“The Story of Writing”, by C. M. Millward, is an essay that explores the differences between written and spoken language. It does not just talk about English, but instead discusses the evolution of written language in general from its spoken counterpart. Millward states that spoken language existed first, and outlines several effects of writing on speech, such as making language less easy to change because of the “permanency” of writing; the tendency of spelling to affect the way we pronounce words; and the development of vocabulary that is based on spelling / writing (such as acronyms).
S/he also introduces the reader to the various types of writing “systems” that have developed over time, such as pictographs and ideograms, logograms, syllabaries, and alphabets. She / he gives a pretty complex analysis of the alphabet that English and states that it is the same one used since the 16 th century. The essay gives details about several other alphabets as well. This author seems to be very well educated in the history of written and spoken languages. It reminds me of my languages in my country. I have to learn English and Spanish, but I study Latin also in order to read some of the legal, medical, and religious essays that we are required to study in school.
It also makes me think about how Latin would really be pronounced if it were spoken more today. I wonder if it gets enough use by the Catholic Church and some other institutions to change the way it is pronounced over time. On the other hand, maybe it is changed all the time because the people who are using it are separated geographically from each other so they may not hear each other’s pronunciation! I think this essay is very informative. In fact, it was pretty complex at the end, so I was a bit overwhelmed by the information. The author did a very good job, however, of explaining his / her thoughts on the progression of spoken and written language and the effects of one on the other. I find the essay very convincing.
How Can I Avoid Literal/Verbal Translation from My Native Language When Writing an English Essay
As a foreign English learner, , I constantly make grammatical and structural errors when writing in English even though I started learning English at a very early age and have a relatively better speaking and listening ability among my peers. In fact, many Asians, Mandarin users like me in particular, encounter such problem a lot when writing in the English language. As a consequence, I want to ...
At first I kept thinking, “How does the author know that speech came first?” Then, as it was explained with examples and details, it made perfect sense. Therefore, in my opinion, it was a very believable and convincing essay on language.
