{"id":8,"date":"2025-12-07T21:51:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T21:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/?p=8"},"modified":"2025-12-10T16:47:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:47:27","slug":"speech-in-memory-writing-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/?p=8","title":{"rendered":"Text"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speech in Memory, Writing in the World<\/h3>\n
\n

"Writing is not only bodily; it is also always material and worldly. Though speech
\ncan have enduring consequences, its medium of record\u2013memory and lived practice\u2013is
\ncomparatively ephemeral and immaterial" (John Durham Peters, The Marvelous Clouds<\/em>,
\nUniversity of Chicago Press<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Lasting Power of Words: Speech, Memory, and Writing<\/h5>\n

Peters raises an interesting point in this passage\u2013that speech is not permanent, but
\nwriting is; that speech only continues to exist in our memory. To me, speech has always felt just as permanent as writing. Yes, people forget what others tell them,
\nbut that does not necessarily mean that our conversations are forever forgotten or
\nthat they hold less significance. Conversations, as serious as an argument to joking
\naround, can stay in our minds for years, if not forever. That being said, it was
\nextremely intriguing to read that speech is considered to be short lived.<\/p>\n

However, the more I thought about Peters\u2019point I realized the bigger<\/strong> picture: while spoken language does have a lasting impact, it does not have the same effect and
\npresence that writing does. When we speak, our words disappear immediately after we
\nsay them, unless they are recorded in some manner. Most of the time, though, there is
\nno object left behind. In comparison, writing leaves an actual physical trace\u2013whether
\nthat is on paper, on our screens, on stone, etc\u2013this is what makes it part of the
\nphysical world in a way speech isn\\'t.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on this point even further, it opened a broader understanding as to why
\nwriting is so important. For instance, so many areas in life rely on our words being
\nphysically recorded. Things as crucial as laws, documents, and contracts, to records
\nthat are not as major such as recipes, music, and texts are reliant on our written
\nwords. Without it, none of those would exist in the same way if they were not written
\ndown. If not recorded, they could be changed and\/or misinterpreted. Peters claims that
\nwriting is \u201cmaterial and worldly,\u201d and I understand why. Writing physically exists in
\nthe world while speech, in many instances, just passes through it.<\/p>\n

This concept of writing being permanent reminded me of a discussion I had in another
\nmedia and communication class regarding social media and its lasting effect. More
\nspecifically, how our words on social media lasts forever, even if we delete a post.
\nThis reinforces Peters\u2019 point even more: once something is written it enters the
\nphysical, and digital world in this case, in a way that can not be undone. On social
\nmedia, our statements are traced back to us whereas they would be left in our
\nmemories, or forgotten, if they were said out loud.<\/p>\n

On the one hand, I feel that Peters\u2019 argument has some complexities to it, especially
\nconsidering how people can and do<\/em> in fact remember what is told to us. However, I also do agree with Peters that writing is more permanent or has more of a lasting effect since it leaves an actual trace. Speech lives on in our memories, but writing becomes a part of the real, physical world. It is something we can return to and build on; that is what gives it its power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech in Memory, Writing in the World "Writing is not only bodily; it is also always material and worldly. Though speech can have enduring consequences, its medium of record\u2013memory and lived practice\u2013is comparatively ephemeral and immaterial" (John Durham Peters, The Marvelous Clouds, University of Chicago Press) The Lasting Power of Words: Speech, Memory, and Writing Peters raises an interesting point in this passage\u2013that speech is not permanent, but writing is; that speech only continues to exist in our memory. To me, speech has always felt just as permanent as writing. Yes, people forget what others tell them, but that does not necessarily mean that our conversations are forever forgotten or that they hold less significance. Conversations, as serious as an argument to joking around, can stay in our minds for years, if not forever. That being said, it was extremely intriguing to read that speech is considered to be short lived. However, the more I thought about Peters\u2019point I realized the bigger picture: while spoken language does have a lasting impact, it does not have the same effect and presence that writing does. When we speak, our words disappear immediately after we say them, unless they are recorded in some manner. Most of the time, though, there is no object left behind. In comparison, writing leaves an actual physical trace\u2013whether that is on paper, on our screens, on stone, etc\u2013this is what makes it part of the physical world in a way speech isn\\’t. Reflecting on this point even further, it opened a broader understanding as to why writing is so important. For instance, so many areas in life rely on our words being physically recorded. Things as crucial as laws, documents, and contracts, to records that are not as major such as recipes, music, and texts are reliant on our written words. Without it, none of those would exist in the same way if they were not written down. If not recorded, they could be changed and\/or misinterpreted. Peters claims that writing is \u201cmaterial and worldly,\u201d and I understand why. Writing physically exists in the world while speech, in many instances, just passes through it. This concept of writing being permanent reminded me of a discussion I had in another media and communication class regarding social media and its lasting effect. More specifically, how our words on social media lasts forever, even if we delete a post. This reinforces Peters\u2019 point even more: once something is written it enters the physical, and digital world in this case, in a way that can not be undone. On social media, our statements are traced back to us whereas they would be left in our memories, or forgotten, if they were said out loud. On the one hand, I feel that Peters\u2019 argument has some complexities to it, especially considering how people can and do in fact remember what is told to us. However, I also do agree with Peters that writing is more permanent or has more of a lasting effect since it leaves an actual trace. Speech lives on in our memories, but writing becomes a part of the real, physical world. It is something we can return to and build on; that is what gives it its power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-assignments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8\/revisions\/79"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ways.dscalise.bergbuilds.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}