Spoken vs. Written English

The Language Guy writes about the "disconnect" between spoken and written English, both phonetically and grammatically...

There is also a disconnect between grammatical speech and grammatical writing but here is where right wing grammarians, who usually know nothing whatever about language, intrude their unwanted selves into the discussion by insisting that white middle class matrons, to take just one group, speak "correct English" or "proper English" as if "correct English" is like "correct answer" in an addition problem or "proper English" is like "proper dress." The reality is that people of different regions, different races, different genders, different ages, different social classes, and different language backgrounds (first vs. third generation immigrants, for instance) abide by different grammatical rules and calling one way of talking "good" and another "bad" is purely and simply the result of ignorance and prejudice


Note well that I am talking about how we talk when I say that there are many "correct" or "good" ways of talking (as many "correct" and "good" ways as there are different ways of talking, as a matter of fact), but how we write English is an entirely different matter. It is of very great importance that everyone learn to write and spell (ugh!) a single kind of English for only if we do that can we hope to communicate with others within the borders of USA, as well as outside.


...read the entire article, Spoken vs. Written English

Language in Use

from putlearningfirst

The mode is the medium of communication, which divides fundamentally into speech and writing. These are in fact very different communications systems which are used to convey different forms of a single language. While the spoken mode is coded in sounds the written mode is coded in symbols and the two different codings each bring with them significant features. However, many people imagine spoken and written English are closely related notions. Close examination reveals that there are as many differences as there are connections.
The written mode uses its own versions of speech features, which can be shown in the following table. The written form's most important characteristic is that, unlike the immediacy of speech, there is the opportunity to revise and correct.
Writing is long lasting while speech is ephemeral.
Each mode may range from spontaneous, (a casual conversation or a scribbled written note) to planned (a prepared talk or a formal essay).

Speech	Writing
Pauses	Punctuation (.,;:-)
Hesitation	Punctuation (- ...)
Fillers	usually omitted but can be expressed in written speech as "er"
Non fluency features	usually omitted but can be expressed in written speech as "er" or punctuation (- ...)
Expression of emotions	conventional forms - "aagh!" "grr!" including use of exclamation mark, italics and bold
Grammatical errors	Fewer
Irregular suprasegmentals	None
Incomplete syntax	Rare, expressed as "..."
Overlaps	Expressed as "..." or authorial voice eg Bill interrupted.
Instant feedback	Long delays in conventional print, faster in newspapers, faster again in online discussion groups and nearly instant in chat rooms
Phonology	layout, typography
Pronunciation	Spelling
Accent	Spelling
Dialect	Vocabulary
Discourse features	Rare except as vocabulary
Redundancy	Rare
Divergency from topic	Rare
Serial coordinators	Sentences and more logical coordinators
Ill defined sentence structure	Less common. Sentences generally well defined with punctuation defining clauses.
Inexplicit, great use of pronouns	More explicit. Nouns preferred to pronouns.
Paralinguistics - gesture and body language	Limited to typography
Seamless topic change	Topic change by sentence or paragraph

Written English is from Venus, Spoken English – from Mars!

Robby writes on englishharmony

I’m so overwhelmed by the need to discuss this topic that I can barely contain my excitement! It’s been a controversy all along the way and it seems to me that many foreign English speakers still don’t differentiate much between spoken and written English. But those two creatures are from different planets indeed...

one difference he cites is

Spoken English means Improvizing!
Spoken English is instantaneous. When you open your mouth and say something,you can’t take it back – what’s said is said! When you write, on the other hand, you can think about what words you use and in what order you put them! If you’d go this path when speaking English, your speech would become very hesitant, with constant ‘hmmms’ and ‘eeerrs’ and you’d correct yourself all the time by picking better fitting words.
When you write, you create the piece of English text by working on it. When you speak, you’re IMPROVIZING, you don’t create anything, only ‘raw’ language stuff comes out of your mouth.
This factor explains very well why so many foreign English speakers are so good at writing but their spoken fluency is quite poor. They can create impeccable written English texts because they’ve got time to think on word choice and grammar structure. It’s something we’ve all learned in a classroom, we’ve passed English exams by using the same academic skills and we feel quite confident about our English knowledge. Real life isn’t academy, though! The moment you have to start chatting with a real English speaking person, writing skills are no help whatsoever!

...read the entire article 

Features of Academic Spoken English

from Using English for Academic Purposes

Spoken language is different from written language for many reasons. One important reason is that it usually has to be understood immediately whereas written language can be read many times. For that reason, spoken language has many different features.
Spoken language has the following characteristics (Halliday, 1989, p. 31):

• Variation in speed - but it is generally faster than writing 
• Loudness or quietness 
• Gestures - body language Intonation Stress 
• Rhythm Pitch range 
• Pausing and phrasing 

As well as this, there are differences in the actual language used...

...read the entire article

Great Resource for Written English

If you are new to writing in English, and serious about wanting to improve, listening to some of Seilstad’s videos on grammar and punctuation,  Sentence Problems and Passive Voice would be useful .
His video is not always the best, but clarification points are written on the screen and his examples are good. Here is his video on spelling issues.



find all his videos on his YoutTube channel.

A Mosaic of People, Culture, and Hope

Oracle ThinkQuest, projects by students for students, has a lengthy section on immigration into the United States.


The Introduction

Ever since its founding in 1776, and even before then, the United States has attracted immigrants from around the world. For well over two centuries, people have flocked under this nation's protective wings as opportunists, sojourners, missionaries, refugees, and even illegal aliens. With the Statue of Liberty greeting Europeans entering Ellis Island, and The Golden Gate Bridge greeting Chinese and other Asians into San Francisco, the U.S. has long since been a refuge of the world, with opportunities abound and freedom for all. Over time, millions around the world have found emigrating to the U.S. as the only alternative to starvation, death, or a life full of hardship and suffering. With thousands from nations spanning the globe, America has become a mosaic of people, culture, and hope.

... read about the different waves of immigrants who arrived in the US, their stories, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and more at ThinkQuest.

Immigration Issues

Find a collection of recent articles about Immigration Issues in the US at about.com.


Browse through the articles, the Must Reads list and the Immigrant Life section ti get an idea of the issues currently facing immigrants in the US.