EAR/03028/021

MASENO UNIVERSITY
COURSE: BACHELOR OF EDUCATION (ARTS WITH IT)
NAME: LUKANIA BOAZ
ADMISSION NO: EAR/03028/021
COURSE CODE: AEN 101
COURSE TITLE: AEN 101 - INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE
COURSE LECTURER: DR. AKUNO
SESSION: FIRST YEAR, FIRST SEMESTER
DATE OF SUBMISSION: NOVEMBER, 2022

CONTINOUS ASSESSMENT TEST (CAT) 1

Introduction
While speech is considered to be older and more widely employed, spoken and written language possess different
characteristics, however, with some considerable similarities as well due to factors such as technological advances.
Spoken language is seen as the natural productive tool among people that is more common and normal, whereas
written language is seen as being intricate and complicated due to its extensive rules. The main difference between
speech and writing as media of language is that written language is comparatively more formal and complex than
spoken language. Other comparisons between the two media are as follows:

Permanency - writing is more permanent than the spoken word and is changed less easily. When something is printed,
or published, it is generally on permanent record once it is shared with audiences. With speech, however, this
permanency is present only if the speaker is recorded but they can restate their position. Writing is the best form of
the production and the transmission function in the case of science, history and literature, compared with a reliance
on poor human memory. Moreover, knowledge recorded through writing can be kept for a long period of time, and is
therefore analysable afterwards, which would not be the case if it were not laid out on paper.

Speed and promptness - apart from formal speeches, spoken language needs to be produced instantly. Due to this,
the spoken word often includes repetitions, interruptions, and incomplete sentences. As a result, writing is more
polished. Written texts can be edited more than once till they reach their final draft, while spoken words are not
editable. However, editing written texts is a double-edged weapon, because the language used should be easy to
understand as it is the only communication medium between the writer and the reader, and editing may make the
text more complex and dense.

Punctuation - written language is more complex than spoken language and requires punctuation. Punctuation has no
equivalent in spoken language. Also, spelling is not important for speakers, unlike for writers, who depend fully on the
accuracy of spelling to convey the desired message. Written language tends to be more complex and intricate than
speech with longer sentences and many subordinate clauses. The punctuation and layout of written texts also have
no spoken equivalent. However some forms of written language, such as instant messages and email, are closer to
spoken language.

Feedback - speakers can receive immediate feedback and can clarify or answer questions as needed but writers cannot
receive immediate feedback to know whether their message is understood or not, apart from text messages, computer
chats, or similar technology. Since writers do not receive immediate feedback from their readers, except in computer-
based communication, they cannot rely on context to clarify things, so there is more need to explain things clearly and
unambiguously than in speech, except in written correspondence between people who know one another well.

Immediacy - writing is used to communicate across time and space for as long as the medium exists and that particular
language is understood whereas speech is more immediate.

Use of slang - written and spoken communication uses different types of language. For instance, slang and tags are
more often used when speaking rather than writing. Written texts are usually shorter than speech due to the lack of

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repetition, which apparently occurs with spoken utterances. Written texts consist of a larger variety of lexical items
than is the case in spoken texts, due to careful editing.

Skills - speaking and listening skills are more prevalent in spoken language whereas writing and reading skills are more
prevalent in written language.

Usage - tone and pitch are often used in spoken language to improve understanding whereas, in written language,
only layout and punctuation are used. Speech uses tone groups, and a tone group can convey only one idea. Writing
uses sentences, and a sentence can contain several ideas.

Standardization - Spoken languages have dialects varying across geographical areas and social groups. But in complex
societies that use writing, the needs of communication encourage moves toward a single written norm, codified by
governmental, educational, and literary institutions. The prestige of the written standard is then likely to influence
speech as well.

Regarding similarity in their delivery, based on the intention of the speaker and the writer, spoken language on the
one hand can be heard, as in conversations, and written, as in dictation. On the other hand, written language can be
read, as in silent reading, and spoken, as in reading aloud.

There are some advantages of spoken language over written. It can be used between people who cannot see each
other whether due to darkness, handicaps such as blindness or the inability to use their hands to write. However,
some shortcomings of the spoken form are its inability to be used over long distances and its lack of accuracy due to
errors in transmitting verbal information, although nowadays recording machines have overcome this limitation.

Spoken language is acquired naturally, which may explain the assumption of its primacy. So, it is a natural process that
makes its acquisition faster, while writing is acquired through learning, which emphasises its status among literate
people. Thus, it is a mechanical process that makes its acquisition slower. Speech is more closely related to the
situation in which it occurs, which is sometimes referred to as “context-dependant”.

Individually, spoken language comes before writing; this assumption has been reinforced by the fact that all children
speak before they write. Moreover, children attain the ability to speak naturally without the need of explicit teaching,
unlike in the case of writing.

To conclude, it seems that both speech and writing are equally important, productive and autonomous. It is impossible
to rely on only one medium.

References
Akinnaso, F.N. (1982) ‘On the differences between spoken and written language’, Language and speech.
Barnitz, J.G. (1981) ‘Reading comprehension of anaphoric syntactic structures by Vietnamese bilingual students in high
school’, Research on reading in secondary schools: A semi-annual report.
Blankenship, J. (1962) ‘A linguistic analysis of oral and written style’, Quarterly Journal of Speech
Chafe, W. and Tannen, D. (1987) ‘The relation between written and spoken language’, Annual Review of Anthropology.
Cook, V. (2004) The English writing system. Arnold London.
Dewey, J. (1997). How we think. Courier Corporation.
Drieman, G.H.J. (1962) ‘Differences between written and spoken language: An exploratory study’, Acta Psychologica.
Gibson, J.W., Gruner, C.R., Kibler R.J. and Kelly, F.J. (1966) ‘A quantitative examination of differences and similarities
in written and spoken messages’, Communications Monographs.
Gillam, R.B. and Johnston, J.R. (1992) ‘Spoken and written language relationships in language/learning-impaired and
normally achieving school-age children’, Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research.

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