Sybil Priebe
Dr. Kevin Brooks
Electronic Communications
25 Jan 02 (my birthday!!)
Secondary Orality:
My Surreal Reflection to an Abstract Theory
I dont know why I need everything laid out for me in concrete terms when
I think in abstract ones, but for my own benefit, that is just how I digest
new material.
Definitions. Primary orality is based on cultures that exist/existed only on
orally means of communication. Secondary orality is what we live daily with
now. A life that depends mainly on the existence of words and print in order
to even attain some sort of orality.
A scene that makes me remember all this takes into account a hermit named Bob.
Bob lives by himself. Now, long ago (before the inventions of the phone and
TV, etc), he wouldnt have known crap about what was occurring around him-
Wouldnt have been able to know how his friends were, what the latest news
in the town next to him consisted of, or how to cook the most recent, healthy
recipe of lasagna. BUT in this day and age, Bob would be well off even if he
only had a TV. Without going outside, hed know the temperature and if
his friend, Herb, was getting rained on in Seattle. Imagine all that! This is
what I equate with primary and secondary orality.
Now, as far as the application and the greatness of those theories, I am still
undecided. When it comes to applying secondary orality or at least recognizing
already existing applications, ones that come to mind for myself are electronic
mail and communicating in the classroom.
The problems I have with primary orality lie not so much with the understanding
of it, because I do feel it existed, but with the application of it and how
it affects us today- mainly in dealing with religion.
And lastly in my reflection, the impact of electronic communication using this
secondary orality for me will consist of a well-thought-out application in my
own hypertext writings. I would really like them to be more oral, similar to
Help found on the WWW.
A. Electronic Communication
I have been told quite a bit that I write like I speak to people, especially
when I write e-mails. I dont deny that at all. Its my style, yet
it definitely adds voice/speech to my writing, and I like that. In stream-of-conscious
writing, you definitely get that impression as well. Sure, there are many great
authors that can give their writing a voice or feeling or attitude,
but the ones that I latch onto are those that speak TO ME. They make a conversation
jump between your mind and the words on the page. Its entertainment without
the visual effects.
E-mailing is a big deal nowadays. I notice even my ex-high school students developing
this way of essentially talking to me with their typed words. They use ellipses
for when they trail off and ums as if they really did have
a pause in thought as in speech. I adore it, and it makes their writings to
me more real. I feel that this particular form of communication
which has recently applied to our lives easily falls under the statement that
Ong made concluding that writing from the beginning did not reduce orality
but enhanced it, making it possible to organize the principles ..into
a scientific art,.. (Ong 9). As I read their e-mails to me, I can
visualize them speaking to me. It makes that communication with them more raw
and artistic for me and for them perhaps.
B. Communicating in the Classroom
During my two years as a high school English teacher, I got the lovely job of
creating/putting together their newspaper and yearbook as well as instructing
the class that would do so. In the packets I received for the yearbook, many
of the lessons were to be taught using a projector, etc to throw the images
onto the wall. Images along with words and sound (instructing voices) guided
myself and the class along with tutorial after tutorial on how to accomplish
certain chunks of the yearboo, how to construct the actual pages, etc. This
was amazing to me since I really didnt know any more than the kids did
what was to be done, but for them, it was visual, oral, and literal. Any loss
of those three components would have damaged the lesson, and I believe that
is because those very tutorials (like others) were computerized teachers. When
students have a literary piece of work in front of them and get to hear as well
as see what is to be learned or understood, their minds get reached on all these
different and fantastic levels. We ended up watching a few over and over to
take them in better (they went quite fast), but overall, the effect was stupendous.
This helpful secondary orality mixed with visual aids got us to levels that
would have not have been achieved with just my oral description of what to do
or with just a copy of the manual itself.
C. Religion and Primary Orality
For some reason, when I started to question my religious beliefs, it all came
down to the simple fact that these verses, psalms, and stories had been written
down by people that perhaps had heard it from a long line of others who could
have CHANGED the story. I think back to my own stories from my childhood, and
in my own mind I have embellished them (already in only 25 years!)! Imagine
what could have happened in Jesus time! I appreciate this primary orality
that began our existence and look up to those cultures/generations that treasure
the gift of telling a story to the next batch of listeners. Yet, I still use
that crack (as well as others in other theories) in primary orality, though,
to explain to others my issue with orgainzed religion.
D. My Own Applications: Hypertextually Speaking
How will I incorporate this theory? I have always wanted my hypertext writings
to be more oral since they are already easy to read (literary aspect) and visual
(easy on eyes, but interesting). I have not decided, yet, how much orality I
want, nor how to incorporate it. The biggest and most attractive idea I have
had so far has been to have some sort of way of allowing my readers/audience
of my writings to listen to them... have a link or sound bite on each node
so those that dont want to bother hurting there eyes with the computer
screen can listen OR to simply add the effect of being read to. Since my hypertext
(the most expansive one I have done) is muli-vocal, I could add that aspect
too which would really make the hypertext have the feel that I want it to- that
MANY people are telling the same story. To have a young girls voice for
my main character, and various other voices for other characters seems so awesome
from my storytelling point of view. It will give each character an attitude
found in voice that can not be picked up from a page, or screen for that matter.
This somewhat takes away from the imagination involved when reading a text where
the reader gets to create how the person looks and their voice, etc. But, on
my first page, I have drawn little pictures of the characters cartoon-style,
so I have already taken away that aspect too. What would be different for me
would be to take those images out and allow the reader only to have words and
sound to develop the characters. (I am really thinking outloud here.)
Along with adding to the linkage of stories I have, I would like to add music
to my web page overall. Not anything horrible to listen to or anything with
words, but some simple background music (like Enya? or does that conflict with
copyright laws?) so the readers of my page are automatically feeling
through listening how my web page should be taken. This space that I suddenly
inhabit on the web will then have the attitude/personality I want people to
see as if they had entered my own home or personal space.
Besides adding to my own hypertext, Katey and I have an idea for a project that
includes teachers as real human beings (imagine that!!) and it would add to
our site to have sound bits or movie clips of teachers making asses of themselves
or telling a story that goes completely wrong because they have lost their train
of thought (like how the Native Americans are immigrants.. yea, that was me.)
Plus, we are hoping to gather stories from other people and to somehow add their
voice to the piece would be great too.
Of all these ideas, I still have to learn HOW to put sound onto pages! That
is the big goal, and once that is accomplished, WHO KNOWS!
E. Conclusion
Basically, although this theory confuses me at times, it definitely aided me
in thinking about what else I would want to do electronic communication-wise
with my own projects.