The importance of oral language

Oral language is the oldest form of communication known to mankind, whether it’s in English, Japanese or a Chinese dialect. Oral language is a form of communication that is spoken and heard. Oral language serves many purposes, whether it is telling a story or the simple joy of entertainment, but I think the most important purpose of oral language is to inform. Inform about what? You may ask. When informing someone of certain topic, it could vary from sharing knowledge to your philosophies and opinions.

The importance of this is that it makes listeners contemplate about the subject that is being discussed. For example, a newscast informs us of the events going on around in our world. The conventions it uses are: The introduction, informing the people of who will be dictating to them and what they will be discussing. Although it is a serious business, a bit of humor might be introduced which is another convention. The lighting sets the mood helping calm our mind unconsciously while we hear about rebellion, crime and disaster.

Quick transitions from the anchorman/woman to the shots of event helps visualize what we are being informed about. Another convention that is used is suspense, before something interesting happens, the news is cut to a commercial leaving a cliffhanger and making people think and wait while commercials are being aired. These conventions all contribute to informing us of the current events. Another example of information in oral language is music. Not only can music inform, it also entertains.

On top of that, appeals to any age group and varies in genres anybody can enjoy. Music uses conventions of beat, melody, timbre, harmony, rhyme, rhythm and lyrics. Intertwined together, these conventions create music which informs of a message, whether it’s Muse singing about an uprising or Taylor Swift whining about another break up. Music draws people in, sticking in the mind like a leech and sometimes even influencing the actions of the listeners.

It is in my opinion the most complex types of oral language there are. Why? First of all, a single song needs a beat, melody that will appeal to a large group but also express the feelings of the composer. Sadly, a song is unlikely to appeal to everyone. A song will need a melody, and lyrics that flow together line by line. From experience, to write a song is easier having something or someone to inform about for example, a break up. Even though a song can tell a story and entertain, now it’s more to relax than inform.

In today’s society the purpose of oral language is to inform, even little things like small talk, saying “ what’s up” and “ not much” it’s still informing, as the respondent informs that not much is happening. Stories are rarely told in this day and age and entertainment is merged in with everything else. Information is valuable, and to inform is to give out information. Logically that makes informing the most important form of oral language today. Entertainment and stories are a luxury, if we only informed, with no entertainment or stories I think the human race could interact without a problem.