Narrative Discourse: A Comparative Study of the Written and the Spoken Real-Life Experiences

Abstract

This research investigated the similarities and differences between written and spoken discourse in personal life narratives. A comparison was made between a written narrative sourced from the internet and a transcribed spoken narrative of a real-life incident recounted by a friend. William Labov’s six-schema narrative model, coupled with a descriptive qualitative research approach, was utilized to analyze the data and juxtapose the two forms of discourse. The findings indicated similarities at the structural level in both discourses. Both samples encompassed all components of the Labovian model except for the abstract, which was present only in the written discourse. However, differences were observed at the micro level. The spoken narrative exhibited less grammatical precision, characterized by false starts, repetitions, self-corrections, and lengthy sentences, whereas the written discourse demonstrated a higher degree of structure, grammatical correctness, and precision. Furthermore, the research concluded that written discourse tends to be more structured and balanced compared to spoken discourse, as spoken narratives are typically delivered spontaneously, whereas written narratives can be refined over time. This study aims to offer insights for crafting meaningful and structured narratives to enhance reader engagement in future contexts. Finally, the research suggests conducting a case study to compare the effects of public speaking training on personal life narratives before and after the training, which could provide valuable insights into the impact of training on narrative coherence and delivery.