At the end of each idea unit -- on the average after every 6 w o r d s -- there would be at lease a brief pause, signaling the boundary of the idea unit and allowing time for processing.
Trang 1S H O U L D C O M P U T E R S W R I T E S P O K E N L A N G U A G E ?
W a l l a c e L C h a f e
U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , B e r k e l e y
R e c e n t l y there has d e v e l o p e d a g r e a t d e a l of i n t e r e s t in
the d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n w r i t t e n and s p o k e n language I
j o i n e d this trend a l i t t l e m o r e than a y e a r ago, a n d h a v e
b e e n e x p l o r i n g not o n l y w h a t the s p e c i f i c d i f f e r e n c e s are,
but also the r e a s o n s w h y they m i g h t exist The a p p r o a c h
I h a v e taken has b e e n to l o o k for d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the
s i t u a t i o n s and p r o c e s s e s i n v o l v e d in s p e a k i n g on the one
h a n d and w r i t i n g on the other, and to s p e c u l a t e on h o w
those d i f f e r e n c e s m i g h t be r e s p o n s i b l e for the o b s e r v a b l e
d i f f e r e n c e s in the output, ~ a t h a p p e n s w h e n we w r i t e
and w h a t h a p p e n s w h e n we s p e a k are d i f f e r e n t things, b o t h
p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y and s o c i a l l y , and I h a v e b e e n t r y i n g to
see h o w w h a t we do in the two s i t u a t i o n s leads to the
s p e c i f i c things that we find in w r i t i n g and s p e a k i n g
I o c c a s i o n a l l y i n t e r a c t w i t h the U N I X c o m p u t e r s y s t e m at
B e r k e l e y , for v a r i o u s p u r p o s e s In the c o n t e x t of my
c o n c e r n a b o u t d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n w r i t i n g and s p e a k i n g , I
h a v e b e g u n to w o n d e r w h e t h e r the kind of corm~unication we
a r e u s e d to r e c e i v i n g f r o m c o m p u t e r s is m o r e like w r i t i n g
or speaking Y o u m a y t h i n k that c o m p u t e r s o b v i o u s l y
w r i t e to us T h e y send us m e s s a g e s that we can read off
of a c a t h o d e ray tube, or that get p r i n t e d out for us on
a p i e c e of paper In that r e s p e c t w h a t c o m p u t e r s p r o d u c e
is w r i t t e n language But it comes at us in a way that is
v e r y d i f f e r e n t f r o m the way w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e u s u a l l y does
U s u a l l y we are faced w i t h a p r i n t e d p a g e on w h i c h the
w r i t i n g is all there, and has b e e n there for a long time
T h e t e m p o r a l p r o c e s s by w h i c h the w r i t i n g was put there
has a b s o l u t e l y no r e l e v a n c e to us as we p e r u s e the p a g e
at our leisure The t i m i n g of our r e a d i n g is in no w a y
c o n t r o l l e d by the timing by w h i c h the w o r d s w e r e e n t e r e d
on the page My c o m p u t e r t e r m i n a l , on the o t h e r hand,
is s t e a d i l y c h u g g i n g away, p r o d u c i n g l a n g u a g e b e f o r e m y
eyes at the rate of 30 c h a r a c t e r s a second U n d e r s o m e
c i r c u m s t a n c e s I c o u l d wait u n t i l it had p r o d u c e d a w h o l e
page b e f o r e I b e g a n to read But I don't u s u a l l y do
that I e a g e r l y f o l l o w the s t e a d y f l o w of l e t t e r s as
they appear, J u s t as I w o u l d e a g e r l y l i s t e n to the s p o k e n
s o u n d s of s o m e o n e w h o w a s t e l l i n g me s o m e t h i n g I w a n t e d
to know T h i s p r o c e s s i n g in r e a l time s e e m s in that re-
spect m o r e like s p o k e n language, a l t h o u g h what is b e i n g
p r o d u c e d is w r i t t e n F u r t h e r m o r e , the c o m p u t e r s y s t e m
and I often, indeed c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y , e n g a g e in q u i c k
e x c h a n g e s , m u c h like c o n v e r s a t i o n s , w h i c h is not w h a t I
am a c c u s t o m e d to d o i n g w i t h w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e So I w a n t
to s u g g e s t that w h e n it is l o o k e d at f r o m the point of
v i e w of the d i c h o t o m y b e t w e e n w r i t t e n and s p o k e n l a n g u a g e ,
the c o m p u t e r l a n g u a g e we n o r m a l l y d e a l w i t h is n e i t h e r
fish n o r foul It is p r o d u c e d in w r i t t e n form, but on
the o t h e r hand it is p r o d u c e d in real time, and we are
a b l e to r e s p o n d a n d i n t e r a c t as we are n o t a b l e to do
w i t h a p r i n t e d page
R e c e n t w o r k seems to h a v e shown that there are a n u m b e r
of f e a t u r e s w h i c h are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of s p o k e n l a n g u a g e ,
and a n u m b e r of other f e a t u r e s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of w r i t t e n
It is not that s p o k e n l a n g u a g e n e v e r c o n t a i n s any of the
f e a t u r e s of w r i t t e n n e s s , or that w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e n e v e r
c o n t a i n s any of the f e a t u r e s of s p o k e n n e s s It is o n l y
that c e r t a i n f e a t u r e s tend to be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h one or
the o t h e r m e d i u m , and that the f e a t u r e s b e c o m e m o r e
p o l a r i z e d as one a p p r o a c h e s the e x t r e m e s of c o l l o q u i a l -
n e s s on the one hand, or of l i t e r a r i n e s s on the other
In b e t w e e n one finds v a r i o u s m i x t u r e s of l i t e r a r y t a l k
and c o n v e r s a t i o n a l w r i t i n g
In l o o k i n g for r e a s o n s w h y these d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e s
exist, I have found it u s e f u l to a t t r i b u t e s o m e of them
to the t e m p o r a l d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n w r i t i n g and s p e a k i n g ,
and some of them to the i n t e r a c t i o n a l d i f f e r e n c e s
T e m p o r a l l y , w r i t i n g as an a c t i v i t y is m u c h s l o w e r than
s p e a k i n g S p e a k i n g seems to be p r o d u c e d o n e " i d e a u n i t "
at a time, e a c h i d e a unit h a v i n g a m e a n l e n g t h of a b o u t
2 s e c o n d s , or 6 words E v e r y so o f t e n a s e q u e n c e of idea u n i t s ends in a f a l l i n g p i t c h i n t o n a t i o n of the sort we i d e n t i f y w i t h the e n d i n g of a s e n t e n c e P a u s e s
u s u a l l y o c c u r b e t w e e n idea u n i t s , and l o n g e r p a u s e s b e - tween s e n t e n c e s The idea u n i t s w i t h i n a s p o k e n s e n - tence tend to be s t r u n g t o g e t h e r in a c o o r d i n a t e f a s h i o n ,
t y p i c a l l y w i t h the w o r d "and" a p p e a r i n g as a link~
T h e r e is l i t t l e of the fancy s y n t a x we find in w r i t t e n
l a n g u a g e , by w h i c h some i d e a u n i t s are s u b o r d i n a t e d to and e m b e d d e d w i t h i n o t h e r s It has b e e n h y p o t h e s i z e d that s p e a k e r s ' a t t e n t i o n c a p a c i t i e s are not great e n o u g h
to a l l o w them to e n g a g e in m u c h e l a b o r a t e syntax T h e flow of idea u n i t s is e n o u g h to keep t h e m o c c u p i e d
W r i t i n g , on the o t h e r hand, is p e c u l i a r in that the p r o - eess of w r i t i n g itself o c c u p i e s an i n o r d i n a t e a m o u n t of time, e v e n though, o n c e we get p a s t the first grade, it
d o e s n ' t r e q u i r e a great d e a l of a t t e n t i o n Thus,
w r i t e r s h a v e a lot of e x t r a time and a t t e n t i o n a v a i l a b l e
to them, and a p p a r e n t l y they o f t e n u s e it to c o n s t r u c t
e l a b o r a t e s e n t e n c e s As a result, w h e r e a s the s e n t e n c e s
of s p o k e n l a n g u a g e h a v e a d i s t i n c t l y f r a g m e n t e d q u a l i t y , those of w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e tend to be m o r e i n t e g r a t e d ,
w i t h m u c h m o r e a t t e n t i o n p a i d to s u b o r d i n a t i n g idea
u n i t s w i t h i n o t h e r s in c o m p l e x ways T h i s i n t e g r a t i o n
vs f r a g m e n t a t i o n d i m e n s i o n seems to be at the root of
a n u m b e r of the f e a t u r e s w h i c h d i s t i n g u i s h w r i t i n g from
s p e a k i n g The o t h e r d i m e n s i o n I have b e e n i n t e r e s t e d in seems to
r e s u l t from the d i f f e r e n t r e l a t i o n w r i t e r s and s p e a k e r s have to their r e s p e c t i v e a u d i e n c e s W h e r e a s s p e a k e r s can i n t e r a c t d i r e c t l y w i t h their l i s t e n e r s , o b t a i n i n g
o n g o i n g c o n f i r m a t i o n , c o n t r a d i c t i o n , and feedback, w r i - ters c a n n o t n o r m a l l y do so, but are c o n s t r a i n e d to pay
m o r e a t t e n t i o n to p r o d u c i n g s o m e t h i n g that w i l l stand on its own feet w h e n it is r e a d by s o m e o n e later on in a
d i f f e r e n t place We can s p e a k of the g r e a t e r i n v o l v e -
m e n t of s p e a k e r s , as c o n t r a s t e d w i t h the g r e a t e r d e t a c h -
m e n t of w r i t e r s M a n y of the s p e c i f i c f e a t u r e s d i s t i n -
g u i s h i n g s p e a k i n g and w r i t i n g can be lined up on this
i n v o l v e m e n t vs d e t a c h m e n t d i m e n s i o n
H o w can a c o m p u t e r p r o d u c e l a n g u a g e that is m a x i m a l l y
c o n g e n i a l to us humans, g i v e n the f a m i l i a r i t y we a l r e a d y
h a v e w i t h the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of s p o k e n and w r i t t e n
l a n g u a g e ? ~ h a t k i n d of h u m a n l a n g u a g e should a c o m p u t e r
s i m u l a t e , in o r d e r that we can p r o c e s s it m o s t e a s i l y ? And to w h a t extent is a c o m p u t e r able to p r o d u c e such a
s i m u l a t i o n ?
L e t ' s p l a y w i t h the a s s u m p t i o n that we h u m a n u s e r s w o u l d feel m o s t at h o m e w i t h a c o m p u t e r t e r m i n a l w i t h w h i c h we could c o n v e r s e in s o m e t h i n g r e s e m b l i n g h u m a n c o n v e r s a - tion, as c l o s e as this c a n be a p p r o x i m a t e d by a m a c h i n e
w h i c h (I) can't yet m a k e s a t i s f a c t o r y sounds, but has to
w r i t e w h a t it says; and (2) d o e s n ' t k n o w h o w to e x p e r i -
e n c e i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h a h u m a n being Let's c o n s i d e r what this m a c h i n e w o u l d n e e d to do to m a k e us feel that
we w e r e i n t e r a c t i n g in s o m e t h i n g like the way we i n t e r - act w h e n we use s p o k e n language
T i m i n g is o n e of the i m p o r t a n t factors I n s t e a d of
s t e a d i l y p r o d u c i n g l e t t e r s at the rate of 30 a s e c o n d , this m a c h i n e m i g h t try p r o d u c i n g l a n g u a g e as s p o k e n
l a n g u a g e is p r o d u c e d in real time T h a t w o u l d m e a n
d o i n g it at h a l f the speed, for one thing: 15 c h a r a c - ters a s e c o n d w o u l d be a b o u t n o r m a l for the way we
a s s i m i l a t e s p o k e n l a n g u a g e , and p e r h a p s the rate at
27
Trang 2w h i c h we n a t u r a l l y take in information But we woul9
not want it spitting out one letter at a time at a
steady rate, as it does now That has little to do
w i t h the w a y we take in language, either spoken or
written, under n o r m a l circumstances Perhaps it should
give us one word at a time, but I think it m o r e likely
that we would feel most c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h syllables: syl-
lables timed to simulate the timing of syllables in nor-
mal English speech Roughly speaking, stressed syllables
would be longer and u n s t r e s s e d syllables shorter A
careful study of the timing of natural speech could
introduce m o r e s o p h i s t i c a t i o n here At the end of each
idea unit on the average after every 6 w o r d s there
would be at lease a brief pause, signaling the boundary
of the idea unit and allowing time for processing At
the end of a sentence on the average after every 3
ides units the pause w o u l d be longer, and p a r a g r a p h
b o u n d a r i e s would be signaled by lonBer pauses Idea
units would be r e l a t i v e l y fragented M a n y of them w o u l d
be connected by "end," and there would be little of the
e l a b o r a t e syntax one tends to find in w r i t t e n lenguage
As for involvement, the computer w o u l d need to learn
that humans are imperfect recipients of information, end
that r e d u n d a n c y end requests for c o n f i r m a t i o n are among
the important devices to be used f r e q u e n t l y in c ~ u n i -
catlng with them Frequent direct r e f e r e n c e to the
a d d r e s s e e is another feature of involvement that the
computer could easily learn to use
My terminal recently told me the following, at 30 steady
characters per second"
The "netlpr" co -d, w h e n executed b e t w e e n
computer center machines, n o w sets the o w n e r -
ship of net queue files c o r r e c t l y so that
"netrm" will remove them end they are listed
by the "netq" comm"ud
W h i l e this is r e a s o n a b l y g o o d written language, and com-
p r e h e n s i b l e as such, I am asking w h e t h e r m e a n i n g f u l lin-
guistic i n t e r a c t i o n in real time might not better p r o c e e d
somethinB as follows, where you can imagine syllables
oeing timed as they are timed in spoken English, brief
p a u s e s at the ends of llne~ end longer pauses w h e r e I
have d o u b l e - s p a c e d (T is the terminal end U the user):
T: Want to k n o w about the "netlpr" command,
where you type in "netlpr"?
U: Sure
T: Y o u can just use it between computer center
machines,
OK?
Only if you're up here
U: Yeah,
I know
T: OK
It'll show you who owns net queue files,
if you went to k n o w that
You ten use " n e t s " to get rid of the~,
and you can get them listed w i t h "netq"
That clear?
U: Yeah
One p r o b l e m w i t h this is that the user has to t y p e
at his or her n o r m a l typing rate, w h i c h will inevitably
be m u c h slower than speaking But even so, the frag-
m e n t a t i o n and involvement w h i c h make this m a c h i n e ' s out-
put m o r e like spoken language might s i g n i f i c a n t l y
i n c r e a s e t h e u s e r ' s c o m f o r t e n d c o m p r e h e n s i o n To know
w h e t h e r that is really true calls for further d e t a i l e d
r e s e a r c h on t h e features w h i c h d i s t i n g u i s h spoken from
w r i t t e n language, and tests of w h e t h e r the i n t r o d u c t i o n
of such features into computer lenguege indeed m a k e s a difference Such research ought in any case to be
r e w a r d i n g beyond the bounds of this p a r t i c u l a r a p p l i - cation
28