Written Language

The Written Language Bias in Linguistics

Linguists routinely emphasise the primacy of speech over writing. Yet, most linguists have analysed spoken language, as well as language in general, applying theories and methods that are best suited for written language. Accordingly, there is an extensive 'written language bias' in traditional and present day linguistics and other language sciences. In this book, this point is argued with rich and convincing evidence from virtually all fields of linguistics.

A Grammar of the Japanese Written Language

Comprehending Oral and Written Language

Written for researchers and graduate students, this book--a collection of essays by cognitive scientists, socio- and psycholinguists, and English, reading, and language arts educators--explores theoretical and research questions associated with the relationships among oral and written language, listening and reading, and speaking and writing. The four parts of the book are designed to highlight critical contrasts: "The Language of Spoken and Written Discourse"; "Processing Strategies: Rhetorical, Social-Situational, and Contextual Constraints"; "Processing Strategies: Perceptual and Cognitive Demands in Listening and Reading"; and "The Acquisition of Literacy and Schooling." The thirteen chapters consist of: (1) "Comprehending Oral and Written Language: Critical Contrasts for Literacy and Schooling" (Rosalind Horowitz and S. Jay Samuels); (2) "Spoken and Written Modes of Meaning" (M. A. K. Halliday); (3) "Properties of Spoken and Written Language" (Wallace Chafe and Jane Danielewicz); (4) "Rhetorical Structure in Discourse Processing" (Rosalind Horowitz); (5) "Episodic Models in Discourse Processing" (Teun A. van Dijk); (6) "The Role of Context in Written Communication" (Martin Nystrand); (7) "Listening and Reading Processes in College- and Middle School-Age Readers" (David J. Townsend, Caroline Carrithers, and Thomas G. Bever); (8) "Prosody and Structure in Children's Syntactic Processing" (Peter A. Schreiber); (9) "Processing Strategies for Reading and Listening" (Joseph H. Danks and Laurel J. End); (10) "Factors That Influence Listening and Reading Comprehension" (S. Jay Samuels); (11) "From Meaning to Definition: A Literate Bias on the Structure of Word Meaning" (Rita Watson and David R. Olson); (12) "Language, Speech, and Print: Some Asymmetries in the Acquisition of Literacy" (Charles A. Perfetti); and (13) "A Comparison of the Two Theories about Development in Written Language: Implications for Pedagogy and Research" (Sandra Stotsky). (MM).