Attachments_setltd@mail.ru_2012-06-24_15-33-11 английский язык / 49written and oral variety of the language

49/ There are two varieties of language - the spoken and the written within standard (literary) language. This differentiation is predetermined by two distinct factors, namely, the actual situation in which the language is being used and the aim of communication. Of the two varieties of language, diachronically the spoken is primary and the written is secondary. The situation in which the spoken variety of language is used and in which it develops, presupposes the presence of the interlocutor, whereas, the written variety presupposes the absence of the interlocutor. The spoken language is mostly maintained in the form of a dialogue, the written - in the form of a monologue. The spoken language has a considerable advantage over the written because of such factors as human voice, all kinds of gestures, which give additional information.

The written language has to seek means to compensate for what it lacks. This is the reason why the written language is more carefully organized, more explanatory, the word choice is more deliberate. The spoken language is spontaneous, momentary. It vanishes after having fulfilled its purpose, which is to communicate the thought, no matter trivial or important. The idea remains, the language disappears. The written language is able to live forever with the idea it expresses.

The spoken language can not be detached from the user of it, the written language can be detached and objectively looked at. The writer has an opportunity to correct and improve what has been put on paper. The written language bears a greater volume of responsibility than its spoken counterpart.

The spoken language differs from the written language phonetically, morphologically, lexically and syntactically. The most striking difference between the spoken and the written language is in the vocabulary used. There are words and phrases typically colloquial, on the one hand, and typically bookish, on the other hand. If colloquial words and phrases find their way in the written language, they immediately produce a marked stylistic effect and can be used for the speech characterization, for example.

The spoken language widely uses intensifying words. These are interjections and words with strong emotive meaning, as oaths, swear-words and adjectives which have lost their primary meaning (He put my goddam paper down. I am pretty sure.). The spoken language is characterized by the insertion into the utterance of words without any meaning, which are called "fill-ups" or empty words (as well, and all, so to say, whatever).

The essential difference between the two varieties of language is evidently reflected in the syntactical structure. The syntactical peculiarities of the spoken language are

1. omission of the part of utterance easily supplied by the situation in which the communication takes place (Who you with? Tell you what?)

2. tendency to use the direct word-order in questions or omit auxiliary verb, leaving it to the intonation to indicate the grammatical meaning (He knew she was dead?)

3. unfinished sentences (If I were you…)

4. usage of a construction with two subjects (a tautological subject) (Helen, she was there.)

5. absence of connecting words (Came home late. Had a cup of tea. Went to bed soon after that.)

6. syntactical structures, expressing definite emotions, which can be understood only knowing a proper intonation design (Isn't she cute! Don't you tell me that!)

The written language is characterized by

1. the exact nature of the utterance (the abundance of all kinds of connecting words))

2. the bookish "space-wasters" (despite the fact; reach a decision)

3. the use of complicated sentence-units (long periods are more frequent than short utterances)

An essential property of the written variety of language is coherence and logical unity backed up by purely linguistic means.

A.S. Pushkin: "The written language is constantly being enlivened by expressions born in conversation but must not give up what it has acquired in the course of centuries. To use the spoken language only, means not to know the language."

E. PARTICULAR USE OF COLLOQUIAL CONSTRUCTIONS

We have already pointed out some of the constructions which bear an imprint of emotion in the very arrangement of the words, whether they are neutral or stylistically coloured (see" p. 39). Such constructions are almost exclusively used in lively colloquial intercourse. The emotional element can be strongly enforced by emphatic intonation, which is an indispensable component of emotional utterance. But what is important to observe is that the structure itself, independent of the actual lexical presentation, is intended to carry some emotional charge.

Emotional syntactical, structures typical of the spoken variety of language are sometimes very effectively used by men-of-letters to depict the emotional state of mind of tha characters; they.may even be used, in particular-cases, in the narrative of the author. But even when used in the dialogue of novels and stories these emotional constructions, being deprived of their accompaniment—intonation—assume a greater signifi­cance and become stylistically marked. Here the emotional structures stand out more conspicuously, because they are thrown into prominence not by the intonation pattern but by the syntactical pattern.

Consequently, it will be found necessary to classify some of the most typical structures of these kinds, in spite of the lurking danger of confus­ing idiomatic phrases (set expressions, phraseological units) with abstract patterns.

a) One of the most typical patterns is a simple statement followed by the pronoun that+noun (pronoun)+verb to be (in the appropriate form), for example:

"June had answered in her imperious brisk way, like the little embodiment of will that she was." (Galsworthy)

"And Felix thought: 'She just wants to talk to me about Derek, Dog in the manger that I am.'"

b) Another pattern is a-question form with an exclamatory meaning expressing amazement, indignation, excitement, enjoyment, etc., for example:

"Old ladies, Do I ever hate them?"

"He said in an awestruck voice: 'Boy, is that a piece of boat!'"

"And boy, could that *guy spend money Г

"And was Edward pleased!"

"'Look', she said. 'Isn't that your boss there, just coming in?' 'My God! Yes,' said Lute, 'Oh, and has he a nice package?' Til say. That's his wife with him, isn't it?'" (O'Hara) "A witch she is. I know her back in the old country. Sure, and didn't she come over on the same boat as myself?" (Betty Smith)

Note that this pattern is generally preceded by an exclamatory word, or an interjection, or the conjunction and in the same function.

c) The third pattern is a morphological one (generally use of contin­uous forms), but mentioned here because it is closely connected with syntactical structures, inversions, repetitions and others, for example:

"You are not being silly, are you?" (Leslie Ford) "Now we're not going to have any more of that, Mrs Euston."

(O'Hara)

d) The fourth pattern, also very common in colloquial English, is a construction where a noun or pronoun subject followed by the verbs to have (noun+object) or to be (noun+predicative) ends with the two com­ponents in inverted order, for example:

"She had a high colour, had Sally"

"He has a rather curious smile, has my friend"

"She is a great comfort to me, is that lass" (Cronin)

Sometimes though, the noun or pronoun subject is predicated by notional verbs. In this case fodoisused in this trailing emphatic phrase, as in:

"He fair beats me, does James Brodie'1 (Cronin)

Negative forms are frequently used to indicate an emotional out-burst of the speaker, for instance:

"You don't say!"

"I do say. I tell you I'm a student of this." (J. Steinbeck) "Don't be surprised if he doesn't visit you one of these days." (=if he visits you)

The emphasis is weaker in the second example.

The basic patterns of emotional colloquial constructions enumerated above have a particularly strong stylistic effect when they are used in the author's speech. The explanation of this must be sought in the well-known dichotomy of the oral vs the written variety of language.

As has been previpusly pointed out, the oral variety has, as one of its distinctive features, an emotional character revealed mostly in the use of special emotive words, intensifiers and additional semanticizing factors caused by intonation and voice qualities. The. written variety is more intellectual; it is reasoned and, ideally, is non-emotional. So when such constructions have travelled from their homeland—dialogue — into the author's domain — monologue—, they assume the quality of an SD. Some of the examples given above illustrate this with sufficient clarity.

Among other cases of the particular use of colloquial constructions are 1) ellipsis, 2) break-in-the-narrative, 3) question-in-the-narrative, and 4) represented speech.