Issues in the study of speech and writing

This chapter aims to bring a more overtly theoretical perspective to the study of speech and writing than has been the case in the previous chapters. It is intended to raise awareness of the problematic status of speech and writing in the study of language, and as such is perhaps more suited to advanced students, or those who wish to move on to tackle some of the underlying issues in the field. However, it also presents a contextualising background of previous approaches to speech and writing for the more general reader.