Spoken and written discourses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spoken and written discourses - Essay Example The word discourse is picked from the Latin term ‘discursus’ which is defined as ‘conversation, speech.’ From a linguistic point of view the term discourse is defined as a continuous stretch of language, which is larger than a sentence and often constitutes coherent units such as argument, joke, sermon, or narrative A discourse is not necessarily long; short conversations/ groans can be equally described as discourse just as a novel would. Discourses may be classified in many ways: written or spoken discourse; classification according to level of formality; classification according to genre; or classification according to the number of participants, whether on or many.For a conversation to be classified as a written or spoken discourse it needs to fulfill several criteria as Beaugrande (1981) explains. They include cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativeness, situationality, and intersexuality. This paper compares the written and spok en discourses. Differences between Spoken and Written discourses The main difference between spoken and written discourse lies in the fact that spoken language must be understood immediately whereas written discourse can be referred to many times (Crystal 1997). Unlike in written discourses, which involves medium that keeps a record of its conveyed message, spoken discourse involves only air and thus conversation is possible only up to the moment it occurs. The speed of conversation also varies between the two mediums of discourse. In spoken discourse, the speaker uses the speed that is appropriate for him/her; such speed is not necessarily convenient for the listener. The speed in spoken discourses is usually varying but faster than in written discourses. Other differences may be classified into: Contextualization Spoken discourse offers a natural form of speech where the audience is usually present. This speech facilitates effective communication since the speakers are able to get feedback from their listeners. This, however, means that spoken discourse has more repetition as the audience asks for clarification on unclear points. Written discourse as Crystal (1997) explains has an audience that is usually farther away and mostly unknown. Writers experience some disconnect in relation to the audience since the audience is not nearby; the writers only try to imagine what their intended audience would appreciate. Such a distance makes writing discourses inherently more difficult compared to spoken discourses. However, some genres of spoken discourse such as academic discourse, have minimal context of shared content, no feedback is encouraged immediately. On the other hand, some written discourses also employ the feedback of the readers who provide background information of the discourses usually through interviews. Spontaneity Spoken discourses tend to be largely unorganized where topics can change at any moment; interruption and overlapping of communication ca n occur often (Halliday 1989). In the spoken discourses, speakers can ask for clarification as well as correct what has already been said. Written discourses, on the other hand, are more organized and grammatical (Halliday 1989). The audiences of written discourses only get the finished product and cannot make any modification or clarification. The written discourses are having limited ways of conveying their message; written discourses are more constrained. Lexical characteristics Spoken discourses have a lower percentage of different words than written discourses. Spoken discourses are marked with longer and more repetitions unlike written discourses where repetitions are limited. Spoken discourses generally have shorter, less complex phrases. They contain more verb-based phrases and less abstract words. In addition to this, they also contain more words that refer to the speaker (Halliday 1989). Written discourses, on the other hand, have a more complex lexical characteris

Module 04 - Session Long Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 04 - Session Long Project - Essay Example concrete corporate and business-level strategies that would focus on the opportunities and threats that the company faced in the long-run, while utilizing the core strengths of the companies while addressing weaknesses. On marketing strategy. Under CEO Pressler’s tenure, the company had alienated the customers that had patronized its products for the long time. The superhip clothes GAP had produced created a sudden but a weak attempt to change its positioning. While the current profitable market of GAP had been neglected by shifting to a positioning where it was not desired by the market, the company lost focus. The success of GAP as a brand was attributable to the business casual movement in the 1990s. While being an edgier brand did not create a sustainable positioning, the erosion of the business casual movement due to the fall of the dotcoms in the economy eventually led to GAP’s fall. According to Jennifer Popovec in her article â€Å"Hanging by a thread†, the shift of GAP’s positioning to becoming fashion-forward, in its attempt to shift from its â€Å"classic style to the disposable fashion sector† had aggravated the problem. GAP tried to please everyone, as apparent in its advertisements as well as the merchandise that it carried. While the fickleness of the fashion industry had added to GAP’s hardships, losing its focus on its current profitable customers and digressing from its positioning had made the more complex rapid-changing consumer preferences more unfavorable toward the business; much less predictable with CEO Pressler’s marketing research efforts. On Human Resources strategy. CEO Pressler tried to change the long-time corporate culture of GAP which was coined in its corporate mantra â€Å"own it, do it, get it done.† While his intention was good, which was to promote collaboration and teamwork among the company, he made the initially-receptive employees vexed when there was so much more time that was spent on team-building than