Provides a synthesis of findings about lexical and syntactico-semantic differences between spoken and written language. Outlines and critically examines the major theoretical and methodological approaches used in comparative studies of spoken and written language and reexamines the question of how speech and writing relate to prototypical forms of…

Data on the durations of vowels preceding voiced and voiceless stops in three normal speakers and three esophageal speakers (who had had laryngectomies) suggested that the vowel length variations that were observed were language-specific, governed by phonological rules of English, and were not language universals. (Author/RL)