Elementos de oralidad en cartas de soldados mexicanos de la época de la Revolución

Abstract

The Spanish writing has its own characteristics which are independent fromthe spoken language and have to be learned by users. There are severaldifferences between spoken and written language, the ones that are relatedto the transition from listening to writing, and also the ones related to verbaltraditions, which are characteristic from orality or literacy. In this article Ianalyse four letters written by semi-educated authors, who, in the first place,are aware of the cultural technique of writing, but whose texts reveal littleexperience with written communication. The four texts represent a selectionfrom a larger corpus of letters written by semi-educated soldiers andcivilians during the Mexican Revolution. The texts are analysed in searchof their particular graphic, pragmatic and discursive characteristics, toconclude with some ideas about the implications of this analysis that maycontribute to the discussion of Spanish spelling.