How does writing influence spoken language evolution?

Writing has a profound impact on the evolution of spoken language in several ways:

1. Standardization of Language: Writing helps to standardize the rules of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Over time, these written standards can influence how people speak, making spoken language more consistent across regions or communities, even if regional accents and dialects remain distinct.
2. Preservation and Transmission of Language: Writing allows language to be preserved across generations, even when spoken language evolves. For example, ancient texts can still provide insights into how a language was spoken centuries ago. The written word acts as a historical record, which helps people understand how language has changed over time.
3. Expansion of Vocabulary: Written language, especially in literature, technical fields, and formal contexts, introduces new words or formalizes existing ones. These terms may eventually make their way into everyday spoken language, influencing the way people converse.
4. Influence of Written Registers: Written language often has more formal registers (e.g., academic or legal writing), which can influence spoken language in certain contexts. People may adopt phrases or styles from formal writing when speaking in more professional or public settings.
5. Creation of New Language Forms: The rise of digital communication, like texting and social media, has led to the creation of new forms of language that are more informal and shorthand in nature. Abbreviations, emoticons, and hashtags are examples of how written language influences spoken language, especially among younger generations.
6. Disconnection Between Spoken and Written Forms: Over time, the gap between how people speak and how they write has grown. English, for example, has many words with silent letters or unusual spelling rules that don’t reflect how they are spoken. This disconnection can make it difficult for spoken language to adapt quickly to changes in writing conventions, leading to unique spoken expressions and slang that don’t always match the written form.
7. Cultural and Linguistic Exchange: Writing allows different linguistic communities to come into contact with each other through written records, literature, and later, the internet. This can lead to the borrowing of words, phrases, or even syntactical structures from other languages, influencing how spoken language evolves.