Understanding Orthology in Language Education
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsUnderstanding Orthology in Language Education
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsElectronic Journal: Linguistic and Literary Documents UACh
No. 24-25
Document type: Note
Eduardo ROLDÁN
About orthology
Resumen
In learning the correct pronunciation of the mother tongue, a didactic approach emerges like the
orthology, which, attending to the global set of the language in communicative terms, allows
to appropriate speech more than to emphasize phonetic correctness.
The innovative function of specific didactics arises when attention shifts towards the
learning process - once the epistemological components of the discipline have been reviewed - and
focuses on the cognitive, communicative, and aesthetic evaluation activities that it is capable of developing
The Apprentice. (Mendoza, 1998).
Cantero (1998) points out that the Didactics of Pronunciation is a methodological approach that
integra la pronunciación en los parámetros delEnfoque Comunicativo, dentro del tratamiento de la
oral language. In contrast to traditional phonetic correction, the teaching of pronunciation proposes a
global treatment of oral language, centered not on the production or discrimination of sounds,
except in expression and oral comprehension as a whole. Pronunciation is the material form.
of speech, which can either be an insurmountable wall, preventing minimum intelligibility, or
a solid material bridge between the interlocutors, allowing for their communication.
Corrective phonetics offers auxiliary methods to the traditional teaching of the language, to
correct and optimize the pronunciation of students, both in their mother tongue and in a
second language or foreign language, according to the rules of correct pronunciation.
In our days, it is easy to verify how the use of language, especially oral expression, is
suffering a degradation, a surprising neglect. This neglect is the subject of deep
concern on the part of professionals in the teaching of Spanish. As teachers
involved in the language sciences, we cannot just attribute all the
responsibility to the media of oral dissemination, radio or television, but rather in the face of the worrying
poverty of oral expression of our students, observed in our university classes,
We must, if possible, seek solutions to these deficiencies. Speaking fluently and correctly is
a skill that is closely related to possible professional and social successes. For
For years there has been concern that we write correctly, leaving aside, in many
In some cases, speaking correctly, even though 'orthology is to spoken language what orthography is to written language.'
is to the writing" (Millán, 1996). It is worth asking then, if in written expression the teachers
We demand correct writing in its entirety from our students. Why not in oral expression?
Do we not aim specifically for a correct elocution more often?
The term Orthology is, to some extent, still unknown to many. Orthology, also
orthoepy is the term traditionally used for phonetic correction in the mother tongue,
applied to the natives themselves (Cantero, 1998). Orthology, closely linked to orthography, is
refers to the rules of correct pronunciation common to all speakers of the language
(RAE, 1959). The Dictionary of the Royal Academy of Language of 1998 recognizes Orthology.
as the 'art of pronouncing correctly and, in a more general sense, of speaking properly'.
On the other hand, the phonetic re-education procedure focused both on the pronunciation of the
sounds like in the very voice of patients who suffer from some speech, voice, or language pathology.
Speech is a subject of study in Orthophony. Both in Orthology and Orthophony sometimes
similar correction methods are used. However, these are areas of application
different, so that Orthology is directed to native language students; the correction
phonetics, to students of a second language or foreign language; Speech Therapy, to patients
of the speech therapist and the phoniatrist, in disabilities such as dysphonia, dislalia, hearing impairment, etc.
Orthophony also deals with the education of the voice, for artistic or professional purposes, as is
the singing and the diction. Diction, as a specific area of pronunciation, refers to a
careful pronunciation goes beyond correct pronunciation and consists of education of
the professionals of spoken voice: actors, announcers, and speakers.
Speaking correctly, as we mentioned earlier, means using the appropriate signifier.
so that there is correspondence between the chosen signifier and the intended meaning.
any text in Spanish we can have an orthographic code to which we can
adapt our written expression regarding the use of graphemes, of the accents, of the
punctuation, of the lexicon, of the morphosyntax and of the writing, but, apparently, we do not have a
Orthological code for oral expression that is accessible to everyone in relation to pronunciation.
to intone and accent correctly. Some language scholars point out that the ephemeral nature
The oral could be a reason that sidelines Orthology, showing us to be more understanding.
with the inaccuracies of oral language. Still, we believe that there is no linguistic reason that
support or justify the neglect of oral language, which does not mean that we lean towards a
perfect pronunciation but keep in mind, at least, what Tomás Navarro T. points out: 'the
Good pronunciation is the one that comes close to the writing” (Tubau, 1993).
In our environment, no one can ignore that the difficulties of oral expression that
we observe daily, whether in the classroom or in the mass media, are
truly serious, but not impossible to overcome. But, which of the countless ways of
Should oral expression be considered a paradigm of correctness in the broad domain of Spanish?
One answer is pointed out by Millán (1996); that specific oral form that is found closest.
- or less distant - from its corresponding cultured speech, which usually coincides with the one that is most
it resembles written expression. Currently, many of our students feel that they do not have
expressive oral fluency in their presentations, speeches, and debates. By means of the
direct observation, we have noted inaccuracies not only in the articulation of phonemes
vocalic and consonantal (syncope of intervocalic consonants, e.g. caa (cada), toavía
(still); retraction of the /b/ resulting in /g/, e.g. güeno (bueno)); inaccuracies
accents (e.g. necessary, hopefully), to name a few, but also inaccuracies in the rhythm and
in the intonation, without respecting the groups of meaning and significant pauses.
In light of the problems presented, we can conclude that the inaccuracies observed are
a warning voice and consequently the need to increase and insist more on the
corrección fonética y las cuestiones ortológicas en nuestras clases e interacción con los alumnos.
Bibliography
Cantero,F.J. 1998. “Conceptos clave en lengua oral”, en A. MendozaF.(coord.)Conceptos clave
in didactics of language and literature, Horsori, publishing house, SL., Institute of Educational Sciences,
University of Barcelona.
Dictionary of the Spanish Language, (D.R.A.E.) 1998.
Galera, N.F.1991. “Expressive Reading and Oral Communication”, in Language and Texts, No. 11-12, U. of
Las Palmas, University of Murcia, University of Barcelona, 1991.
Mendoza, F.A. 1998. Key concepts in the teaching of language and literature, Horsori, editor.
SL, Institute of Educational Sciences, University of Barcelona.
Millán, Ch. A. 1991. Studies on the teaching of the Spanish language for university students, Seville,
University Publications.
______. 1996. "Orthology and Orthography: two normative disciplines in permanent interrelation", Iv
Congress of the SEDLL, Nov. 1996, Barcelona.
Tubau, I. 1993. Oral Journalism, Paidós Communication, Barcelona.
To cite this article
Eduardo Roldán. 2001-2002. "On Orthology". Linguistic and Literary Documents 24-25: 59-
61
[Link]/documentos_linguisticos/[Link]?id=146 (Electronic Address)