A Theoretical Study on English Language's forms of Oral Communication

Oral communication refers to the exchange of information through spoken words and is an integral aspect of human interaction. The English language, being a global lingua franca, serves as a primary medium for diverse forms of oral communication, including casual conversations, public speeches, academic discussions, and business presentations. The study of oral communication in English encompasses linguistic, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives.

Theoretical frameworks such as speech act theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969) and conversation analysis (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson, 1974) provide insights into how meaning is constructed in spoken discourse. Understanding these frameworks aids in identifying the functions, structures, and pragmatic elements of oral communication.

There are sixty nations where English is either the official or semi-official language, and another twenty where it is highly regarded. All six continents have it at a dominating or well-established level. Books, newspapers, airports, science, diplomacy, advertising, music, sports, worldwide contests, and academic conferences all use it as their primary language. Approximately 63% of the world's scientists publish in English-language journals. The English language accounts for 75% of all international letters. English is the language of choice for 80% of the world's electronic retrieval systems. More than 150 million people in 120 countries listen to English-language radio programs. Not including China, more than 80 million students take English as a second language in high school, and more than 150 million learn it at the elementary level.

Half of the world's periodicals and newspapers, as well as 35% of the world's radio stations, were in English by the mid-century.

Exports of films, popular songs, video cassettes, computer software, and, most recently, the advent of the internet have kept the pattern going throughout the remainder of the century. Nearly 80% of all websites use English, and 75% of all global mail, telex, and cable traffic is in English. This means that English is the de jure language of the Internet. Literacy in English and computer literacy have become interconnected due to the United States' dominance in both areas and the widespread usage of the English language.

Many distinct varieties of the English language may be grouped under the umbrella term "English," and this is widely acknowledged. The following varieties of English are included: American, British, Indian, West African, Singaporean, and Australian English.While the syntax and vocabulary of these variants remain same, the pronunciation is quite different. Many people in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka speak a kind of English that is often referred to as South Asian English. There has been a recent shift towards recognising differentiation within English and even using new plural Englishes when referring to various forms and variants. These new varieties of English are similar to the dialects, but they are spoken all over the world.

When non-native speakers of English take up the language for literary works, new varieties of the language emerge. As they adapt it to their requirements, it takes on unique shapes that reflect their personalities. Therefore, English is seen to have been "born twice" due to its transfer from its original homeland, the United Kingdom, to a foreign country, such as India. Because of this, several variants of English emerge. The new English speakers take full use of the language's capabilities and personalise it to meet their communication demands. They take it and make it their own by adapting, repurposing, and indigenously using it (D'souza 2001, p. 15).

The East India Company is the first significant historical figure in India's English-language and literature canon. When British Naval Expedition Commander Captain William Hawkins was received by Emperor Jahangir at the Mughal courts in the summer of 1608, it all began. There has never been an encounter between an Indian and an Englishman before. Following a personal request from King James IV, sent by his diplomat Sir Thomas Roe, Jahangir subsequently granted Britain permission to establish a permanent port and factory. There was no going back for the English.

Renewing the East India Company Charter for another twenty years in 1813, two choices were made that had an impact on the nation's language and culture. The British commanders quickly allowed Christian missionary groups to into company area after lifting the long-standing prohibition on them. The new Charter set aside a certain amount of money each year to be spent on education. Consequently, a ceremonial dispute arose about whether the kingdom should support classical Indian or English education because to the divergent goals of the Orientalists and Anglicists. Charles Grant (1746–1823), Lord Moira (1754–1826), and T. B. Macaulay (1800–1859) were all members of the Anglicists' cohort. The Orientalists were led by H.T. Prinsep (1792–1878) (Kachru, 1986).

"Acquisition of Linguistic competence may be thought of as the learner's knowledge of the structures and vocabulary of the language and his ability to produce and comprehend well formed sentences in the language," according to an expert in the subject of second language acquisition and instruction. See page 35 of Fischer's 1984 work. According to Fisher, this kind of student engagement in class is rule-governed behaviour, as the learner is intent on following the rules in order to deduce the proper grammatical forms.

In this sense, it is believed by many, including Palmer (1978), Paulston (1974), and Widdowson (1971), that linguistic competence and communicative competence are distinct concepts. Here, "communicative competence" means knowing and being able to use language rules, whereas "linguistic competence" means knowing and being able to utilise grammar rules.

Currently, English is the most widely spoken language on Earth. People are picking up this language for a variety of reasons, including professional advancement opportunities. There are no other languages in the globe that are as dominant as it is. Like in India, where English is taught in medical, engineering, and other professional courses and where books are published in English, learning Hindi is not enough for professional advancement; one must also learn English. There are around 1,650 mother tongues spoken in India, with 22 of them being recognised as official languages by the government. Here, Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi, Guajarati, Marathi, Bengali, and a host of other languages are spoken by the majority. However, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and its affiliated medical, engineering, and management institutions exclusively use English as their language of teaching. English is spoken as a first language in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, but it has also become an international business language, which is why many people are learning it as a second language. Approximately 60% of the world's highly educated population is now bilingual, and nearly 45 countries use English as a second language. With over a thousand native languages spoken throughout the subcontinent, it's no surprise that English is the language of choice for most Indians when interacting with those from other backgrounds.

International business and the cooperating sector around the world use English as a foundational language. Students from India are expected to have a good grasp of the English language whether they pursue a career in India or abroad. In India, students of the arts study English as a literature, while students of engineering and management learn it as a language with specific communication abilities, and students of the arts study it as a literature with specific communication skills. They have the opportunity to operate internationally as technical and management experts, which is why their books are published in English and they exclusively teach in English. For students of engineering and management, English is now a necessary and vital part of their education, yet students from Hindi medium backgrounds sometimes feel inadequate when it comes to the language.

It is the language required for both formal schooling and the job market. Anyone in India with a plethora of degrees is out of luck when it comes to landing a job with a global corporation if they can't communicate well in English. All of his qualifications will be rendered useless by his inability to communicate effectively in English. English has been included into the inspection of government services, demonstrating that its prominence is not restricted to the business sector. In India, passing an English grammar test is crucial for getting a government job. It is safe to say that students who want to work for the government or private sector will need to master the English language in order to stand out from the crowd and get the jobs they want.1 It takes a lot more work to learn English for students from Hindi medium backgrounds who wish to work in technical, managerial, or medical fields than it does for those from English medium backgrounds. Students from Hindi-medium backgrounds now have the chance to study English as a mandatory subject in school, thanks to the integration of English into education. Despite this, many students who want to enrol in technical or managerial programs still struggle with their English proficiency.

Oral communication plays a vital role in personal, academic, and professional settings. It can be broadly classified into formal and informal communication, each serving different purposes.

1. Formal Oral Communication

Formal oral communication follows a structured format and is often used in professional, academic, and public settings. Some common forms include:

Public Speaking: Includes lectures, political speeches, and conference presentations aimed at informing, persuading, or motivating an audience.

Business Communication: Involves meetings, negotiations, and interviews where clarity and professionalism are essential.

Academic Discourse: Encompasses seminars, debates, and classroom discussions that facilitate knowledge exchange and critical thinking.

Media Communication: Includes news broadcasting, interviews, and commentaries that provide information to a wider audience.

2. Informal Oral Communication

Informal communication is more spontaneous and personal, often used in everyday interactions. Common forms include:

Everyday Conversations: Social interactions, storytelling, and personal discussions that foster relationships and social bonds.

Group Discussions: Casual meetings, peer interactions, and brainstorming sessions that encourage idea-sharing.

Telephonic and Virtual Communication: Voice calls and video conferences that enable remote discussions and connections.

Elements of Effective Oral Communication

To ensure effective oral communication, both verbal and non-verbal elements must be considered:

1. Verbal Elements:

Clarity and Articulation: Pronouncing words clearly and structuring sentences effectively.

Appropriate Vocabulary and Grammar: Using precise words and correct grammar to convey meaning accurately.

Tone, Pitch, and Intonation: Adjusting voice modulation to emphasize key points and maintain audience engagement.

2. Non-Verbal Elements:

Facial Expressions and Eye Contact: Enhancing engagement and credibility.

Gestures and Body Language: Reinforcing the spoken message through hand movements and posture.

Paralinguistic Cues: Utilizing pauses, stress, and volume variations to add emphasis and clarity.

Challenges in Oral Communication

Despite its importance, oral communication presents certain challenges:

Language Barriers and Accents: Differences in pronunciation and language proficiency can hinder understanding.

Cultural Differences in Communication Styles: Variations in gestures, tone, and expressions may lead to misinterpretations.

Anxiety and Lack of Confidence: Fear of public speaking and nervousness can affect fluency and coherence.

Misinterpretations and Ambiguities: Lack of clarity or context can lead to misunderstandings.

Communication has become one of the necessities of human beings. It is one of the fundamental needs of every human being exists on the earth. Communication is the thing through which human being expresses his needs to others. Since the beginning, human being is communicating with his fellow beings either with the help of language or gestures. Without communication his existence is meaningless or may be supposed unlike the dumb person. Two million years ago, human beings have made their first appearance on the earth. They need to share themselves with each other. So, they produced sounds and made gestures to convey their feelings of joy, fear and sorrow in the form of speech sounds. Soon a need of communication was progressed. The modern world is innovative in all walks of life. In globalization everything has been changing rapidly. Each Field demands good speakers having an ability to deal with any professionals of universe effectively. There are four skills, viz, listening, speaking, reading and writing to acquire any language. Knowing a language implies the mastery of above four skills. The education system has given more importance on reading and writing rather than listening and speaking. That’s why, today one can find good writers in English but good speakers found rarely.

Telephone was invented in 1876 by Graham Bell as an “electrical speech machine”. Basically, it was invented for oral communication between the people from distance. The word ‘Telephone’ is made of two words, ‘tele’ means ‘afar, distance’ and ‘phone’ means, ‘voice’ or ‘sound’. It refers to the device which is used for distance communication. It helped to increase an efficiency of connectivity through communication easily. At the beginning it was limited to the rich people and companies. It was costly communication but due to its quality of distance connectivity it linked people within a second without any barriers. It has to pay much regarding its calls and duration to minutes.

The Telephonic communication is transmitted with ‘Telephone Answering Machine’. It is installed in offices, departments, companies where routine messages have to be frequently repeated. These machines are also installed at Railway station, Bus station, Police station, Airports and all the government and private sectors where the people can easily enquire about the concerned information. The machine answers and gives information to the speaker without the help of a human being present there. It is installed permanently. Telephone has made social interaction less dependent on geographical proximity and helped to create new social relations. It also has set mutual knowledge and established relations in society. It also has been maintaining social contacts through frequent communication of the speakers and listeners. It has been decentralized human being’s life with social interconnectivity decreasing the geographical barriers. Telephonic communication also makes it easy for communicating people from distance. It has widespread all over the globe and connects people and nation together. Though it is an audio communication but manners, discussion, gestures and movements of the speakers and the listeners creates visual communication.

A Telephone converts sound and human voice into electronic signals with the help of cables displayed on long distance. With the help of landline Telephones, the local trunk call services can be made respectively when the communication is desired to have in the local or national level. It had to pay more money for communication through Telephone in previous days, but it has also running with various competitions so, has been giving some affordable schemes for the users. It has also invented a wireless Telephone which can be used within set distance. Telephone today has been getting less important as Mobile technology has been increasing. One can carry Mobile phone in his pocket which runs with network situated at that particular tower, while Telephone is kept at one place and runs on the landline connection.

Mobile which is also known as ‘Cell phone’, ‘Cellular phone’ was invented in 1970s by Martin Cooper, an employer and researcher of Motorola. In 1973, he first designed the cell phone following the long back history of Mobile since 1926. Graham Bell’s invention Telephone was made for fixed or one place communication. It was needed to develop a handy communication and it gave birth to Mobile technology. Mobile phone is supposed to be the progeny of modern technology. It has attained the status of an ideal tool for communication. It is also introduced in various educational fields for educational purpose which lessened the barriers of communication between teachers and the students at the same extent the communicators from distance.

Mobile was invented for easy and distance communication. Later on, it became one of the most used forms of communication. It has crossed all the hindrances of Telephonic conversation. Telephonic conversation, called ‘rich people’s conversation’ was only possible and available for the rich people society. When Mobile technology was intended to merged in various new forms for communication. It is also referred ‘common people conversation’, as it is easily available to the commonest factor of the society more or less in every passage of the globe. It has being used by all the sections and genders in all over the globe. Mobile today has become one of the basic needs of human being for communication. He can communicate with it at any distance, any region with no time limitation. Network of Mobile phone is expanded all over the globe and the wave of mobilization has been giving its remarkable impact with the help of English language. Mobile communication has becoming most used form of oral communication.

Rapid growth of wireless information technologies in the field of communication has been introducing new experiences in Mobile technology as Smartphone and Android phones introducing various mode and applications available for smooth communication. It has been giving various communicative facilities and connectivity accessories to the people of every section with availability on the particular Mobile phone. It avails the people oral communication in speech form along with written communication. Mobile facilitates SMS communication, internet connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity, Facebook, WhatsApp communication, Tweeter, Blogging and Micro Blogging sites, various Websites, Video clips of the concerned subjects of the entire globe, downloading and uploading facilities etc. at the very affordable costs with time saving features. It has been launching various technologies like 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity, so that people could connect easily and sooner for sharing and communicative purpose. It is used for both formal and informal purpose with the requirement of the time.

Rapid growth of using internet has been giving birth to various forms for easy and accessible communication from distance. Online face to face communication is one of them for live communication with reading, writing and responding. One has to send messages or communicate a live response on online with the connection of internet on computer or Mobile. A person from any passage of the world can speak and share with his friends with the help of it. It has been becoming popular mostly among the youths which create a live communication with crossing all the barriers, limitations and boundaries of nations.

Online face to face Communication is also known as Skype. It provides the users face to face video chatting with the help of internet. It was founded in 2003 by a Swedish Niklas Zennstrom, a Swedish entrepreneur and Janus Friis, a Denmark entrepreneur with the help of their group Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn. Online face to face communication is ‘live communication’ of writing, reading and responding face to face with the help of the internet. The user can type messages, send them and receive responses online.

Oral communication in English is a multifaceted process influenced by linguistic, cultural, and contextual factors. Understanding the theoretical foundations and forms of spoken communication enhances effective verbal interactions in academic, professional, and social spheres. Further research is essential to explore technological advancements, such as AI-driven speech recognition and virtual communication tools, in shaping the future of oral discourse.