Written language

A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia.

A written language is the representation of a language by means of a writing system. Written language is an invention in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken or gestural languages.^{[citation needed]}

A written language exists only as a complement to a specific spoken or gestural language, and no natural language is purely written. However, extinct languages may be in effect purely written when only their writings survive.^{[citation needed]}

Written language vs. spoken language

Written languages change more slowly than corresponding spoken languages. When one or more registers of a language come to be strongly divergent from spoken language, the resulting situation is called diglossia. However, such diglossia is often considered as one language, between literary language and other registers, especially if the writing system reflects its pronunciation.

Native readers and writers of English are often unaware that the complexities of English spelling make written English a somewhat artificial construct. The traditional spelling of English, at least for inherited words, preserves a late Middle English phonology that is no one's speech dialect. The artificial preservation of this much earlier form of the language in writing might make much of what we write intelligible to Chaucer (1343–1400), even if we could not understand his speech.

Written Language refers to communication in its written form - most commonly in the forms of reading and writing. However we are in a need for oral language; speaking and listening skills are acquired naturally by young children remarkably without the need for having to teach them. Language in its written form has become a process that is required in our oral language rules and must be clearly taught. There are many languages in our world that exist, but do not have a written form.

As literacy skills become known, oral and written language are closely intertwined. Therapy to work on language delays and disorders is often done in combination with reading and writing activities. Increased awareness and understanding of how sounds and letters relate to one another can have a mutual effect on a child's communication skills. As children develop an understanding of written language and begin to read and write, it is clear that they acquire much of their new vocabulary through reading. Written language is more complex than oral language, so it is clear that children who read more can develop a more sophisticated language ability of understanding. (Casey Mulligan Walsh, M.S., CCC-SLP)

Further reading

• Ankerl, Guy. Global communication without universal civilization. INU societal research. Vol.1: Coexisting contemporary civilizations : Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western. Geneva: INU Press. pp. 59–66, 235–236. ISBN 2-88155-004-5. 
• Mulligan Walsh, Casey, CCC-SLP, http://www.brittonkill.k12.ny.us/walshweb/writtenlanguage.htm 

See also

• List of writing systems
• Literary language
• List of languages by first written accounts
• Writing
• History of writing
• History of writing ancient numbers