder. They are different because written language it best for recording details and facts, spoken language, in my opinion, is better for people to communicate with other people. While speaking people can explain they’re points better, using hand gestures, changing their vocal tones, and facial expression. For example, in Naylor’s essay, she explains that the word “nigger” can vary by the way it’s said and who says it, written language wouldn’t have the same effect with the word nigger than someone saying it. Purveyors of written language can learn from masters or spoken language how to make their writing easier for readers to connect to it, by adding more emotion.
Evan,
i like your comparison of written and spoken language but i feel like if you added more contrasting examples it would be better
There are many advantages and disadvantages to both written and spoken languages. They both are extremely useful in helping prove a point or for an opinion on a matter. When you are using spoken languages it is easier to express yourself with facial expressions and emphasis on words. You can also do this in the form of writing with using different fonts or interjections. Overall if you want to express yourself on something you feel is important expressing it vocally would be the best option. Written language can also be extremely powerful and meaningful even without it being heard vocally. Writing is very factual and precise unlike speaking and this may be an advantage with students since a lot of reading is done throughout an educational career. In "A Words Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It", the author Gloria Naylor uses a controversial word in order to make a point about he argument that a word might have a different meaning dependent on who says it.
Verbal language adds a third detention to a word or phrase by the way it is spoken and voice infliction. For example, somebody writing "you're so smart," could come off quite differently than spoken, where somebody could say it in a sarcastic tone or while laughing. Written language tends to have more thought put into it. For example, if you watch somebody typing an email, the amount of times they press the "delete" button is rather astounding. Verbally, try as we might, there is never a backspace key. Caught in the moment, sometimes we say things that are inaccurate or spoken from a second of pressure.
Erich-
You did a good job comparing and contrasting the spoken language and the written language, but you didn't add any examples to support it. You could have also added more about the essay "A words meaning can often depend on who says it" Overall it was a good read
There are several differences between written and spoken language. Writing has a certain advantage: a written essay gives you time to think about your exact words and phrasing. Also, reading someone else's words, your opinion is not influenced by anything but the text you find there. It is an overall purer way to convey a single point, such as in an essay. For example, Mrs. Naylor uses a structure for her piece "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend on Who Says It" that would make no sense in the written form. Writing is a separate and important form, and for interpersonal communication, it is nearly useless.
Over 90% of our communication is completely nonverbal. Humans are able to divine a person's exact meaning from how they act before, during and after talking. Even the sounds, tone, pitch and speed of spoken words add volumes of information. Spoken language has its disadvantages - immediate need for response being one of them - but it is definitely worth it. In "A Word's Meaning…", Naylor talks about how the inflections used by her family members alter the meaning of the words they say.
Those who write for a living can learn an important lesson from this: adding words that describe how the person is talking can add meaning to dialogue in writing. While written and spoken languages are separate, they can be overlapped to the benefit of both.
Spoken and written language are both very similar and different. They are both a way to express yourself through words. The disadvantages to written language is that it can be interpreted the wrong way. Some one could write something in a up beat tone, and some one could perceive it as an angry tone. Advantages is that you can form your own opinions and hear it as you would like to. Advantages to spoken language is that you get the point across that you want. The tone of your voice and your face expression are clear. There is no question, it is exact. This does have it disadvantages, words can get out of hand or become crude or vulgar.
In a sense, written and spoken languages are complete opposite. In the essay, "A words meaning often depends on who says it" the author talks about were it is coming from, means a lot. Depending on how well you know the person, words can mean opposite things. In my opinion, emotion is the main difference between written and spoken language.
James-
I liked how you used examples from real life, and added a statistic to prove your point. Your example from the essay made a good point, you could put a transition sentence before it to make it a little more smooth. You had clearly stated good opinions. Nice job!
Spoken and Written language are different because they
are used differently. Written language is used in essays, books or magazines. Spoken language is used in every day life, in conversations and presentations. They can also be used for different purposes. Written language can be used for something that is being explained to a large group of people in a magazine or book. Spoken language is mostly used in conversation or instruction.
Max,
I really like your quote. I think it helps prove your point very well. I also like your vocabulary.
Language, whether spoken or written, is using sound or symbols to describe something. They can be interpreted in many different ways, hence the vast number of languages that exist in the world today. It's a way of expressing our own human thought in a communicable way. I think of language as an imperfect way of describing our surroundings; we associate different words with different emotions and experiences, but those words don't even come close to doing the job. Written language can be misinterpreted very easily. A good writer can convey the desired tone in a piece, but not everyone will interpret it according to the writer's wishes. For example, it's impossible to sense the emotion of the other person when communicating in written language over the internet. To me, written language has more disadvantages than spoken. When language is spoken, the speaker can intensify the meaning by adding verbal tone. For example, if I said "I feel happy today", it would mean two different things depending on if I had a sarcastic or literal tone to my voice. Spoken language in my opinion, is much easier to interpret. One word might mean two different things, it just depends on who's speaking it, as Naylor beautifully described in her essay "A Word's Meaning Often Depends On Who Says It".
Evan,
I really liked how you reflected on how we're taught to speak before we write. It's a valid point that spoken language dates way back, and a lot of people know how to speak but not read or write.
Written language and spoken language are both ways that humans communicate. Though these two methods are meant to have a similar approach to language, they are quite different. Written language is used in essays, emails, novels and etc. Where as speech is spoken. Written language has it's disadvantages and advantages. As Gloria Naylor says in "A Word's Meaning Can Often Depend On Who Says It", "I consider the written word inferior to the spoken, and much of the frustration experienced by novelists is the awareness that whatever we manage to capture in even the most transcendent passages falls far short of the richness of life"(455). But written language is much more useful than spoken language when it comes to record keeping, and reminders. Also written language can say what you are too afraid to say out loud. Written language can be very powerful but so can spoken language. When things are spoken its very powerful because you are in the moment and are trying to soak it all in.
Eleanor I thought you did a great job with this assignment, you make your points very clear.
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