IN WHAT WAY DOES THE SPOKEN SYSTEM OF LANGUAGE DIFFER FROM THE WRITTEN, AND WHY DOES LINGUISTICS TAKE THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE AS ITS OBJECT OF STUDY? Language can be expressed in a variety of forms. The two most common forms of language expression are speech and writing. Speech and writing are all around us; everywhere we look there are advertisements, all using differing forms of written language. We are constantly bombarded with the noise of …showed first 75 words of 1781 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1781 total…several thousand languages and dialects, expressing a multiplicity of world views, literatures and ways of life.” (Crystal, 1997, 2) Literature provides a different insight into a language and a culture to the spoken word. The way in which we view the world around us is influenced to a certain extent by our language, and to understand the way a language works is perhaps to gain a greater insight into the way the speakers of that language think.