The Differences between Spoken and Written Grammar in ...

1 138 No. 11 (July - December 2015) No. 11 (July - December 2015)The Differences between Spoken and Written Grammar in English, in Comparison with Vietnamese1 Las Diferencias entre la Gram tica Oral y Escrita del Idioma Ingl s en Comparaci n con el Idioma Vietnamita Nguyen Cao Thanh2*Tan Trao University, Vietnam AbstractThe fundamental point of this paper is to describe and evaluate some Differences between Spoken and Written Grammar in English, and compare some of the points with Vietnamese. This paper illustrates that Spoken Grammar is less rigid than Written Grammar . Moreover, it highlights the distinction between speaking and writing in terms of subordination and coordination.

2 Further, the different frequency of adverbials and adjectivals between Spoken and Written language is also compared and analyzed. Keywords: Spoken and Written Grammar , English, Vietnamese1 Received: July 15, 2015 / Accepted: September 10, 20152 Education and LearninG Research Journal. issn 1692-5777. no. 11, (July - december) 2015. pp. No. 11 (July - December 2015) No. 11 (July - December 2015)ResumenEl principal objetivo de este art culo es describir y evaluar algunas diferencias entre la gram tica oral y escrita del idioma ingl s y comparar algunos aspectos gramaticales con el idioma vietnamita. Esta revisi n muestra como la gram tica oral es menos r gida que la gram tica escrita.

3 Por otra parte, se destaca la distinci n entre el hablar y el escribir en t rminos de subordinaci n y coordinaci n. Adem s, la diferencia en el uso de adverbios y adjetivos entre la gram tica oral y escrita tambi n es comparada y clave: gram tica oral y escrita, ingl s, vietnamitaResumoO principal objetivo deste artigo descrever e avaliar algumas diferen as entre a gram tica oral e escrita do idioma ingl s e comparar alguns aspectos gramaticais com o idioma vietnamita. Esta revis o mostra como a gram tica oral menos r gida que a gram tica escrita. Por outro lado, se destaca a distin o entre o falar e o escrever em termos de subordina o e coordena o. Al m do mais, a diferen a no uso de adv rbios e adjetivos entre a gram tica oral e escrita tamb m comparada e chave: gram tica oral e escrita, ingl s, vietnamitacao140 No.

4 11 (July - December 2015) No. 11 (July - December 2015)IntroductionIn early times, there was no writing, and people exchanged information only by speaking. Through the historical stages of development, the writing system was shaped. Nowadays, writing is an indispensable means of communication for people in life as well as work. Parallel to writing, speaking has also become more adequate and perfect day by day. As a result, research into Spoken and Written language in English, the global language, has been properly addressed. One of the principal aims of this reflection is to analyze how to distinguish between Spoken and Written Grammar .

5 Based on this, the teaching of English at school may take the direction of differentiating between Spoken and Written are many different definitions of Spoken and Written language. However, in a minor scope of the paper, I will give a definition given by Horowitz and Samuels (1987):Oral language is typically associated by linguists with conversation that is produced, processed, and then evaluated in the context of face-to-face exchange and grounded in interpersonal relationships that are often clearly established. Oral language is adapted to a specific audience and to socio-cultural settings and communities that are presumably present, functioning in a context of here and now.

6 (p. 56)In contrast: Written language is typically associated with language of books and explanatory prose such as is found in schools. Written language is formal, academic, and planned; it hinges on the past and is reconstructed in such a way that in the future it can be processed by varied readerships. (p. 21)Table 1. The oral- Written dichotomy (Horowitz and Samuels, 1987)Oral languageWritten languageTalkTextFace to face conversation with reciprocity between speaker and listenerFace to text with limited reciprocity between author and readerNarrative-likeExpository-likeActio n-orientedIdea-orientedEvent-orientedArg ument-orientedStory-orientedExplanatoryH ere and nowFuture and pastIn given space and timeNot space or time bounddifferences between Spoken and Written Grammar cao141 No.

7 11 (July - December 2015) No. 11 (July - December 2015)InformalFormalPrimary discourseSecondary discourseNatural communicationArtificial communicationInterpersonalObjective and distancedSpontaneousPlannedSharing of context (situational)No common contextEllipsisExplicitness in text consciousnessStructurelessHighly structuredCohesion through paralinguistic cuesCohesion through lexical cuesSingle predicationMultiple predictionRepetitionSuccinctnessSimple linear structuresComplex hierarchical structuresParatactic patternsHypotactic patternsRight branching with limited subordinationLeft branching with multiple levels of subordinationFleetingPermanentUnconsciou sConscious and restructuredFrom the above definition, this paper will attempt to distinguish some Differences between Spoken and Written Grammar .

8 English and Vietnamese are adopted to be compared. The foundation of this paper is partly based on the author s personal understanding and mostly on a collection of arguments from other authors. Literature ReviewFrom historical research up to now, there have been a variety of understandings about Spoken and Written language in English. However, it is undeniable that oral and Written narratives are two components constructing English. As a result, the aspects of Spoken and Written language such as Grammar are always a current topic for researchers. There are many different ideas about the occurrence of Written and Spoken language, such as the frequency in narrative, which is more important, and whether they work together or and Walker (2006) suppose that both Spoken and Written language are closely interdependent.

9 They emphasize that from primary time, Spoken language was a means to express ideas and information while Written language was a symbol system to represent the Spoken form. Cook (2004) Differences between Spoken and Written Grammar cao142 No. 11 (July - December 2015) No. 11 (July - December 2015)states that although there are some similarities of the systems of speech and writing, there are many Differences . Written language can easily show various words by varying the spelling. Many of the devices of Written language have no Spoken equivalent (p. 12). Biber (1986) also shows that linguistic Differences between speaking and writing have been attributed to differing processing constraints and to differing situational characteristics (p.)

10 23).From the above evaluations, it can be seen that although there are some similarities, there are also remarkable Differences between Spoken and Written grammars in English. Actually, in Grammar books, the concentration is on Written Grammar , and students are usually taught this rather than Spoken Grammar . It should be recognized that normally, when people speak, they often do not pay much attention to the words, sentences, structures or conjunctions. As a result, Grammar in Spoken language is usually not strict; it is less rigid and more flexible than in in Townend and Walker s analysis, there is an interdependence between Spoken and Written language, but they still have to find the answer for the question, Why does language have two parts?