WRITTEN is organized by punctuation and the visual arrangement of words on a page. SPOKEN is governed by time ( rhythm, phrasing and pauses) and by melody ( pitch, intonation and inflection ). ELEMENTS OF WRITTEN ENGLISH ARE SEEN l etters of the alphabet words sentences ELEMENTS OF SPOKEN ENGLISH ARE HEARD vowel, diphthong, and consonant sounds syllables phrases or rhythmic thought groups. The individual speech sounds of any language are defined by how the breath, whether voiced or voiceless, is used in making the sound. A voiced sound is produced with vibration of the vocal folds; a voiceless sound is produced without vibration. In Spoken English : A Vowel Sound • Is made with an open, uninterrupted flow of air, the breath flowing through the mouth only: an oral sound. French, by contrast, contains four vowel sounds made with the breath flowing through the mouth and the nose simultaneously: nasalized vowels. • Is a single sound, involvin...