SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE

We don't need to speak in order to use language. Language can be written, broadcast from tapes and CDs, and produced by computers in limited ways. Nevertheless, speech remains the primary way humans encode and broadcast language. Speaking and writing are different in both origin and practice. Our ability to use language is as old as humankind is. It reflects the biological and cognitive modification that has occurred during the evolution of our species.

Writing is the symbolic representation of language by graphic signs. It is comparatively recent cultural development. Spoken language is acquired without specific formal instruction, whereas writing must be taught and learned through deliberate effort. The origins of the written language lie in the spoken language, not the other way round..

The written form of language is usually a generally accepted standard and is the same throughout the country. But spoken language may vary from place to place. Such distinct forms of language are called dialects! The varieties of the language are conditioned by language communities ranging from small groups to nations. Speaking about the nations we refer to the national variants of the language. According to A.D. Schweitzer national language is a historical category evolving from conditions of economic and political concentration which characterizes the formation of nation. In the case of English there exists a great diversity in the realization of the language and particularly in terms of pronunciation. Though every national variant of English has considerable differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar; they all have much in common which gives us ground to speak of one and the same language — the English language.

Every national variety of language falls into territorial or regional dialects. Dialects are distinguished from each other by differences in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. When we refer to varieties in pronunciation only, we use the term accent. So local accents may have many features of pronunciation in common and are grouped into territorial or area accents. For certain reasons one of the dialects becomes the standard language of the nation and its pronunciation or accent - the standard pronunciation.

The literary spoken form has its national pronunciation standard. A standard may be defined as "a socially accepted variety of language established by a codified norm of correctness" (K. Macanalay). Standard national pronunciation is sometimes called " an orthoepic norm''. Some phoneticians however prefer the term " literary pronunciation ".

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