首页
登录
职称英语
"Speech and Writing" One of the basic assumptions of modern linguistics is th
"Speech and Writing" One of the basic assumptions of modern linguistics is th
游客
2024-01-03
56
管理
问题
"Speech and Writing"
One of the basic assumptions of modern linguistics is that speech is primary and writing is secondary. The most immediate manifestation of language is speech and not writing. Writing is simply the representation of speech in another physical medium. Spoken language encodes thought into a physically transmittable form, while writing, in turn, encodes spoken language into a physically preservable form. Writing is a three-stage process: thinking of an idea, expressing it in mental grammar, and then transferring it to written form. All units of writing, whether letters or characters, are based on units of speech, i.e., words, sounds, or syllables. When linguists study language, therefore, they take the spoken language as their best source of data and their object of description except in instances of languages like Latin for which there are no longer any speakers.
You may think that with the advent of so many "instant messaging" programs, writing can now be as immediate as speech. But it is important to remember that even though the written form can be nearly immediate these days, there is still an extra step between conceptualizing the message you want to communicate and the reception of that idea, if you have to write it—regardless of whether you do so longhand or type it into a computer.
There are several reasons for maintaining that speech is primary and writing is secondary. A Writing is a later historical development than spoken language. B Archeological evidence indicates that writing was first utilized in Sumer, that is, modern-day Iraq, about 6,000 years ago. C As far as physical and cultural anthropologists can tell, spoken language has probably been used by humans for hundreds of thousands of years. D
Writing does not exist everywhere that spoken language does. This seems hard to imagine in our highly literate society, but the fact is that there are still many communities in the world where a written form of language is not used. Even in those cultures using a writing system, there are individuals who fail to learn the written form of their language. In fact, the majority of the Earth’s inhabitants are illiterate, though quite capable of spoken communication. However, no society uses only a written language with no spoken form.
Writing must be taught, whereas spoken language is acquired automatically. All children, except children with serious learning disabilities, naturally learn to speak the language of the community in which they are brought up. They acquire the basics of their native language before they enter school, and even if they never attend school, they become fully competent speakers. Writing systems vary in complexity, but regardless of their level of sophistication, they must all be taught.
Neurolinguistic evidence (studies of the brain in action during language use) demonstrates that the processing and production of written language is overlaid on the spoken language centers in the brain. Spoken language involves several distinct areas of the brain; writing uses these areas and others as well.
Despite all this evidence, it is a widely held misconception that writing is more perfect than speech. To many people, writing somehow seems more correct and more stable, whereas speech can be careless, corrupted, and susceptible to change. Some people even go so far as to identify "language" with writing and to regard speech as a secondary form of language used imperfectly to approximate the ideals of the written language.
What gives rise to the misconception that writing is more perfect than speech? There are several reasons. Writing can be edited, and so the product of writing is usually more aptly worded and better organized, containing fewer errors, hesitations, and incomplete sentences than are found in speech. This "perfection of writing" can be explained by the fact that writing is the result of deliberation, correction, and revision, while speech is the spontaneous and simultaneous formulation of ideas; writing is therefore less subject to the constraint of time than speech is. Writing must be taught and is therefore ultimately associated with education and educated speech. Since the speech of the educated is more often than not set up as the "standard language," writing is associated indirectly with the varieties of language that people tend to view as "correct." However, the association of writing with the standard variety is not a necessary one, as evidenced by the attempts of writers to transcribe faithfully the speech of their characters. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men contain examples of this. Writing is more physically stable than spoken language, which consists of nothing more than sound waves traveling through the air, and is therefore ephemeral and transient. Writing tends to last, because of its physical medium (characters on some surface), and can be preserved for a very long time. Spelling does not seem to vary from individual to individual or from place to place as easily as pronunciation does. Thus, writing has the appearance of being more stable especially in the modern era. Of course, spelling does vary, as exemplified by the differences between the American ways of spelling gray and words with the suffixes -ize and -ization as compared with the British spelling of grey and -ise and -isation. Writing could also change if it were made to follow the changes of speech. The fact that people at various times try to carry out spelling reforms amply illustrates this possibility. [br] Which of the following statements most closely represents the author’s opinion?
选项
A、Speech and writing have historical similarities.
B、Standard speech is the best model for writing.
C、Writing is not more perfect than speech.
D、Writing should not change like speech does.
答案
C
解析
"Despite all this evidence, it is a widely held misconception that writing is more perfect than speech." This statement expresses the author’s opinion, which is developed in an essay with argument and persuasion. Choice A is not correct because the history of writing begins many years later than that of speech. Choice B is not correct because the author says that "the association of writing with the standard variety is not a necessary one." Choice D is not correct because the author points out that "Writing could also change if it were made to follow the changes of speech."
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3329431.html
相关试题推荐
[img]2012q1/ct_etoefm_etoefwriteb_2099_20121[/img]IndependentWritingDirec
AScientificDebate:Neptunismvs.Plutonism1.Formodernge
AScientificDebate:Neptunismvs.Plutonism1.Formodernge
AScientificDebate:Neptunismvs.Plutonism1.Formodernge
AScientificDebate:Neptunismvs.Plutonism1.Formodernge
AScientificDebate:Neptunismvs.Plutonism1.Formodernge
AScientificDebate:Neptunismvs.Plutonism1.Formodernge
TheWritingsectiontestsyourabilitytowriteessaysinEnglishsimilarto
[img]2012q1/ct_etoefm_etoefwriteb_1920_20121[/img]IndependentWritingDirection
"SpeechandWriting"Itisawidelyheldmisconcept
随机试题
GoodValueBritainTRAVELINGINSCOTLANDScotlandTravelpassgivesyou
BritishEducationalSystemI.Primaryandsecondaryedu
[originaltext]W:Thetermpaperisdueintwodays,butitseemsallthebooks
以下关于敏捷开发原则的叙述中,错误的是()。A.强调通过尽早地、持续地交付有价
发生演出主办单位能力所不能控制的任何自然灾害或意外事故,导致不得不取消、中断、推
中国古代农业耕作方式的主要特点可以概括为( )。A.刀耕火种 B.男耕女织
既能润肠通便,又能利水消肿的药物是( )。A.知母 B.杏仁 C.决明子
蕲蛇酒炙时,每100kg药物用黄酒的量是A:5kgB:10kgC:20kg
患者,女,76岁,患阿尔茨海默病,伴严重的肾功能不全,该患者禁用的药物为,A.多
下列消费品,属于消费税征税范围的有()。A、果木酒 B、药酒 C、调味料酒
最新回复
(
0
)