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A written language is the representation of a language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 by means of a writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
. Written language is an invention
Invention

An invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas....
 in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken
Spoken language

A spoken language is a human natural language in which the words are uttered through the mouth. Most human languages are spoken languages.Speech communication stands in contrast to sign language and written language....
 or gestural
Sign language

A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to express fluidly a speaker's thoughts....
 languages.

A written language exists only as a complement to a specific spoken or gestural language, and no natural language
Natural language

In the philosophy of language, a natural language is a language that is spoken, Sign language, or writing by humans for general-purpose communication, as distinguished from formal languages and from constructed languages....
 is purely written. However, extinct languages
Extinct language

An extinct language is a language which no longer has any speakers .Extinct languages may be contrasted with Language death: no longer spoken as a main language....
 may be in effect purely written when only their writings survive.

Written languages evolve more slowly than corresponding spoken languages.






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Encyclopedia


A written language is the representation of a language
Language

A language is a form of symbol communication in which elements are combined to represents something other than themselves. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon....
 by means of a writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
. Written language is an invention
Invention

An invention is the creation of a new configuration, composition of matter, device, or process. Some inventions are based on pre-existing models or ideas....
 in that it must be taught to children, who will instinctively learn or create spoken
Spoken language

A spoken language is a human natural language in which the words are uttered through the mouth. Most human languages are spoken languages.Speech communication stands in contrast to sign language and written language....
 or gestural
Sign language

A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to express fluidly a speaker's thoughts....
 languages.

A written language exists only as a complement to a specific spoken or gestural language, and no natural language
Natural language

In the philosophy of language, a natural language is a language that is spoken, Sign language, or writing by humans for general-purpose communication, as distinguished from formal languages and from constructed languages....
 is purely written. However, extinct languages
Extinct language

An extinct language is a language which no longer has any speakers .Extinct languages may be contrasted with Language death: no longer spoken as a main language....
 may be in effect purely written when only their writings survive.

Written languages evolve more slowly than corresponding spoken languages. When one or more registers
Register (linguistics)

In linguistics, a register is a subset of a language used for a particular purpose or in a particular social setting. For example, an English language speaker may adhere more closely to prescription and description, pronounce words ending in -ing with a velar nasal and refrain from using the word "ain't" when speaking in a formal setting, bu...
 of a language come to be strongly divergent from spoken language, the resulting situation is called diglossia
Diglossia

In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where a given language community uses not just one dialect, but two: the first being the community's present day vernacular and the second being either an ancestral version of the same vernacular from centuries earlier or a distinct yet closely related present day dialect ....
. However, such diglossia is often considered as one between literary language
Literary language

A literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include Sacred language. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others....
 and other registers, especially if the writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
 reflects its pronunciation
Pronunciation

"Pronunciation" refers to the way a word or a language is usually spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If someone said to have "correct pronunciation," then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
.

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
Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet, philosopher, Bureaucracy, Noble court and diplomat. Although he wrote many works, he is best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales....
, even if we could not understand his speech. Linguist Tom McArthur suggests that it is at least arguable that written and spoken English have reached the stage that can be considered diglossia
Diglossia

In linguistics, diglossia is a situation where a given language community uses not just one dialect, but two: the first being the community's present day vernacular and the second being either an ancestral version of the same vernacular from centuries earlier or a distinct yet closely related present day dialect ....
.

Further reading


See also

  • List of writing systems
    List of writing systems

    This is a list of writing systems , classified according to some common distinguishing features.The usual name of the script is given first ; the name of the language in which the script is written follows , particularly in the case where the language name differs from the script name....
  • Literary language
    Literary language

    A literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include Sacred language. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others....
  • List of languages by first written accounts
    List of languages by first written accounts

    This is a list of languages by first written accounts which consists of the approximate dates for the first writing that are known for various languages....
  • Writing
    Writing

    Writing is the representation of language in a textual Media through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as Magnetic tape sound recording....
  • History of writing
    History of writing

    The history of writing is the history of how writing systems have evolved in different human civilizations. True writing is only thought to have developed independently in four different civilizations in the world, namely Mesopotamia, China, Egypt and Mesoamerica....
  • History of writing ancient numbers
    History of writing ancient numbers

    Pre-historyThe first method of counting was counting on fingers. By placing the thumb on various finger joints a person can count up to 90,000. This evolved into sign language for hand-to-eye communication of numbers....