CONSIDERATIONS ON SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE (part two)
When did you discover the difference between spoken and written language? Strange question. I agree! Take on the challenge to understand your own your speaking and writing language!
There are so many aspects that came to my mind when writing about this topic. I have to admit I am struggling. Feeling a bit stuck on writing about this, I use my good old social policy writing skills. This means going back to basic: the definition of terms.
Last week I described in part one an encounter between a mother and her son. That made me realize that there must be an ‘aha’ moment in everyone’s life. That you become aware that what you say does not make sense when you write it down the same way. And that is how it influences your writing style making this a strong third pillar!
Pillar three: Understanding the difference between spoken and written language
To understand the difference here is a little throwback from my first moment. I encourage you to do go back to your memory lane!
Here is how I discovered the difference between spoken and written language
I was four years old and sitting in the car that took me for the first time to preschool. The moment my father stopped the car, I opened the door of the green Volkswagen. Without looking back I ran straight to the entrance. Later my mother told me that I was their only child who did not cry on the first day going to preschool.
Soon I found out that there were two different groups of children. There were children like me, having Dutch as a second language. The other group were those who spoke with a local accent from the city Utrecht also known as ‘Utregs’.
The teachers did their very best to learn us -non Dutch natives- new words and of course the proper pronunciations. I was eager to learn. The best way to practice Dutch was ofcourse during play time. Soon I mingled with the group of children who spoke Dutch with a local accent.
One time I came home and shouted in the hallway in Dutch to my mother:
“ Ik moet naar de plee! Or I have to go to the loo!”
For the word ‘loo’ I used the Dutch slang word ‘plee’. My mother looked puzzled at me and took her Dutch-Hungarian dictionary to look for the word ‘plee’. This spoken word did not exist in written language. Luckily my older sister came to the rescue and translated for my mother.
When I learnt how to write, I understood gradually that there are more words that are only used in spoken or just written language.
Choose your words wisely
Yes, I was clever at a young age! Still today I find myself in. situations where spoken and written language are pretty mixed up. It can even cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
For instance when you speak with someone, you use spoken language without thinking too much about it. Of course there are circumstances where you ‘choose your words’ wisely. Maybe you don’t want to offend the other person or you have to tell a difficult message.
Then comes the next dimension while speaking namely the meta communication like emotion, tone and volume of your voice or the emphasis you put on certain words. At the same time the recipient takes in your message and will respond accordingly.
How can I understanding my own spoken and written language better?
Nowadays we send each other countless short messages. If you take a moment to read back a message thread, you most likely will see that you used spoken language. The reason may be that you find it a bit awkward to use formal written language. The other person may perceive you as being distant or even angry. So you write short messages in spoken language. But that is when misunderstandings are born! As you don’t get a visual look at how the other person perceived the message. You cannot correct yourself on the spot. A small issue turns into a big one. I am guilty as well and have managed to get myself into some nasty misunderstandings.
Let’s exercise!
As a policy advisor I was guilty in causing misunderstandings in mail messages. Here is a little insight of twenty years of experience what worked for me.
Think of a situation when you had to deliver someone face to face a difficult message. Write down this event on paper. Yes, use paper and pen! It will give your brain more time to recollect memories!
Now reflect:
Did you start with an ‘introduction’ or go straight to the point?
Can you identify spoken en written language?
Have you used the same words as in spoken language?
Where you able to describe emotions in your message?
Another way is to scroll into your writings. It can be emails, chat or a document that you commented on.
Take some time and read different writings. Ask yourself: is this something I would use in spoken language as well or not?
Then transform the text: from written to spoken or the other way around. How does this change the message you are trying to convey?
Be honest to yourself: did you cause a bit of a misunderstanding in an email or text message? Call or meet that person and sort it out!
Do you want to find out what the first two pillars are?
Earlier this year I encountered five pillars that determined my journey on finding back my writing style. It all started with the affirmation:
You are the main character of your life!
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Thanks for reading Quest to find my writing