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On the relations between spoken and written language with special reference to English
Excerpt from The British Academy, Vol. 6: On the Relations Between Spoken and Written Language With Special Reference to English
We shall have to say that a piece of writing is useful in the precise degree in which it is phonetically spelt, and no further. Perhaps no one will venture to say that this statement is in accord with the facts; but unless the current pseudo-axiom means this, I am at a loss to imagine what it can mean. The truth is that between written music and written language there is one all-important difference. In written music the representation of sounds is the absolutely ultimate end. In written language it is only a means. We use visible symbols for the sounds of speech because spoken sounds are symbols of meaning. The ultimate end, and for most purposes, though not for all, the only important end of written language is to convey meaning. Now the degree in which a piece of writing or print is capable of conveying its meaning does not at all necessarily depend on the accuracy with which it suggests the sounds that would have been heard if the composition had been spoken instead of being written. Let us consider an extreme case. It is well known that, in the days before the modern improvements in the teaching of the deaf and dumb, many deaf-mutes were successfully taught to read printed books with understanding, and to express their thoughts intelligibly in writing. For these persons a word was simply a group of visible marks, the direct symbol of an idea. For them, of course, the letters of the alphabet could not possibly be associated with any audible sounds, nor even, as they are for their better trained successors, with movements of the organs of speech. In this case alphabetic writing was a total failure so far as its proximate end was concerned, and yet for its ultimate purpose it was a complete success. The middle step had simply been jumped over. Now, as I shall show later on, educated persons, gifted with hearing and speech, do in their mental reading constantly perform this very feat of jumping over the middle step. By long habit, they have formed direct associations between certain familiar groups of letters and the meanings which they represent. Their purpose in reading being to arrive at the meaning, they find a quicker way of doing so than that of translating every written word into its audible equivalent. In this fact we shall find the explanation of much that might otherwise seem unaccountable in the history of written language.
It is universally admitted that writing began by being ideographic. The earliest written characters were pictures, which at first stood for the objects depicted, and afterwards became also symbols of qualities, actions, and relations. It is conceivable that if mankind had been all deaf-mutes, they might have developed on this basis a written language as complete and efficient for its purpose as oral speech.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
We shall have to say that a piece of writing is useful in the precise degree in which it is phonetically spelt, and no further. Perhaps no one will venture to say that this statement is in accord with the facts; but unless the current pseudo-axiom means this, I am at a loss to imagine what it can mean. The truth is that between written music and written language there is one all-important difference. In written music the representation of sounds is the absolutely ultimate end. In written language it is only a means. We use visible symbols for the sounds of speech because spoken sounds are symbols of meaning. The ultimate end, and for most purposes, though not for all, the only important end of written language is to convey meaning. Now the degree in which a piece of writing or print is capable of conveying its meaning does not at all necessarily depend on the accuracy with which it suggests the sounds that would have been heard if the composition had been spoken instead of being written. Let us consider an extreme case. It is well known that, in the days before the modern improvements in the teaching of the deaf and dumb, many deaf-mutes were successfully taught to read printed books with understanding, and to express their thoughts intelligibly in writing. For these persons a word was simply a group of visible marks, the direct symbol of an idea. For them, of course, the letters of the alphabet could not possibly be associated with any audible sounds, nor even, as they are for their better trained successors, with movements of the organs of speech. In this case alphabetic writing was a total failure so far as its proximate end was concerned, and yet for its ultimate purpose it was a complete success. The middle step had simply been jumped over. Now, as I shall show later on, educated persons, gifted with hearing and speech, do in their mental reading constantly perform this very feat of jumping over the middle step. By long habit, they have formed direct associations between certain familiar groups of letters and the meanings which they represent. Their purpose in reading being to arrive at the meaning, they find a quicker way of doing so than that of translating every written word into its audible equivalent. In this fact we shall find the explanation of much that might otherwise seem unaccountable in the history of written language.
It is universally admitted that writing began by being ideographic. The earliest written characters were pictures, which at first stood for the objects depicted, and afterwards became also symbols of qualities, actions, and relations. It is conceivable that if mankind had been all deaf-mutes, they might have developed on this basis a written language as complete and efficient for its purpose as oral speech.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
22 pages, Unknown Binding
First published September 27, 2015
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