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IN WHAT WAYS DOES SPOKEN ENGLISH DIFFER FROM WRITTEN ENGLISH

            It is undeniable that written and spoken English vary quite dramatically. There are a number of ways and a number of reasons why the way in which we transcribe language and we voice it differs. The progression of spoken and written language take place at contradictory rates and as a result the English spelling system is inefficient, especially for a child learning to write or a newcomer to the English language. .
             There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet and approximately forty-four phonemes, which are the distinct units of sound' (Hawker 2001: 664) that make up words. This automatically means that there must be a mismatch between the spellings and sounds of words simply because there are not nearly enough letters to spell each sound. There are no letters to represent the sound made by two consonants being joined together such as ch'. Those who can easily speak and write English will of course automatically know what sounds these spellings make. However, for someone learning the spelling conventions of English there could easily be complications. For example the three words charade', cholesterol' and church'; they all begin with the identical spelling of ch' but .
             have three different sounds at the beginning. By using the International Phonetic .
             Alphabet (IPA) they can be distinguished. Charade begins with a [á] (Davenport and Hannahs 1998) sound, cholesterol with [k] and church with [tá]. Speakers of English only know how to pronounce these words because as children they were taught to learn spellings off by heart' (Crystal 2003: 272), they know from memory which sounds to use for each word. Rather than relying simply on spelling speakers of English must use their memory of individual words. Real problems arise when coming across unusual words such as scientific terminology. An example could be the word chitin' which has a dictionary reference (Hawker 2001: 144) of n.


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1. Chaucer and the English language

Chaucer lived in a time where there were differences in the spoken language in various regions in England. ... It wasn't until the very end of the Middle English period that the written language became standardized (Thrupp, 16). As a result of this lack of a written standard language, the late Middle English period is characterized by the huge degree of dialectal variation, which is reflected in the written record (Baugh, 80). ... He argues that even though Chaucer first wrote down in the English he was accustomed to, the scribes were the ones, through copying, changing and adding th...

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2. Language

Language Definition: "a system of conventional spoken or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, communicate."" ... Normally, people acquire a single language initially "their first language, or mother tongue, the language spoken by their parents or by those with whom they are brought up from infancy. ... Animal communication systems are by contrast very tightly circumscribed in what may be communicated. ... This article attempts to survey language (both spoken and written) in this light and to consider its vari...

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3. Social Prestige and the English Language in Porteño Spanish

The purpose of this study is to examine some instances of the influence that the English language exerts upon Porteño Spanish both written and spoken, as well as the difference in the social significance of the use of words of English origin. ... These expressions can be found both in spoken (usually in a formal context) and written Porteño Spanish. ... What is plain for the English-speaking reader becomes an absolute mess for most Spanish-speaking reader, unless they are more than reasonably acquainted with global economy, the English language, or actually both. ... But, in any ca...

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4. A Perspective On American Sign Language

In making connection like these I am able to see how ASL is different from spoken languages. ... This may not the most important aspect of a sign because people that do not know ASL have a hard time guessing what a signs meaning is by relating it just a picture. ... But that's not true one does not have to know English, or any spoken language to understand and communicate in ASL. ... In sign language there are several ways that signs express complex meanings. ... The deaf community has its own way of thinking about cultural values and beliefs that may differ from the ones in other cul...

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5. Comparison of 3 Characters in the Canterbury Tales

He made a critical contribution to English literature in using this style of writing when most of poetry was at that time being written in Anglo-Norman or Latin (classicnotes.com). One of the few works of the English Middle Ages written by Chaucer that is still being published today is The Canterbury Tales (classicnotes. ... The Knight's tale differs from the Miller's tale in some ways, but the two are also alike in some ways. ... Furthermore, both tales involve destiny or getting what you deserve. ... This unique col- lection of stories is what makes Chaucer&#...

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6. Enlgish Language

Diversity Within English In order to understand how language variation descriptors are used, we first must understand what language variation is. ... These variations, or dialects, can differ in lexicon, phonology, and/or syntax from the Standard Language that we often think of as correct Language, although they are not necessarily less proper than, say, Standard English. ... This does not imply that the lawyer and college professor speak a better variety of English, but because of more exposure to, and familiarity with written English, which is usually Standard English, they tend...

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7. unredeemed

She changed her language from English to that of the Kahwanake's, showing her complete assimilation into their culture. ... Therefore, all bases are covered, and although they differ in many ways, each one leads to her final death. ... One example is that John Williams does not know exactly what happened to his wife while marching towards Canada. ... Demos states that the words spoken by Stephen to his sister, Eunice, are just "conjectures"; there are no substantial facts to verify them. ... If Demos' novel was written more as a fictional story, it would be easier to follow and enjoy...

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8. Large Classes

This definition will, quite understandably, differ from one teacher to another, one situation to another and from one country to another. A response may also be influenced by what sort of English class is being taught. ... They write of the varied and rich human resource that can used to advantage to create interesting student-centred lessons where students can learn as much from each other as they do from using text books. ... It was the teachers" own lack of training in CLT, also noted by Gilfert & Croker (1997) when referring to the training of Japanese teacher, and deficiencies in spoken E...

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9. Examples of Discourse Communities

A register is another way in which how something is said or written and can be just as important as what is said or written for the meaning of the message (Sergeant, 2010, p. 50). ... However it is not only professional occupations that are classed as discourse communities, the language we use towards friends, family and when undergoing our hobbies or general day to day lives also differs depending on who we are communicating with and what activity we are carrying out, each of these groups is also classed as a discourse community. Any type of activity we do that uses a set of language written ...

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