Language in Use 69
The relationship between speech and writing is much more complex than most people realise, because their view of speech tends to be dominated by their view of the grammatical patterns of the written language. The aim of this unit is to explore the essential differences and writing, by asking a class to write out a passage from the Language I . 11 Use tape, so that they can discover for themselves what aspects of speech cannot be accommodated by the writing system.
[1] This session must be given to writing out the passage from the tape. Before beginning, the class need to hear the tape through twice at least, and makes notes on what it contains. They should be asked to find their own solutions to the problems presented by pauses, and non-verbal and intonational features.
[2] The aim of this session is to focus upon the difficulties encountered,
and from this to consider what aspects of speech stiffer loss or distortion
when the medium used is writing. Circulate the versions from session [1] and
build tip on the board a version of the text which contains as much as possible
of the original. The subsequent discussion should focus upon
(a) the relationship between intonation and punctuation
(b) the passages which seem to be incomplete or defective grammatically when
written down
(c) the kinds of information which will not transfer directly", like tone of
voice and anything conveyed non-verbally.
[3] For this session, each member of the class needs to write a version
of the passage which tries to find words for all that was present on the tape.
Circulate the versions and, in discussion, explore such points as
(a) the verbal means available for translating into writing what, in speech,
was done non-verbally
(b) the relative length of the versions produced
(c) the features of the original passage that need most words for their meaning
to be conveyed in writing
(d) any methods found of conveying the indexical features of a speaker's voice.
(See C3.)