Originally Posted by habitus
imagine a person who cannot read or write "using" the sound grouping /brAk/ in an utterance. what do they "mean" by that sound grouping? break or brake? well, you'd have to know the context of the use, for one. but even then, they don't "mean" either one, because to them there is no orthographic correspondance between /brAk/ and, well, anything. it's an example that i think is relevant when thinking about the "rules" of internet "speaking," as you can't assume that people "mean" something by what they say/write. there might not be a difference to them either way.
just a corollary point: i definitely concede that this is one way that people learn to recognize sounds, especially homophones, as having different meanings. writing still uses context to determine meaning (obviously, as in the case of homographs), but it has the extra tool of spelling and particular grammatical structures (think the subjunctive mood... more in latin languages than english, but yeah) to solidify and make the intended meaning less ambiguous. your example, indeed, imagines that we have someone who cannot read or write. this message board does not assume that. i think everyone here has the equivalent of an elementary or junior high education. anyhow, good chat. my friends don't like to chat about linguistics and such.