An Introduction to Applied Linguistics

• Context independent: as the written text must be able to make sense away from 
the physical context in which it was produced, it must be self-explanatory and 
the reader needs to be able to access the meanings from the text itself (see Burns 
and Joyce, 1997).

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270 An Introduction to Applied Linguistics
• Lexical density: In Text 1 the lexical words have been underlined. There are nine 
clauses, with 29 lexical items, giving a lexical density of 3.2 items per clause; 
whereas in Text 2, there are 10 clauses, with 18 lexical items, giving a lexical density 
of 1.8. The information is therefore more densely packed in written discourse.
• Formal and specialized vocabulary: for example: eminently tropical, species, widely 
disseminated, cosmopolitan.
On the other hand, Text 2 displays features typical of spoken English. These are:
• Context dependent: spoken discourse is more context dependent, in that speakers 
constantly refer to things in the context, for example ‘there was this cockroach like this’.
• Lexically sparse: spoken discourse is lexically less dense.
• Grammatical intricacy: the text is made up mainly of simple main clauses 
connected to one another by and. However, sentence grammar in speech can 
be very complex with clause after clause being added on, with extensive use 
of conjunctions, such as and, because, then, to link the clauses. For example in 
Text 2, Turn 3, there are 16 clauses in one clause complex (totalling 95 words).
• Use of paralinguistic features (for example, Pat’s hand gesture of size of cockroach).
• Because spoken language is produced as ‘process’ not as a completed product, it 
contains spontaneity phenomena, such as false starts, hesitations, incomplete 
clauses.
These differences between spoken and written discourse are summarized in Table 
16.1 below.
Spoken discourse
Written discourse
Context dependent: relies on shared knowledge 
between participants; greater use of exophoric 
(external context) reference
Context independent: must recreate 
the context for readers
Less explicit/relies strongly on shared 
knowledge between participants
Quite explicit marking out of what is 
going to be said (for example, in the 
first place, firstly, finally)
Spontaneous and therefore displays spontaneity 
phenomena, such as false starts, hesitations, 
incomplete clauses
Planned, edited and redrafted
All interactants are engaged in the creation of 
the text, so there is turntaking, interruptions, 
overlaps, etc.
Written text is only implicitly interactive 
(reader is assumed but not involved in 
the creation of the text)
Multilogue (casual conversation very often 
involves more than two speakers, that is, it is 
usually multilogue rather than dialogue)
Dialogic: Writer engages in a dialogue 
with the projected reader
Grammatical complexity: in terms of the 
chaining of clauses and the inclusion of non-
linguistic support to the construction of meaning
Grammatical complexity: in terms of 
density of structure within sentences
Lexically sparse
Lexically dense
Vocabulary is everyday/non-specialized
Vocabulary more specialized
Table 16.1 Differences between spoken and written discourse

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Suggested Solutions
Chapter 5, 
Pragmatics
Reference
There are numerous deictic expressions that need interpreting (for example, it 
[03], that [05, 06]), as well as the expression the South [05] meaning the South