And so when the question arises of whether speech or writing that is the superior form of communication in today’s society, I suddenly find myself at a near loss for words. I suppose that it might be a bit of an indecisive stance to argue, but in my opinion, not only are both forms of communication so vital to the way live today, but both also serve very specific and unique purposes that the other would not be able to completely fulfill.
Consider the epic milestone of a child’s first word. It is so significant because it marks the beginning of their ability to communicate. Before they are able to write, they can communicate through speech to their parents in order to fulfill their needs, express their desires, and share their observations. Not only that, but it is the observation and imitation of their parents’ speech through which they themselves are able to begin comprehending language. While we grow and develop, speech becomes a vital aspect of life. To educate ourselves and gain knowledge of our surroundings we listen to teachers and professors of higher learning. To socialize ourselves we interact and form relationships with our peers.
Even so, perhaps one of the most unique characteristic of speech is its expressive capabilities. In “The End of Literacy? Don’t Stop Reading.” Howard Gardner explains that after our basic survival needs are met, humans are able “to pursue other needs and desires, including the pleasure of communication, forming friendships, convincing others of our point of view, [and] exercising our imagination…” It is unique form of communication that is speech that allows us do reach these goals through the acts of developing conversations, expressing feelings, debating and performing. How moving would an opera be if you were simply handed the score? How much would you believe the words ‘I love you,’ or even ‘I hate you’ without hearing the intonation of the speaker? How convinced would you be of a person’s argument without being able to listen to the passion within the debater’s voice? Speech has the unique ability to allow a person to express emotions that even they may not be aware of vocally-through their emphasis of words, inflection, and tone. Furthermore, face to face conversations also permit those involved to see a person’s facial expressions, hand gestures and body language as they speak. If a couple is fighting and one individual says, “No, it is fine if you want to cancel our date,” an annoyed tone and crossed arms are sure signs that what was said was not what they truly felt.
But even though speech has a power and emotion that cannot be conveyed through written words, writing also has its many practical and essential aspects. It is not surprising to notice that written word has become much more prevalent in day to day living as we develop new communication technologies. Whether we’re reading news blogs, technology blogs or personal blogs, browsing our social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or completing online assignments for a class, it is written word that we depend on for convenience, efficiency and dependability.
With internet connections available to anyone who may be seeking it, the World Wide Web is merely a few clicks (but perhaps several dollars) away. Further convenience is found as users are able to seek out specific information using quick answer methods such as Wikipedia or Google. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of times I’ve thanked the wonderful workings of the internet for fast facts, answers to arbitrary questions and identifying new songs that I hear.
On top of all this, there is also the great aspect of practicality that writing embraces. Think about how strange it would be to hear a clock say the time instead of just being able to read it every time you wanted to check it. Written word is a functional way to convey information as simply or detailed, and as close-knit or widespread, as its writer desires. Street signs indicate traffic laws that are to be obeyed. Flyers are plastered all over campus in order to inform the masses of various events to attend, when and where they will be and what they are for. E-mails between my sister and my family update us on how my newborn niece Maile is doing. Facebook events are able to invite the entire campus to bake sales in the Breezeway. In today’s world we are able to virtually write anything we want and send it to whoever we want, given we have the desire to do it.
So why choose between speech and writing? Instead I prefer focusing on how technology as managing to converge both into effective and efficient forms of communication. Consider how advances in technology has allowed us to move past simply writing back and forth to each other through AOL Instant Messenger, and into the realm of being able to see and hear each other by making video connections like Skype allows us to. Both of these forms of communication fulfill their unique purposes of powerful expression and great convenience, so instead of picking one we prefer, we should really be taking advantage of the wonderful ways we are able to connect.
After reading your post, I felt like what I wrote in my blog is somewhat incomplete. I believed that writing was the superior form of communication, but now I realize, writing is not complete without oral communication. I do notice that oral communication is best used to show emotions, but written communication makes life easier sometimes. For example, a simple email to our professor or boss is much faster and convenient than trying to look for them to talk to them in person. You mentioned that through oral communication, we are able to learn from our professors; but that process is somehow fading away. Online classes are becoming more popular as time goes on, especially in other campuses. In many online classes, there's no way of conversing with your professor other than writing to them. Through experience, I realized that online classes, although very foreign for the first time, are something we also have to adapt to, just like many technological advancements.
ReplyDeleteThrough your post, I also realized how the traditional way of written communication on paper is also somehow fading away. If you look at the many examples that you gave, most of them mainly relate to computers and the internet, and not really to paper and pen. Therefore, just like how some sources of oral communication is fading away, written communication is also evolving to different forms.